Ethics Newsletter Autism.

Jen Sa rah Vanessa
NUTURING TOUCH YIELDS LIFE-LONG BENEFITS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO

HAVE AUTISM.
Benefits of Massage Therapy

Autistic
Massage
It is surprising to most when life and well being. As well as
they find out that massage ther- being able to experience new
apy helps autistic individuals be- adventures in their life which
cause one the main traits of au- they wouldn’t have been able to
tism is being opposed to physical do otherwise. The therapist’s
contact. Research has shown positive touch allows the individ-
that after an autistic individual ual to communicate without hav-
has a massage therapy treat- ing to use words, and the thera-
ment, they come out being more pist in turn can also interact with
social and attentive. The nurtur- the individual without confusion
ing and safe touch is very benefi- or misunderstanding, which hap-
cial for the person, although pens so often in the life of an
there is no cure for autism this autistic person. Overall Massage
helps them experience and enjoy therapy is very beneficial for the
physical contact in a safe and psychological impairments a per-
calming way. They are able to son with autism faces every day.
enjoy the and embrace the nur- Not only will it increase their at-
turing touch as opposed to shy- tention span, but it also gives
ing, or running away when them a way to communicate with
touched. Massage therapy im- other in a way that doesn’t in-
proves the social and emotional volve speech or words.
skills of the individual, which has
a direct impact on their quality of
1
What is Autism?
Autistic individuals generally hormone that allows for us to have
share the same facial characteristics and to be aware of emotional con-
as well as most of the same behav- nections. After having a massage
ioural patterns. Autism is a neuro- and experiencing nurturing touch,
logical disorder that takes its influ- Oxytocin gets released into the
ence on the regular performance of body creating the warm and relax-
the brain. Autism is often defined ing feelings, depleting the stress.
as an intricate developmental dis- This allows for the individual to ex-
ability that would normally appear perience human relations that they
within the first three years of life. would otherwise steer away from.
There is generally a shortage of the They have yet to find a cure for au-
hormone Oxytocin, which is the tism; it is a life long disorder.
2
Traits of Autism
There are quite a few common traits of autism. They are as
follows:
“1.Impaired ability to engage in social interaction
2. Impaired communication skills
3. Specific behavioural patterns” (DeBoer, 2006)
These can be further subdivided into more specific categories.
They are as follows:
“1. Lack of significant peer to peer relations
2. Repetitive and self stimulating behaviour.
3. Lack of consistent eye contact (can look at objects for long
periods of time, but not people)
4. Low attention span for human interactions
5. Developmental delays (language challenges, self help skills,
academic issues, injurious behaviours)
6. Language delays (can be completely non verbal, can have a
large vocabulary, have conversations, and use speech as
main communication)
7. Self help skills (some can dress themselves and some can-
not, some can use the toilet and some cannot, some will eat
everything and some refuse and only eat certain items such
as cookies)
8. Academics (some individuals have strong academics but
have no interest in using them and others just aren’t inter-
ested at all)
9. Injurious behaviours (they may hit, kick, or bite them-
selves or others. This may occur when they are not getting
what they want or for no reason at all).”(Westphal, K. 2008)
3
Real Improvements
After living his whole life At first the touch lasted a mere 3-
under the safety and comfort of 5 seconds, but as time pasted he
his parents a 21 year-old male would allow 30-45 seconds with
with autism moved into a group the distraction of his music being
home to start out living life inde- played. Near the end of a six
pendent from his family. His par- month period of time, the client
ents informed the staff that even accepted 2 weekly constant deep-
simple medication procedures at pressure massages on his back as
the hospitals were too much for well as his forearms for on aver-
him, in the same way hugs were age of 32-35 minutes. Along with “..and I would whisper my
not something he was comfort- this, the client’s verbal skills be- question, „What time is it?‟
with the answer. „Time for
able with. A simple pat on the gan to improve because he was
massage. Get lotion.‟” (Regins
back would result in him pushing learning the names of parts of the -Whitely, 2005)
their hands away and running body. The therapist began to es-
away to be by himself. tablish a rapport with the client,
as well as successfully building a
The Therapist approached
trust with the client in the form of
the initial treatment with this cli-
a friendship that six month earlier
ent by simply playing his favourite
could not have been done.
music while touching his shoulder.
4
Real-Life Success
Jonathan Clark (RMT) teaches anxiety and rage were noted
children with developmental and throughout the school day.”
communication disorders. He was
After nine days of administering
having hard time with the children
an hour-long massage to this par-
in his class, particularly the ones
ticular boy, that consisted of
with autism. Thinking that getting
mostly head and facial treat-
a massage enables him to relax
ments, the boy was extremely re-
and focus, he thought it would do
ceptive, and his behavior was
the same for these students. So
drastically altered.
with the consent of bother the
parents and the school officials he “his attention span was in-
began a pilot study which in- creased from two minutes to 10
volved massaging the children minutes,” said Clark. “He would
with in his class that had autistic attend to tasks longer and was
characteristics. One of which was more receptive to interaction and
an 11 year-old male. redirection in the classroom.”
“His attention span was This is just one of the posi-

