Drumming Groups for Parents of Autistic Children

Drumming Groups for Parents of Autistic Children

This project aims to encourage a sense of belonging, community, and emotional support for parents of autistic children through a group drumming (music therapy) intervention.

This pilot one-group pretest-posttest study will investigate the limited efficacy and acceptability of an 8-week drumming group on immediate stress (pre-post session) as measured by the STAI-S Short Form scale (Spielberger, 1977); on anxiety and depressive symptoms, as measured by the K-10 scale (Kessler et al., 2002) before and after the 8-week program, and group cohesion and acceptability as measured by the Group Therapy Experience Scale (GTES, Marziliano et al., 2018) after the program. As a group setting, this program does not substitute clinical treatment.

Inclusion Criteria:

• parents or main caregivers of children in the Autism Spectrum,
• able to read and write in English.
• 18 years or older

Exclusion Criteria:

• Paid caregivers
• Unable to speak, read and write in English
• Unable to follow instructions in English