Clinical observation on acupuncture at thirteen ghost acupoints for children with autism spectrum disorder

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of needling thirteen ghost acupoints for children with autism spectrum disorder. Methods A total of 90 cases with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged between 2 and 6 years were randomly allocated into 2 groups by random number table. The control group ( n =45) received routine rehabilitative training, and the treatment group ( n =45) received acupuncture at thirteen ghost acupoints plus routine rehabilitative training. The Beijing Gesell developmental (Gesell) scale and autism behavior checklist (ABC) were used to assess the intellectual, language and behavior development before and 3 months after the treatment. Results After the treatment, the total effective rate in the treatment group was 82.2%, versus 55.6% in the control group, showing a statistical significance ( P <0.05). As for the scores of social, emotional and language in Gesell scale, there were significant intra-group differences in the treatment group (all P <0.05), and all the five subscales in the Gesell scale in the treatment group were significantly better than those in the control group (all P <0.05). As for the scores of ABC, there were significant intra-group differences in the treatment group ( P <0.05), and the scores in the treatment group were significantly better than those in the control group (all P <0.05). Conclusion Rehabilitation training plus acupuncture at thirteen ghost acupoints can significantly improve the intellectual, language and abnormal behavior in autism spectrum disorder children.