Therapies for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Table 25. Overview of CAM studies a
Characteristic RCTs
nRCTs
Prospective
cohort studies
85
Retrospective
cohort studies
Prospective
case series
Retrospective
case series
Intervention (n=6) (n=0) (n=0) (n=0) (n=1) (n=0) (n=7)
Massage 4 0 0 0 1 0 5
Acupuncture
Diagnostic approach
2 0 0 0 0 0 2
Clinical DSM-IV dx +ADI-R and/or
ADOS
1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Combination approaches b 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
No DSM-IV or ADOS dx/ 3 0 0 0 1 0 4
unspecified
Treatment duration
≤1 month 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
>1 to ≤3 months 3 0 0 0 0 0 3
>3 to ≤6 months 1 0 0 0 1 0 2
>6 to ≤12 months 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
>12 months 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Study population
U.S. 3 0 0 0 1 0 4
Other 3 0 0 0 0 0 3
Total N participants 164 0 0 0 26 0 190
ADI-R=Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised; ADOS=Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule; DSM-IV=Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4 th edition; dx=diagnosis; nRCT=non randomized controlled trial; RCT=randomized
controlled trial
a Numbers in the table indicate the number of unique studies with each characteristic.
b Clinical DSM-IV dx +other diagnostic tool or ADOS + other diagnostic tool or only clinical DSM-IV dx or only ADOS.
Summary of the literature. Studies assessing massage focused primarily on sensory
impairments; a series of studies from Silva et al. assessed qigong massage using similar
approaches and potentially including overlapping participants, though the exact overlap is
unclear. A 2007 RCT 283 extended a 2005 case series (not included in the present review) of 8
children with ASDs; the RCT 283 included 15 participants with autism diagnosed according to
DSM-IV criteria (mean age at first assessment=4 years, 10 months). Children were stratified into
three cognitive groups according to Batelle Development Inventory scores and randomly
assigned to treatment or control within each group. Massage treatment for the eight intervention
group participants consisted of 11 different qigong massage movements. A trained practitioner
delivered massage twice a week in the clinic for two 5-week periods separated by 5 weeks of no
practitioner-delivered therapy. Parents were trained to provide massage at least once daily during
the 5 week practitioner-delivered and interval periods; parents were also tested to ensure accurate
administration of massage. The seven control children received special education, and four were
concurrently receiving speech therapy.
Total Sensory Profile scores improved in the massage group by an average of 5.4 points, with
an average worsening in control group of 2.7 points (p