bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Elizabeth Cheung

Scalp acupuncture is an effective way of helping autistic children improve their speech and cope with their peers, a Hong Kong university has found.
The study, at Baptist University in Kowloon Tong, tested a total of 68 autistic children aged between two and 10. They each received needle treatment, which proved effective in alleviating problems of impaired social interaction and delayed verbal communication.
The children were also less likely to have behavioural problems and be abnormally sensitive to noise, as well as being less picky towards food.
“Autism is related to a disorder with brain function … scalp acupuncture could strengthen the links between nerve cells and improve their functions,” said Ann Yau Chuen-heung, a lecturer from the university’s school of Chinese medicine, which was responsible for the study.
Yau stressed the treatment could not completely cure autism, but could make the symptoms less severe.

Between May 2010 and June 2013, each child received the treatment twice a week for 15 weeks. It was found to be effective on 66 of the patients – a rate at 97 per cent. Patients with effective outcomes were found to show marked reduction in scores measuring different symptoms on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale – a tool used to help diagnose autism.
Those whose autistic symptoms developed within two years of birth had a 37.9 per cent drop in the score measuring social interaction problems. The score for speech delay also decreased by 34.8 per cent.
Yau said those below three years old could benefit more from the treatment, as the brain develops at its fastest speed at that age.
Pong Cheuk-wai, an autistic boy aged 5½, started to receive scalp acupuncture two years ago. His mother, Cherry Low, said her son, who also received speech and occupational therapies, had spoken more since the treatment.
“My son was not keen on playing with toys or talking in the past … but now he knows how to answer short questions,” Low said, adding that her son was transferred from a special school to a mainstream school last month.


Go Joon-hee ‘broke down sobbing’ during egg freezing procedure, actress reveals on YouTube

Effects of smoking, heavy drinking, not exercising enough felt by age 36, research shows

China’s Akeso, hailed as biotech’s ‘DeepSeek moment’, falls despite nod for cancer drug

Bangkok’s integrative wellness retreat RAKxa: located in the Thai city’s ‘green lung’, the property’s holistic, customisable wellness programmes include everything from spa rituals to diagnostics

Wellness

Scalp acupuncture helps autistic children with speech and social interaction, Hong Kong university study finds

The children who received the treatment were also less likely to have behavioural problems and be abnormally sensitive to noise, as well as being less picky towards food. Photo: Felix Wong

Ann Yau Chuen-heung (Left), lecturer of School of Chinese Medicine’s Division of Continuing and Professional Education Pong Cheuk-wai, a 5 ? -year-old autistic child who has received acupuncture treatment, Cherry Low (Right), Pong’s mother.

News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

Lifestyle

Health

Treatment in Baptist University study achieved overall efficacy rate of 97 per cent