very short and he would only at- tive outcomes in Clark’s classroom
tend to tasks for one to two min- pilot.
utes at a time. This coupled with
other issues, led to severe behav-
iour problems. Uncontrolled fits of
5
Special Techniques
Deep Kneading and Petrissage
A technique that is used to get the autistic client to

participate and calm down is called whispering. This “The deeper the work is the more accepted by
is when the therapist or parent lowers their voice so individuals with autism” (Regina-Whiteley, 2005)
that the autistic client has to calm down and be-
come quiet so that they can listen to what you are
saying. The client may even move closer to hear
what you are saying.
It is generally a more effective treatment for these

clients if the therapist starts with deeper tech-
niques. It is very difficult and unlikely that an indi-
vidual with autism will sit still and participate effec-
tively in a one hour body massage, so in this case
the therapist will do as much work as the client will
allow. It is most effective and beneficial to recog-
nize the client’s participation in the session with ver-
bal praise.
6
Conclusion
It is obvious that people with autism have a lot of gain by having
Massage Therapy not only improvements in their overall health but also in
their psychological development, which is the main factor that stops them
having normal relationships, with touch and interaction with others, includ-
ing their family members and loved one. You can not put a price on a hug
from an autistic child to a mother, it is priceless. Massage Therapy may just
be the key that unlocks the door of that barrier that is within every individual
with autism, which is opposed to touch or physical signs of affection. There
may not be a cure for autism but that shouldn’t impede on someone’s ability
to show love through nurturing touch.
7
References
DeBoer, L. (2006 February). Symptoms of Autism. Retrieved on February
17, 2009, from www.autism.ca/whataut.htm).
Kidz Liddle Allen, Tina (August 15,2007). Autistic Children and Oxytocin.
Retrieved February 20th, 2009, from http://www.articlealley.com/
article_202293_23.html
Regina-Whiteley, Michael (2005 February). Autsim and Treatment with
Therapeutic Massage. Retrieved February 24, 2009, from http://
www.massagetoday.com/mpacms/mt/article.php?id=13157
Spencer, Tamera (2009). Benefits of Massage Therapy For Autistic Chil

dren. Retrieved February 23,2009, from http://ezinearticles.com/?
Massage-Therapy-For-Autistic-Children&id=1880072
Vanderbilt, Shirley. (2003). Calming the Inner Storm: Easing Autsitic Behav
ious with Massage Therapy. Retrieved February 24, 2009, from
http://www.massagetherapy.com/articles/index.php/article_id/47
Westphal, K. (2008). What is Autism?. Retrieved on February 24, 2009,

from http://www.kylestreehouse.org/understanding/symptoms-of-
autism.aspx

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Jen Sa rah Vanessa

NUTURING TOUCH YIELDS LIFE-LONG BENEFITS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO

Benefits of Massage Therapy

“His attention span was This is just one of the posi-

Deep Kneading and Petrissage

A technique that is used to get the autistic client to

It is generally a more effective treatment for these

Spencer, Tamera (2009). Benefits of Massage Therapy For Autistic Chil

Westphal, K. (2008). What is Autism?. Retrieved on February 24, 2009,

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