Autism Therapy: motor

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Treatment Outcomes for Severe Feeding Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Behavior Modification, by Laud, RB, Girolami PA, Boscoe JH, and Gulotta CS, published in 2009, summarized Jun 1, 2010

Children with autism who have feeding problems may be helped by an interdisciplinary feeding program.

Feeding problems are a pattern of eating that is not normal and causes social or health problems for the patient. The purpose of this study was to see if a feeding program was able to help 46 children with autism who had feeding problems. The children (aged 3 to 12 years) in the study received intense behavior therapy and oral motor therapy. The authors found the program to be a success based upon one follow-up data point for each child. While the program was able to help the children, the authors note that these children had severe feeding issues and were part of a feeding disorders program.


A Study of the Relationships and Acknowledgment of Non-disabled Children with Disabled Siblings
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, by Aksoy, AB, and Yildririm Bercin G., published in 2008, summarized Feb 17, 2010

Family therapy may help siblings of children with autism to have a better attitude toward their sibling.

Healthy children (228 children 10 to 17 years old) were asked about their attitudes toward children with disabilities, including their own brother or sister. This study was performed in Turkey. Disabilities included autism, learning disability, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, motor retardation, and Down syndrome. The authors said that healthy children had a more positive attitude toward their own brother or sister than toward other children with disabilities. Healthy children have more negative attitudes toward their siblings when they have lower abilities. The authors think that educating siblings of disabled children may help the family develop more positive relationships.


Environmental Fit: A Model for Assessing and Treating Problem Behavior Associated with Curricular Difficulties in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, by Blakeley-Smith, A., Carr EG, Cale SI, and Owen-DeSchryver JS, published in 2009, summarized Jan 13, 2010

Children with autism may have fewer behavior problems when they are in an environment where they can successfully complete tasks.

A child with autism who has a good environmental fit is in an environment that is geared toward their abilities. With a good fit, they may have more success with motor (movement) and academic (e.g. reading) tasks. This study asked whether environmental fit was related to problem behaviors for 6 children with autism (4 to 13 years old). The authors said that children with autism who had good environmental fit had fewer problem behaviors. They also completed more tasks correctly, and they felt better overall. The authors said that matching activities with current skill levels may help lower problem behaviors for children with autism.


Corticosteroid Treatment of Behaviour, Language and Motor Regression in Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
Official Journal of the European Paediatric Neurology Society, by Mordekar, SR, Prendergast M., Chattopadhyay AK, and Baxter PS, published in 2009, summarized Dec 14, 2009

An immune system suppressant (corticosteroid) may help some children on the autism spectrum.

Two 4-year-old children had a rapid onset of childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD). They had a change in personality, loss of speech, and withdrew from people. They also had seizures. The authors treated them with the corticosteroid prednisolone, and their symptoms gradually disappeared over the next 4 years. Prednisolone acts to reduce inflammation and calm down the immune system, and may have other effects. The doctors found no sign of inflammation in their nervous system. The doctors do not know why the medication worked for these children.


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Sacramento State ABA Program Collaborates with Researchers in Brazil

Jan 24, 2012

Sacramento State applied behavior analysis (ABA) students collaborated with Utah State and the Federal University of Sao Carlos to present the largest autism conference ever held in Brazil. Faculty member Caio Miguel facilitated State's psychology ABA graduate students as they planned the research program. Miguel, trained in Brazil, believes in the importance of ABA research and training, and was tasked with updating State’s program. ABA students at State work one-on-one with kids with autism in areas including speech, motor skills, and feeding skills.

Read original article: Psychology Program at Center Stage in Brazil


Music Therapist Teaches More than Just Music to Kids with Autism

Jan 13, 2012

Laura Fehr is a music therapist who has opened her own practice in North Dakota to work with children with autism and other special needs. Fehr, who uses music to work on non-music skills, such as social interaction and communication, says, “Music therapy works because music is processed everywhere in the brain.” She believes that every person has music in them; “everyone knows some sort of music.” Before Fehr begins a music therapy program, she assesses a child’s social skills, motor skills, cognitive skills, and communication abilities. She then sets client-specific goals and reassesses every three months.

Read original article: Music Therapy Graduate Brings Her Services to Bismarck


Swimming Center in Texas Provides Water Therapy for People with Autism of All Ages

Jan 5, 2012

The Margaret Clark Aquatic Center in Brownsville Texas has supplied adaptive swimming classes for children with autism for about ten years. Participants range in age from first grade through 21 or 22 years of age, so the instructors are able to watch the kids grow and change. The classes not only teach basic swimming strokes, but include some racing competition, social skills, life skills as children must dress themselves after swimming, and motor skills. One great consequence of the classes has been to see high schoolers join their school swim team.

