Massage efficacy in the treatment of autistic children - a literature review.

Autism is one of the most serious contemporary medical problems. The causes of this disorder remain unknown however there are many hypotheses on the development of this specific symptom constellation. Autistic children have difficulties with contact establishment, they do not like to be touched and do not react to the external stimuli. Studies show that emotional, social, and cognitive development of an autistic child depends to a large extent on his/her early tactile experiences. Therefore it seems that effective treatment methods should be sought in this area. These methods include various tactile therapies, predominantly massages. The purpose of a massage is to induce physiological reactions in the body that have preventive, therapeutic, and relaxing effects. The purpose of this work was to present selected massage forms as supportive rehabilitation methods of autistic children. Massage forms were selected that show high effectiveness in relieving autism symptoms. The results of clinical studies by various authors prove that massages reduce child's anxiety, improve social communication, and favor formation of closeness and bonds with the parents thus bringing the prospects for better development of the child. © The British Society of Developmental Disabilities 2017.