Laser Acupuncture Effects on Speech and Social Interaction in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Objective: Disorders of speech ability and social interaction are the most-common symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Acupuncture, as an adjunctive therapy, is known to help improve speech ability and social interaction in children with this condition. One of the acupuncture modalities with minimal side-effects, and that is safe for children, is laser acupuncture or laserpuncture. This study's aim was to determine laserpuncture's effects on speech ability and social interactions in patients with ASD. Materials and Methods: This randomized, double-blinded clinical trial involved 46 patients in 2 groups. All respondents qualified, and none dropped out. The treatment group (n = 23) received sensory-occupational integrative therapy and verum laserpuncture therapy and the control group (n = 23) received sensoryoccupational integrative therapy and placebo laserpuncture. The groups' speech ability and social interaction were evaluated with a WeeFIM Ò questionnaire; parental reports were collected, using sensory profiles before and after treatment. Results: There were improvements in speech ability and social interaction in the verum laserpuncture group more than in the placebo group after treatment. Perception score was P < 0.

The Dosage Effect of Laser Acupuncture at PC6 (Neiguan) on Heart Rate Variability: A Pilot Study

“…Acupuncture practitioners have combined the characteristics of LA with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory and acupuncture intervention principles in treating diseases for several years with good responses. There have been more publications on the application and efficacy of LA, including for the problems in which traditional acupuncture is difficult or only limited in intervention, which improves the functional outcomes after total knee replacement [3], carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) symptoms [4], long-term unrecovered facial palsy [5], pain reducing and increasing motion in temporomandibular disorders patients [6], spasticity relieve of cerebral paralysis children [7], and speech and social interaction performance in autism children [8]. In other words, the physiological mechanisms of LA and LLLT are likely to be the same or similar to some extent.…”

Dietary nutrients that potentially mitigate autism spectrum disorder and dietary recommendations for children and pregnant women

“…tVNS has also been shown to enhance subjects’ emotional recognition of faces, confirming a causal relationship between vagus nerve activity and the ability to infer others’ emotional states (Sellaro et al., 2018). As adjunct therapies, acupuncture and moxibustion have been clinically used to improve the language and social ability of children with ASD (Surapaty et al., 2020). These techniques have few side effects and can be combined with Chinese herbal medicine for synergistic treatment (Lee et al., 2019).…”

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“…The setting of the control group can help researchers judge whether the intervention method applied in the experimental group are superior or non-inferior to the current treatment method in clinic, and assess whether the improvement of patients is attributable to the trial intervention or just a natural progression of the disease over time ( 51 ). In all the collected clinical study reports, four studies set up a control group ( 38 , 41 , 44 , 45 ). However, it is worth noting that in the study by Surapaty et al ( 38 ), the patients in the experimental group received sensory-occupational integrated therapy at the same time as the control group before receiving LA.…”