Read original article: Water Therapy for Children with Autism


Young Man with Autism Makes Walking Sticks to Help Others

Dec 16, 2011

A young adult with autism has found that making walking sticks not only helps those who need the support, but they help him earn a living. Leonard Williams of Wyoming is able to focus and use fine motor skills as he peels the sticks, shapes them, and paints them. Leonard was diagnosed 20 years ago when there were not a lot of early intervention or therapy options. His mom took on the duties of presenting life skills to him. Throughout the years, he’s had various passions, but the walking sticks came about as a 4-H project and his school’s suggestion that he learn a skill to help him in the job place. He currently accepts sticks and branches from neighbors and has started a small business; he sold his walking sticks at craft fairs. His mom thought at first that the business would be mostly online; however, it turns out that there is a community interest in what he does. “It seems everywhere they go, Leonard is waving and greeting people who know him by name.”

Read original article: Walking Sticks Provide Support for Autistic Man


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Please comment on this autism topic.

Re: NEWS - Improv Workshop Helps Kids with Autism with Their Social Skills

Aug 24, 2011 by Anonymous

Thank you so much for mentioning the Shenanigans class that Jstar conducted recently in the Detroit area. To give a little more insight, Jstar owns his own theater and co-produces the Spontaneous Combustion - Motor City improv festival. He was excited to discover an opportunity to also bring Shenanigans to some new faces in Detroit. It sounds like the kiddos had a wonderful time!

My grandson, diagnosed with Asperger's, is the inspiration for Shenanigans, when, several years ago, I struggled to find a way to help his social growth. After much research, I came across improvisational theatre, saw a good fit for the skills I wanted to target, and couldn't find a similar program here in Atlanta or anywhere. So I decided to develop a program and find someone involved in improv theatre who could get excited about my vision and help me move it forward. I found Jstar and brought him on as my charter instructor in 2009, and he has been an enthusiastic champion for Shenanigans ever since. 

Shenanigans is an applied improv theatre program targeting those with special needs, especially Asperger's, high-functioning autism, and related conditions. We use the process of learning improvisational theatre games and exercises to work on social skills by unveiling the mysteries of human interaction. The main tenet of improv, "Say Yes, and..." teaches our students better adapting skills when the unexpected pops up, and flexibility to deal with those changes and move forward. 

With our growing team of instructors, the Shenanigans program has spread throughout the metro Atlanta area. We are now reaching beyond our home city to bring the Shenanigans-style approach to others who are interested. 

I am always eager to talk more about our wonderful program and the benefits our actors receive from their participation.

Sandy Bruce, Founder & Exec Dir, Shenanigans (www.ShenanigansImprov.com - on Facebook: /ShenanigansImprov)


Responding to interactive metronome

Feb 9, 2011 by Anonymous

As a certified Interactive Metronome Provider, I have experienced many positive results working with clients with Autism, ADD, ADHD, TBI, Asperger's Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue and seniors with balance/gait difficulty. There IS significant research on Interactive Metronome if one looks at the proper resources.  Increased focus/attention, better coordination, improved motor planning, improved self-confidence, better eye contact, less impulsiveness, less anxiety, better grades in school are only a few of the gains that clients I have worked with have gained as a result of IM. 


I have worked with close to 80 clients and have only had one client ( a 50 year old male ) with ADD who felt that IM did not help them in some way.


Responding to neurofeedback

Feb 1, 2011 by Anonymous

I used neurofeedback for my daughter for about a year, when she was 14. She was gong though a lot of changes at the time, very anxious. She also has other disabilities a deletion of the short arm of chromosome 4, celebral palsy and has had a stroke she walks with a limp after intensive therapy for many years. We used Conductive Education, a Hungarian technique for children with motor disorders.

The results of NFB were-she was more verbal after NFB and surprisingly her balance, gait and ability to move around improved noticeably. She also had noticeable changes in cognitive behaviour and ability to communicate.

Unfortunately she decided she no longer wanted to stay hooked up to the electrodes and TV and we had to abandon the treatment. We are using acupuncture at present, along with Neurolink, massage and homeopathy. She is now aged 20 years.


Ayurveda for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Jan 4, 2011 by sunethriayurved...

Hi everybody,

I am Dr.Prasad M, MD (Ay.), working with autistic kids from 2002 onwards. I went through the article mentioned. Let me share with you an unbiased information on the scope of Ayurveda, the age-old Indian system of Vedic medicine, in the treatment of ASD. This is based 100% on my personal experiences. Kindly see the following passages. Comments and criticisms are welcomed whole-heatedly. 

