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

Table 6

Parent comments on the intervention.

ID #	Parent comment on the intervention
1	This has brought us closer together.
2	More “active” form of therapy. Continue to stick with the massage and you will see improvements in your child.
3	I feel that it’s accelerated his progress more than anything else.
4	This is something I can do at home at any time, and it’s easy to do. It’s also tailor-able to his individual issues. It really does make a difference, and it’s so worth the time you put into it!
5	So far Qigong is the only treatment he’s had that showed a significant difference in behavior.
6	Relaxing
7	Less invasive, less medical, more natural feeling
8	I would strongly encourage other parents to try it.
9	This is the only treatment he’s received to date.
10	I feel like it bonds the parent to the child. I think it’s opens them up and they understand they are safe.
11	He has had outpatient speech and occupational therapy as a toddler as well as services while in school. I think the massage has complimented these services.
12	Relaxes her to the point it is easy transition for bedtime.
13	Hands on builds stronger bond
14	I loved that the massage focused on strengthening his skills and working on him being comfortable in his own body.
15	That it is about touch and energy and doing something for him, not asking him to “do” something for us, that is, speech therapy.
16	More fun
17	He is non-verbal so the massage does not help with specific speech sounds. He pats his legs to show me he is ready for massage at bedtime. Qigong works!
18	I feel more empowered
19	Emotional and spiritual sort of connection. parent driven and consistent (daily). Awareness to body.
20	The massage is parent delivered…all the other methods for his autism are done by others…it is intimate and therefore I feel like I am taking an active part!
21	Massage gets you and your kid closer. It’s like time to relax and show love with each other.
22	I can almost do his massage anywhere. We love our massage time.
23	We haven’t really tried other treatments but what I like about the massage is that there is really no way to harm him by giving it to him. It’s gentle, safe and fosters our relationships with him.
24	Well it was great that someone knowledgeable was performing it. My son beneficiated more from that than other massages where someone just tells you what to do but no one oversees your implementation.
25	It’s done by me and my husband, no outsider can do it better than we can. Every other improvement seems to be because of some professional, this is because of our touch.
26	This is the first actual hands on treatment we have been offered. It’s not more vitamins or shots, it’s something he is involved in and really enjoys. It’s not a “job” like ABA or the stuff he does at school, it’s far less like traditional treatment.
27	Personal help. It’s been eye opening
28	It is easy and something that I can do at home. It has been what makes all the other therapies work. It has done more for him than Speech and OT. It was like they didn’t work until we started the massage.
29	It is easier, more calm and more bonding since you are touching your child the whole time. It is also more consistent.
30	Qigong massage gets you and your child in touch with their body and their needs. It gives you a way to communicate with your child about their needs.
31	It is something I can do for him and see the changes daily
32	We like it because we don’t use pills. At first it is hard to do because it is something new. Stick with it because all you see is results.
33	This is really the only other treatment we have tried.
34	Lets you connect to your child and open up their senses and awareness.
35	This treatment gives our child a chance to relax & spend one-on-one time with us comfortably at home, as opposed to spending time with a therapist in a different setting.
36	It helped us break down the barrier between us and him. There was always this disconnect and none of the therapies we tried got us closer to him. Now he seeks us out for comfort and just to be close. If we sleep in on a weekend he’ll come in and lay with us in bed rather than playing in his room alone. He comes pattering into our room and climbs into bed with us and will lay there until we get up or, if he decides it’s been long enough, he’ll start slapping our cheeks and saying, “Mama wake up, daddy wake up.” It’s the most irritating thing in the world and we love it.
37	I like that the massage is every day like a medicine and it’s easy to put into a routine. It has been a positive experience from start to finish and has given us nothing but rewards.
38	It’s relaxing and It’s a practical way to engage and help your child.
39	It’s not pricey
40	Much less intrusive, more physical.
41	It’s family oriented, it’s long term, it’s inexpensive, it has no risks. It makes you feel like you have some control in an uncontrollable situation.
42	That it helps the parents to actually bond with our kids and to pay close attention to small gains