Effectiveness of a Multisystem Aquatic Therapy

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firemonkey
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11 Jan 2018, 7:11 am

J Autism Dev Disord. 2018 Jan 8. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3456-y. [Epub ahead of print]
Effectiveness of a Multisystem Aquatic Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Caputo G1, Ippolito G1, Mazzotta M1, Sentenza L1, Muzio MR2, Salzano S3, Conson M4.
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Abstract

Aquatic therapy improves motor skills of persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but its usefulness for treating functional difficulties needs to be verified yet. We tested effectiveness of a multisystem aquatic therapy on behavioural, emotional, social and swimming skills of children with ASD. Multisystem aquatic therapy was divided in three phases (emotional adaptation, swimming adaptation and social integration) implemented in a 10-months-programme. At post-treatment, the aquatic therapy group showed significant improvements relative to controls on functional adaptation (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales), emotional response, adaptation to change and on activity level (Childhood Autism Rating Scale). Swimming skills learning was also demonstrated. Multisystem aquatic therapy is useful for ameliorating functional impairments of children with ASD, going well beyond a swimming training.
KEYWORDS:

Aquatic therapy; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Functional adaptation; Intervention; Social-communicative skills


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/293 ... t=Abstract