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      Evaluating Effects of Aromatherapy Massage on Sleep in Children with Autism: A Pilot Study

      research-article
      Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
      Oxford University Press
      Aromatherapy, massage, autism, sleep, children

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          Abstract

          Previous studies have found beneficial effects of aromatherapy massage for agitation in people with dementia, for pain relief and for poor sleep. Children with autism often have sleep difficulties, and it was thought that aromatherapy massage might enable more rapid sleep onset, less sleep disruption and longer sleep duration. Twelve children with autism and learning difficulties (2 girls and 10 boys aged between 12 years 2 months to 15 years 7 months) in a residential school participated in a within subjects repeated measures design: 3 nights when the children were given aromatherapy massage with lavender oil were compared with 14 nights when it was not given. The children were checked every 30 min throughout the night to determine the time taken for the children to settle to sleep, the number of awakenings and the sleep duration. One boy's data were not analyzed owing to lengthy absence. Repeated measures analysis revealed no differences in any of the sleep measures between the nights when the children were given aromatherapy massage and nights when the children were not given aromatherapy massage. The results suggest that the use of aromatherapy massage with lavender oil has no beneficial effect on the sleep patterns of children with autism attending a residential school. It is possible that there are greater effects in the home environment or with longer-term interventions.

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          Most cited references15

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          Sleep patterns and sleep disorders in children with autistic spectrum disorders: insights using parent report and actigraphy.

          The present study sought to describe the profile of sleep disturbance reported in children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) and to document any sleep disorders underlying reports of sleeplessness. Sixty-nine children aged 5 to 16 years (mean 9 years 4 months, SD 2 years 7 months; 14 females) with an ASD were assessed by detailed sleep histories taken from parents, the Simonds and Parraga Sleep Questionnaire, a 2-week sleep diary, and actigraphs worn by the child for five nights. Parent-reported sleeplessness featured prominently (64%). Sleep disorders underlying the sleeplessness were most commonly behavioural (i.e. to do with inappropriate sleep-related behaviours), although sleep-wake cycle disorders and anxiety-related problems were also seen. In addition, the sleeplessness patterns of a large minority of children could not be classified by conventional diagnostic criteria. Sleep patterns measured objectively did not differ between those children with or without reported sleeplessness, but the sleep quality of all children seemed to be compromised compared with normal values.
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            An investigation into sleep characteristics of children with autism and Asperger's Disorder.

            The aim of the study was to investigate the specificity of sleep problems in children with autism and further explore the currently unclear association between sleep problems and daytime behaviour. The Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) group consisted of 31 children with autism and 7 children with Asperger's Disorder ranging in age from 44 to 152 months. The control group consisted of 36 children ranging in age from 63 to 171 months. The children were matched on age and gender, and group-matched on IQ level. A sleep diary was completed by parents over a 2-week period, in addition to several behaviour questionnaires. Results showed that children in the PDD group exhibited qualitatively and quantitatively different sleep patterns to nonautistic control children. The findings were discussed in light of current literature concerning circadian rhythm dysfunction, social difficulties, and abnormal melatonin levels in children with autism.
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              The role of complementary and alternative medicine.

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Evid Based Complement Alternat Med
                Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
                Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
                Oxford University Press
                1741-427X
                1741-4288
                September 2006
                19 April 2006
                : 3
                : 3
                : 373-377
                Affiliations
                School of Psychology, University of Reading and Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust UK
                Author notes
                For reprints and all correspondence: Dr Tim Williams, Department of Psychology, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust, 3/5 Craven Road, Reading, RG1 5LF. Tel: +44-118-931-5800; Fax: +44-118-975-0297; E-mail: sxswiams@ 123456rdg.ac.uk
                Article
                10.1093/ecam/nel017
                1513142
                16951722
                f72b3957-cc61-4018-a76c-9120d3f7941f
                © 2006 The Author(s)

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commerical use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 19 February 2006
                : 16 March 2006
                Categories
                Original Articles

                Complementary & Alternative medicine
                massage,children,sleep,aromatherapy,autism
                Complementary & Alternative medicine
                massage, children, sleep, aromatherapy, autism

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