Qigong Massage Treatment for Sensory and Self-Regulation Problems in Young Children with Autism:  A Randomized Controlled Trial

Autism is commonly associated with disturbances of the sensory nervous system, digestion and sleep. This article presents a randomized controlled study evaluating the effect of a five-month intervention directed towards improving measures of sensory impairment, digestion and sleep in 46 children with autism under six years of age.  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  five months, and parents give the massage daily to their children. Improvement was evaluated in two settings--pre-school and home--by teachers (blind to group) and parents. Teacher evaluations showed that children had significant classroom improvement of social/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.

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Silva, L., Schalock, M., Ayres, R., Bunse, C., & Budden, S. (2009). Qigong massage treatment for sensory and self-regulation problems in young children with autism: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63, 423-432.