title: Qigong massage treatment for sensory and self-regulation problems in young children with autism: a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: Autism is commonly associated with sensory and self-regulatory disturbances. This article presents a randomized controlled study evaluating the effect of a 5-month intervention directed toward improving sensory impairment, digestion, and sleep in 46 children with autism < age 6. The intervention, Qigong Sensory Training (QST), is a qigong massage intervention based in Chinese medicine. It is two-pronged: Trainers work with children directly 20 times over 5 months, and parents give the massage daily to their children. Improvement was evaluated in two settings--preschool and home--by teachers (blind to group) and parents. Teacher evaluations showed that treated children had significant classroom improvement of social and language skills and reduction in autistic behavior compared with wait-list control participants. These findings were confirmed by parent data, indicating that the gains had generalized across contexts. A model and supporting data for understanding and treating sensory and self-regulation problems in autism is presented.
authors.affiliation: Teaching Research Institute, Western Oregon University, PO Box 688, Salem, OR 97308, USA. lmtsilvaqigong@comcast.net
authors.forename: Louisa M T
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schalock
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ayres
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bunse
authors.forename: Sarojini
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Budden
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D001945:Breathing Exercises; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage; D020377:Self Efficacy; D016896:Treatment Outcome