Louisa Silva - Qigong Massage for Your Child with Autism: A Home Program from Chinese Medicine

Qigong
Massage

for Your Child with Autism

A Home Program from Chinese Medicine

Louisa Silva

Foreword by Dr. Anita Cignolini

London and Philadelphia

C ONTENTS

A N OTE ON V OCABULARY

We live in a world rich in definitions of family. In writing this book, we refer to the primary caregiver as parent and the second adult most connected to the child as parent or sometimes partner. We see in these words the connection that is unique to children and the particular adult(s) who, in the parental role, shelter, love, nourish, and teach them. A parent who is the only adult in the household should not despair. A second adult is helpful, but not required. Forge ahead anyway.

F OREWORD

I had the pleasure to teach Dr. Silva and work with her on the first research studies applying scientific standards to test the effectiveness of my qigong massage treatment for young children with autism. My work in the field of Chinese Classical Medicine began in the early seventies and included many periods of intense study and research in academies and universities in China. Over the years I developed a rich knowledge of the theory and its fascinating clinical applications little known in the West. During my practice in both Europe and the United States I had the opportunity to apply my knowledge to the treatment of children, and was the first doctor to do it outside of China. My work in these years led to an ever greater appreciation for the need to discover how to apply these methods to the growing population of children suffering from disturbances with Autism Spectrum Disorders. I worked to develop the theory and intervention protocol that is now known as the Cignolini Method. This was the methodology for which Dr. Silva and I first published research showing effectiveness for young children with autism. In her work to bring qigong massage to early intervention therapists, and directly to parents, Dr. Silva has since adapted and expanded my original methodology. I am pleased to accept her gratitude to me for being her professor of Chinese medicine, and endorse her work in bringing this precious knowledge to the many families that it can benefit.

Dr. Anita Cignolini, MD

Palermo

March 2011

P REFACE

Welcome!

In picking up this book, you have taken the first step in embarking on a magnificent journey, one that can have a significant positive impact on your childs struggle with autism and on your family. For centuries, Chinese medicine has treated childrens illnesses with massage and diet. On the pages that follow, you will learn a simple 15-minute massage program to help your childs nervous system open up and thus help him become more aware of the world around him. Given every day for five months, it will reduce the symptoms of autism and improve sleep and digestion. The research shows that when combined with some simple dietary recommendations and common-sense protection from toxins, this program can strengthen the body, mind, and emotions of your child, and set him or her on a more normal developmental path.

Chinese medicine offers many different home massage programs for different childrens illnesses and disabilities. This book describes a program that has been shown in rigorous scientific research to significantly diminish the effects of autism in children age six and under. It is important to say that it is not appropriate for children with other serious medical conditions, such as uncontrolled seizures or severe emotional disturbances, nor has it been proven to be the optimum massage treatment for older children with autism. But as for the children under six with autism or sensory problems, parents who give their children this simple, daily, 15-minute massage reported that within a few months mood and behavior was better, social and language skills increased, and the stress of caring for their child with autism was significantly diminished.

Our earliest research used trained practitioners who worked intimately with the families who participated in the studies. This work occurred over a prolonged training and included 20 subsequent visits where the practitioner administered the massage, in addition to the daily massage done by the parents at home. We were delighted with the results. The children in the study showed significant improvement. We then launched studies in which the parents had training and coaching from a trainer, but did the massage themselves. Again, we had exciting positive results. Over the years, we have perfected the specifics and continually moved toward creating a program that enables parentsonce they understand the massage and make the commitment to follow throughto achieve, on their own, the same positive results the families in our first studies enjoyed.

Learning something new has a natural learning curve. We had to put a lot of information in this book to make it a complete resource, so you might feel a little overwhelmed by the time you close the book the first time. Hang in there; it gets easier. The program is actually surprisingly simple. For most people who pick up this book, the concepts behind qigong massage are entirely foreign. It might take a while to get there, but, if you stick with it, it will become second nature.

We are so excited to be able to make this program available to everyone. Before this handbook, we were only able to help families in our geographic area. Now, we can offer it to you wherever you are. We wish you the best success. If you have problems or questions, there is contact information in the Additional Resources on page 137. Write us, or email us or check our website. We want to help you and your child unlock his or her potential and join in all the world has to offer.

Note

All of the studies discussed in this book were done on children up to the age of six. While we have anecdotal evidence to show that the massage works for older children, we have no empirical evidence to support any claims in that regard. In general, our expectations of the over-six group would be that the massage would be most successful with smaller, younger children.

The online materials can be found at www.jkp.com/vouchers using the code QIGONGMASSAGE.

I NTRODUCTION

Making the Most of This Book

The treatment described in this book has had proven results in children with autism under six years of age. This success came from parents who were able to learn the massage, get it into their childs routine, and give it every day for five months. As the weeks passed, the children improved. Children started to ask for their massage and parents came to enjoy it as a close time with their child.

Still more can be gained, however, by parents who work with their childs responses during the massage. The more the parent adjusts the massage to their childs body language during the massage, the better the results. In our studies, we had trainers involved to ensure that the parents had every chance to most fully understand how to attune the massage to their childs changing responses. These were hands-on professionals who checked in with the parents regularly to coach them and to improve their techniques.