Early Intervention with a Parent-Delivered Massage Protocol Directed at Tactile Abnormalities Decreases Severity of Autism and Improves Child-to-Parent Interactions: A Replication Study
| Author(s) | Louisa M. T. Silva, Mark Schalock, Kristen R. Gabrielsen, Sarojini S. Budden, Martha Buenrostro, & Gretchen Horton |
| Date | March 1, 2015 |
| Published in | Autism Research and Treatment, Vol. 2015 |
| Citation | Silva, L. M. T., Schalock, M., Gabrielsen,K. Budden, S. Buenrostro, M. & Horton, G. (2015). Early intervention with a parent-delivered massage protocol directed at tactile abnormalities decreases severity of autism and improves child-to-parent interactions: A replication study. Autism Research and Treatment, Vol. 2015 Article ID 904585, 16 pages, 2015. doi:10.1155/2015/904585 |
Abstract
Tactile abnormalities are severe and universal in preschool children with autism. They respond well to treatment with a daily massage protocol directed at tactile abnormalities (QST massage for autism). Treatment is based on a model for autism proposing that tactile impairment poses a barrier to development. Two previous randomized controlled trials evaluating five months of massage treatment reported improvement of behavior, social/communication skills, and tactile and other sensory symptoms. This is the first report from a two-year replication study evaluating the protocol in 103 preschool children with autism. Parents gave daily treatment; trained staff gave weekly treatment and parent support. Five-month outcomes replicated earlier studies and showed normalization of receptive language (18%), autistic behavior (32%), total sensory abnormalities (38%), tactile abnormalities (49%), and decreased autism severity (medium to large effect size, ). In addition, parents reported improved child-to-parent interactions, bonding, and decreased parenting stress (44%). Early childhood special education programs are tasked with addressing sensory abnormalities and engaging parents in effective home programs. Until now, they have lacked research-based methods to do so. This program fulfills the need. It is recommended to parents and ECSE programs (ages 3–5) at autism diagnosis