Effect of Feet Reflexology on Autism Symptoms and Constipation in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

A A Ghoneim ,Shimaa A Badawy ,Seham Farouk Ismael Mahedy

doi:10.7176/jhmn/60-09

Abstract

The autistic Spectrum Disorder represents specific distinguishable symptoms that have frequent concurrent conditions and constipation is the most frequent. It requires an effective non-disturbing management. Reflexology is a widely used technique and documented as a useful nursing intervention. This study aimed to determine the effect of feet reflexology on autism symptoms and constipation in children with ASD. Subject and Methods : a quasi-experimental design was utilized and it conducted at the psychiatric outpatient clinic, Menoufia University hospital. A purposive sample of 30 children was recruited. Two instruments were utilized: Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) and Constipation Assessment Questionnaire (CAQ). Results : children had lower mean scores and severity of autism symptoms on post-intervention compared to pre-intervention speech/communication, sociability, sensory/cognitive, health/physical/behavior subdomains and the total ATEC score. The mean total score of constipation symptoms was lower on post-intervention compared to pre-intervention (35.93±16.04, 40.23±17.51 respectively) and there was a significant correlation (R=0.858) at the 0.01 level of significance between constipation and the severity of autism symptoms on post-intervention. Conclusion : the study concluded that autistic children exposed to feet reflexology experienced lower mean scores of autism symptoms and less severity of constipation compared to pre reflexology massage. There was a significant correlation between constipation and the severity of autism symptoms on post-intervention. Recommendation: Feet reflexology should be integrated as a part of routine daily care for autistic children and courses that enable nurses to obtain a certification in reflexology are needed. Keywords: Autism Symptoms, Constipation, Reflexology DOI : 10.7176/JHMN/60-09 Publication date :March 31 st 2019

Highlights

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong disability affects the overall health of children that impose a burden on the family and health care system (Fletcher, et al, 2012)
The current study revealed that there is a significant correlation between the severity of constipation and autism symptoms
The study concluded that autistic children exposed to feet reflexology experienced lower mean scores of autism symptoms and less severity of constipation compared to pre reflexology massage

Summary

Introduction

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong disability affects the overall health of children that impose a burden on the family and health care system (Fletcher, et al, 2012). ASD is the second most common developmental disability among children and there is a growing rate of newly diagnosed children with autism ranges from 10-17% each year (Iannuzzi, et al, 2018). It affects 1 in 59 American children and four folds more prevalent among boys than girls (Baio et al, 2018). The dominant feature of ASD is the social communication dysfunctions (Park et al, 2016) which include impairment of the verbal and nonverbal communication. Another hallmark characteristic of ASD is a repetitive stereotyped behavior (Kotagal, Broomall, 2012)

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