Physiological and Psychological Effects of Parent-Delivered Traditional Thai Massage in Children With Autism: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background Although many autistic children receive massage as a complementary therapy, it is not included in evidence-based practice for autism because evidence of its efficacy is lacking. Further, prior studies have failed to identify objective indicators of core symptoms or elucidate their mechanisms. Objective We developed a parent-delivered traditional Thai massage (TTM) intervention for children with autism, aiming to experimentally determine whether children with autism truly experience positive effects from parent-delivered TTM and determine possible mechanisms of the observed effects. Methods A 2-armed, parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted between February 2022 and June 2022. Forty-eight children with autism (aged 7-12 years) were recruited from the Hainan Special Education School and randomly assigned to either a parental TTM or control group at a ratio of 1:1 based on random numbers generated with Online Research Randomizer. The generated sequences were concealed in an opaque envelope. Individuals in the parental TTM group received 16 parent-delivered TTM sessions over 8 weeks at the school’s health room after school, and the control group maintained a normal daily routine. Outcomes were assessed on admission, after 8 weeks, and at a 2-month follow-up and included the effect of massage treatment on autism symptoms, measured with the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist score (evaluated by parents and a blinded teacher), physiological parameters (ie, heart rate variability and gait), and the Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition–Short Form. Results We finished all data collection on June 20, 2022. Data analysis will be started, and we expect to publish results in 2023. Conclusions This study will provide further evidence for massage treatment of autism and provide support for family-based care. Trial Registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100051355; https://tinyurl.com/3dwjxsw5 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/41839