A Model and Treatment for Autism at the Convergence of Chinese Medicine and Western Science:First 130 Cases

摘要： <正>Objective:To present a model for autism showing that impairment of sensory and self-regulation is the core deficit that underlies delays in social/language skills and abnormal behavior in autism;and to demonstrate the efficacy of a treatment for autism based on Chinese medicine.Methods:Children with autism under 6 years of age were assigned to treatment or wait-list conditions.A total of 130 children were treated and the results compared with 45 wait-list controls.Treatment is a tuina methodology directed at sensory impairment——Kai Qiao Tuina.The treatment was a five-month protocol that was implemented daily by trained parents via trained support staff.The effects of treatment on the main symptoms,autistic behavior,social/ language delay,sensory and self-regulatory impairment,as well as on parenting stress,were observed and compared.Results:The treatment had a large effect size(P<0.0001) on measures of sensory and self-regulation. The evaluations done by pre-school teachers demonstrated improvement in the measures of autism(P<0.003), and were confirmed by evaluations done by parents(P<0.0001).There was a large decrease(P<0.0001) in parenting stress.Conclusions:Sensory and self-regulatory impairment is a main factor in the development and severity of autism.Treatment of young children with autism with Kai Qiao Tuina resulted in a decrease in sensory and self-regulatory impairment and a reduction in severity of measures of autism. ... （共9頁）