The value of singing for the Verbal Language Development (VLD) of Greek Children who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and aged between 5-to-11 years (5-11 yrs)

Abstract

This research project aims to test the hypothesis that: singing is valuable to the Verbal Language Development (VLD) of Greek children who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and aged between 5 and 11 years. The research is quantitative since it measures and compares progress and draws from the literature, experiential knowledge, positivism and primary research and seeks deep insights that are indicative. The scope of this project is to evaluate whether singing appears to be valuable for VLD amongst
these participants, in this context, and according to the methodological limitations of this study, having its intellectual foundation and its implications in education and with a potential to affect curricula strongly. The method for my research project involves pre-test and post-test, comparative analysis with a Speaking Group, plus probing analysis within the overall research findings. The study is of an insufficient size for generalisation and takes place within the field instead of a clinical environment. However, participant
observation and detailed scrutiny used the primary data gathering tool, which is “Test of Receptive and Expressive Language Abilities” (TRELA). The TRELA was specifically designed to measure VLD in Greek children with ASD.

The components of the study, namely singing, VLD, and Greek children with ASD aged 5 to 11 years old, frame the research project's contribution to original knowledge and have the potential to influence curriculafor children with ASD. This is an interdisciplinary research project that transformatively draws from the fieldsof m usic-singing, speech therapy, and ASD (teaching and learning of children with ASD). This research in the field of special education calls, if possible, for the involvement of speech therapists trained on this particular test of measurement, musicians or educators with basic music knowledge and singing experience, and special educators in ASD. In health-related research, interdisciplinary approaches are becoming more and more necessary and should be taught as a standard research methodology instead of being the exception that leads to random, unsystematic events. Despite not using inferential statistics, this educational study is regarded as quantitative in nature because it counts, measures, and compares progress. Furthermore, it is regarded as positivist since it clearly seeks to determine whether this advancement is objectively true, hopes to generalise this to intervention for more children, and incorporates psychological processes like motivation and engagement. The gathered qualitative data improve our comprehension of the objective measurements
and offer context for the quantitative data.

Overall, this study demonstrates much better progress in the SiG participants who used singing to develop their verbal language and that is important in order to continue further research into this approach. The progress with VLD of the children in the SiG agrees with the finding of previous research in the field. The researcher concluded that there is value in the empirical study's experimentation but a larger sample size is required to be able to respond to this with certainty and further research needs to take place because the
positive findings make a contribution to the field and could affect curricula.