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J Autism Dev Disord 2001 Oct;31(5):513-6 |
Books
Brief report: improvements in the behavior of
children with autism following massage therapy.
Escalona A, Field T, Singer-Strunck R, Cullen C, Hartshorn K.
Touch Research Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine, FL 33101,
USA.
Twenty children with autism, ages 3 to 6 years, were randomly assigned to
massage therapy and reading attention control groups. Parents in the massage
therapy group were trained by a massage therapist to massage their children for
15 minutes prior to bedtime every night for 1 month and the parents of the
attention control group read Dr. Seuss stories to their children on the same
time schedule. Conners Teacher and Parent scales, classroom and playground
observations, and sleep diaries were used to assess the effects of therapy on
various behaviors, including hyperactivity, stereotypical and off-task
behavior, and sleep problems. Results suggested that the children in the
massage group exhibited less stereotypic behavior and showed more on-task and
social relatedness behavior during play observations at school, and they
experienced fewer sleep problems at home.
PMID: 11794416 [PubMed - in process]
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