[Clinical observation of's three-needle therapy combined with game therapy in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder].

Researchers studied whether adding acupuncture to play-based therapy could help children with autism. They compared 60 children - half received acupuncture plus games, half received only games. Both groups improved, but children who had acupuncture showed bigger improvements in movement skills, daily living abilities, language, and social skills. The study lasted 6 months with daily treatments.

This randomized controlled trial investigated the effectiveness of combining traditional Chinese acupuncture (Jiao's three-needle therapy) with game therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder. Sixty children were randomly assigned to receive either the combined intervention or game therapy alone over 6 months. The acupuncture protocol used specific scalp and body acupoints, with needles retained for 1 hour during scalp treatment. Game therapy included social interaction, music, dance, and language stimulation activities.

Results showed that while both groups improved on autism rating scales and developmental measures, the combined treatment group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in motor skills, adaptive abilities, language development, and social behaviors compared to game therapy alone.

Results suggest acupuncture may provide additional benefits when combined with behavioral interventions for autism. However, more research is needed to confirm effectiveness and establish optimal protocols before clinical implementation.

Single study with relatively small sample size (30 per group). No blinding mentioned, which could introduce bias. Limited follow-up period. Study conducted in specific cultural context which may affect generalizability to other populations.

To observe the clinical effect of's three-needle therapy combined with game therapy on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Sixty children with ASD were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, with 30 cases in each. The children in the observation group received's three-needle therapy combined with game therapy. The acupoints used in's three-needle therapy included Zhisanzhen, Niesanzhen, Sishenzhen and Naosanzhen, and matches acupoints with syndromes.

The acupoints included Shenting (GV24), Naohu (GV17) and bilateral Benshen (GB13), Naokong (GB19), Xinshu (BL15), Zusanli (ST36), etc. The needles were retained for 1 h for scalp acupuncture and not retained for body acupuncture. Game therapy included social interaction, music and dance, language stimulation, etc. The children in the control group were treated with the same game therapy in the observation group.

Treatments were administered once daily, five times a week, with a three-month course considered as one treatment cycle, and a total of two cycles were provided. The scores of childhood autism rating scale (CARS), autism behavior scale (ABC) and 0-6-year-old Children's neuropsychological development assessment scale (children's psychological scale) were compared between the two groups before treatment and after 3 and 6 months of treatment. After 3 and 6 months of treatment, the CARS and ABC scores of both groups were lower than those before treatment (<0.01). After 6 months of treatment, the CARS and ABC scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group (<0.05).

After 3 and 6 months of treatment, the scores of gross motor, fine motor, adaptive ability, language, and social behaviors in both groups were higher than those before treatment (<0.01). After 3 months of treatment, the observation group showed a greater improvement in gross motor, fine motor, adaptive ability, and social behaviors compared to the control group (<0.05). After 6 months of treatment, the observation group showed a greater improvement in gross motor, fine motor, adaptive ability, language, and social behaviors compared to the control group (<0.01,<0.05). 's three-needle therapy combined with game therapy is an effective method for the treatment of ASD, which shows more obvious advantages than simple game therapy in promoting the improvement of children's ability and reducing related behavior.