TY - JOUR A2 - Roeyers, Herbert AU - Silva, Louisa M. T. AU - Schalock, Mark AU - Gabrielsen, Kristen R. AU - Budden, Sarojini S. AU - Buenrostro, Martha AU - Horton, Gretchen PY - 2015 DA - 2015/03/24 TI - 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 SP - 904585 VL - 2015 AB - 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%, P=.03), autistic behavior (32%, P=.006), total sensory abnormalities (38%, P=.0000005), tactile abnormalities (49%, P=.0002), and decreased autism severity (medium to large effect size, P=.008). In addition, parents reported improved child-to-parent interactions, bonding, and decreased parenting stress (44%, P=.00008). 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. SN - 2090-1925 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/904585 DO - 10.1155/2015/904585 JF - Autism Research and Treatment PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -