Comparing the comprehension of short stories paired with familiar and unfamiliar melodies and spoken text in autistic children

Abstract

Autistic children (AC) can demonstrate varying abilities of comprehending spoken and written information. Although information is often paired with music to facilitate recall and learning, there is limited research investigating if sung short stories influence the listening and reading comprehension (LRC) of AC. The purpose of this study was to compare the LRC of information paired with (1) familiar melodies, (2) unfamiliar melodies, and (3) spoken information in AC. Participants (N = 59) received three different short stories presented live that were sung paired with a familiar melody, sung paired with an unfamiliar melody, and spoken. Both music conditions had guitar accompaniment. After presentation of each condition, participants answered five close-ended questions to measure LRC. There was no significant within-group LRC difference between the familiar melody, unfamiliar melody, or spoken conditions. Descriptive statistics indicated that both music conditions yielded slightly higher mean LRC scores than the spoken condition with slightly higher mean LRC during the familiar melody condition than the unfamiliar melody condition. Given the differences in the means, future researchers should be mindful of the possibility of a type II error. Implications for classroom and clinical work, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are provided.