Scope of Ayurveda in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Trials with Ayurvedic medicines and treatments for their efficacy in ASD are going on at various centres in India and abroad.   The main advantage of ayurvedic medicine is that it has got a magazine of safe therapeutic preparations of various forms which are developed by continuous trials and rectifications over thousands of years.  There are many preparations like kwatha (decoction), churna (powder), arishta (self-fermented beverage), gudika (pill), ghrtha (medicated ghee), thyla (medicated vegetable fats) etc.  In recent times, many of the herbs used in Ayurveda are proven to have excellent detoxifying effect as well as free radical- scavenging potential.  The therapeutic preparations like kwatha are combinations of many herbs.  These combinations are originally developed on the basis of ayurvedic principles.  Till recent times these formulations were not given due consideration by the western scientists.  But now the picture has changed. More and more ayurvedic preparations are under their evaluation.  In Ayurveda, the compounds as well as single herbs are used for different purposes of health care like pacifying vitiated functional units called doshas, eliminating excessive toxic accumulations, providing targeted nutrients to tissues, tuning the mind-body coordination, sharpening the efficacy of sense-organs, and so on.  These prescriptions are based on personalised evaluation of different aspects like body constitution, doshik status, power of digestion and assimilation, status of bowel evacuation, physical strength, mental constitution, and etc which is done by experienced physicians.  Mind is an important factor in the healing of any ailment.  It is assumed that mind is like ghee which is held inside a pot called body.  If the ghee is hot the pot also gets warmed and if the pot is hot definitely the ghee also will be hot.  You cannot expect warm ghee in a cool pot and wise versa.  Similarly, food is given the supreme role in the healing process as well as in the maintenance of health.  It is a basic concept in Ayurveda that there is no use for any medicine if one stick on to pathya (wholesome) food (as it brings about health spontaneously) and there is no use for any medicine if one stick on to apathya (nasty) food (as there is no scope for functioning of the medicine).   In the context of autism, these assumptions are extremely important and seen exceptionally beneficial. 

The care of autism, as per ayurvedic principles, is based on the protocol of a three-step intervention. 

  1. detoxifying the body by regulating the agni
  2. Cleansing the dhatus (body tissues) by medicines and therapies. 
  3. Enhancing the mental abilities like comprehension, memory etc. by promoting the Agni.

Again, though the stages are generalised the execution will be personalised. 

The first stage is based on medicines almost completely.  Medicinal preparations like purgatives, specific formulations for de-worming, for enhancing the functions of the liver and pancreas, for enhancing the digestive fire (Agni), and for regulating the intestinal motility are used in this stage.  Certain preparations meant for squeezing out heavy metals from the tissues are also used.  Turmeric, garlic, curry leaves, etc are having this advantage. 

Second phase is mainly comprised of massages.  Traditional methods like abhyanga (hot-oil massages), udwarthana (dry powder massages), pindasweda of various types, thalapothichil, pizhichil, etc are used here.  These manoeuvres improve the muscle tone, reduce hyperactivity, create better motor coordination, and normalize most of the obsessive repetitive movements.  Child sleeps well.  The bowels become more regular at this stage.  He/she will be more receptive to commands or suggestions.  The demand for sensory stimulation slows down considerably and the symptoms like increased sensitivity to certain sounds (hyperacusis) slowly disappear.  There will be oral medications parallel to the therapies and a few of these medications will be carried over to the next phase as well.  

Third stage is very specific and sold not be started before the proper completion of the first two.  This is an important point as there is a general tendency to mark the condition as mental retardation and to prescribe brain tonics and memory boosters to all autistic kids indiscriminately.

The major therapies in this stage are shirodhara (pouring of liquids like oils on the head), shirovasthi (holding of medicated oils on the head inside specially designed leather-rims), shiropichu (wetting the scalp with oil bandages), dhoopanam (fumigation with specific medicines) etc along with specific medications like kallyanakam kashayam, indukantham kashayam, gorochanadi gudika,balakanakapathradi kashayam, sidharthakam gudika etc.  Certain specific herbs like sahadevi, sankhapushpi, vacha, vishnukranthietc are also used.  Follow up is done with ghee preparations like mahakallyanaka, mahapaisachika, brahmighrtha, saraswathaghrtha, etc. 

Conclusion

It is seen that the classical ayurvedic treatment done systematically give promising results in kids diagnosed with ASD.  But it should be emphasised that the level of improvements is different from child to child.  Another important point is that these interventions are made in a corrective manner.   The child gets relieved of a lot of physical problems and tantrums.  But this will not make him/her a normal child.  Intensive training and special education are needed to put him on track and to catch up the peers.  This requires the dedicated involvement of parents, special educators, and skilled professional like occupational therapists.


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