Physiological and Psychological Effects of Parent-Delivered Traditional Thai Massage in Children With Autism: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Although many autistic children receive massage as a complementary therapy, it is not included in evidence-based practice for autism because evidence of its efficacy is lacking. Further, prior studies have failed to identify objective indicators of core symptoms or elucidate their mechanisms.

OBJECTIVE:

We developed a parent-delivered traditional Thai massage (TTM) intervention for children with autism, aiming to experimentally determine whether children with autism truly experience positive effects from parent-delivered TTM and determine possible mechanisms of the observed effects.

METHODS:

A 2-armed, parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted between February 2022 and June 2022. Forty-eight children with autism (aged 7-12 years) were recruited from the Hainan Special Education School and randomly assigned to either a parental TTM or control group at a ratio of 1:1 based on random numbers generated with Online Research Randomizer. The generated sequences were concealed in an opaque envelope. Individuals in the parental TTM group received 16 parent-delivered TTM sessions over 8 weeks at the school's health room after school, and the control group maintained a normal daily routine. Outcomes were assessed on admission, after 8 weeks, and at a 2-month follow-up and included the effect of massage treatment on autism symptoms, measured with the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist score (evaluated by parents and a blinded teacher), physiological parameters (ie, heart rate variability and gait), and the Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition-Short Form.

RESULTS:

We finished all data collection on June 20, 2022. Data analysis will be started, and we expect to publish results in 2023.

CONCLUSIONS:

This study will provide further evidence for massage treatment of autism and provide support for family-based care.

TRIAL REGISTRATION:

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100051355; https://tinyurl.com/3dwjxsw5.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID):

DERR1-10.2196/41839.

• Authors: Hui Ruan, Wichai Eungpinichpong, Hua Wu, Chanada Aonsri
• Journal: JMIR research protocols (JMIR Res Protoc) Vol. 12 Pg. e41839 (Feb 08 2023) ISSN: 1929-0748 [Print] Canada
• PMID: 36753320 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: ©Hui Ruan, Wichai Eungpinichpong, Hua Wu, Chanada Aonsri. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 08.02.2023.