Massage - School Kids - Attentive Touch

For Schools

When it comes to incorporating massage into the classroom, especially classrooms educating those with special needs, research stating the effectiveness of massage and nurturing touch is debatable. This is primarily due to the length of studies performed and the amount of children studied. However, most studies have yielded positive results and subjects have shown great improvement in behavior and attention.

**We do not recommend massage as an alternative to current therapy, but as an adjunct form of therapy.

Programs

Schedule an appointment and let us explain in detail how massage therapy can be implemented in your school or learning center. All programs designed for your specific setting. Programs include:

In-School Massage
After-School Massage
Working with ABA and Parents/Teachers to Measure Effectiveness

Below are just a few case studies that have measured the effectiveness of massage therapy for children and adolescents with short special needs:

Aggressive Adolescents Benefit from Massage Therapy

Abstract: METHODS: Seventeen aggressive adolescents were randomly assigned to a massage therapy group or a relaxation therapy group to receive 20-minute therapy sessions, twice a week for five weeks. RESULTS: The massaged adolescents had lower anxiety after the first and last sessions. By the end of the study, they also reported feeling less hostile and they were perceived by their parents as being less aggressive. Significant differences were not found for the adolescents who were assigned to the relaxation group. Reference: (Diego, M.A., Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Shaw, J.A., Rothe, E.M., Castellanos, D. & Mesner, L. (2002). Aggressive adolescents benefit from massage therapy. Adolescence, 37, 597-607)

Massage Reduces Anxiety in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Patients

METHODS: A 30-minute back massage was given daily for a 5-day period to 52 hospitalized depressed and adjustment disorder children and adolescents. RESULTS: Compared with a control group who viewed relaxing videotapes, the massage subjects were less depressed and anxious and had lower saliva cortisol levels after the massage. In addition, nurses rated the subjects as being less anxious and more cooperative on the last day of the study, and nighttime sleep increased over this period. Finally, urinary cortisol and norepinephrine levels decreased, but only for the depressed subjects.Reference: (Field, T., Morrow, C., Valdeon, C., Larson, S., Kuhn, C. & Schanberg, S. (1992). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 125-131.)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

METHODS: Twenty-eight adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were provided either massage therapy or relaxation therapy for 10 consecutive school days. RESULTS: The massage therapy group, but not the relaxation therapy group, rated themselves as happier and observers rated them as fidgeting less following the sessions. After the 2-week period, their teachers reported more time on task and assigned them lower hyperactivity scores based on classroom behavior.Reference: (Field, T., Quintino, O., Hernandez-Reif, M. & Koslovsky, G. (1998). Adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder benefit from massage therapy. Adolescence, 33, 103-108.)

Massage Therapy Improves Mood and Behavior of Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

METHODS: The present study involved 30 children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 18 (M = 13) diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The children were randomly assigned to a wait-list control and a massage group. The latter group received massage therapy for 20 minutes twice per week over the course of one month. RESULTS: Mood state improved for the massage but not the control group based on smiley face and thermometer scales. The massage group also improved in classroom behavior in the areas of the Conners Teacher Rating Scales on anxiety, daydreaming and hyperactivity. The wait-list control group did not show these gains. In sum, the results revealed that massage therapy benefited children and adolescents with ADHD by improving short-term mood state and longer-term classroom behavior.Reference: (Khilnani, S., Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., & Schanberg, S. (2003). Massage therapy improves mood and behavior of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Adolescence, 38, 623-638.)

Improvements in the Behavior of Children with Autism

METHODS: Twenty children with autism ranging in age from 3 to 6 years were randomly assigned to massage therapy and reading attention control groups. Parents in the massage therapy group were trained by a massage therapist to massage their children for 15 minutes prior to bedtime every night for one month while the parents of the attention control group read Dr. Seuss stories to their children on the same time schedule. Conners Teacher and Parent scales, classroom and playground observations and sleep diaries were used to assess the effects of therapy on various behaviors including hyperactivity, stereotypical and off-task behavior, as well as sleep problems. RESULTS: Results suggested that the children in the massage group exhibited less stereotypic behavior and showed more on-task and social relatedness behavior during play observations at school, and they experienced fewer sleep problems at home.Reference: (Escalona, A., Field, T., Singer-Strunk, R., Cullen, C., & Hartshorn, K. (2001). Improvements in the behavior of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 513-516.)

Behavior Problem Preschool Children Benefit from Massage Therapy. Early Child Development and Care

METHODS: Twenty preschool children with behavior problems were randomly assigned to a massage group or a story reading attention control group. The sessions occurred for 15-minutes twice a week for a month. Pre and post session ratings were made on the first and last days of the study by teachers who were blind to the child’s group assignment. RESULTS: These revealed that the children in the massage therapy group: 1) were more drowsy, less active, less talkative and had lower anxiety levels after the sessions; and 2) were less anxious and more cooperative by the end of the study.Reference: (Escalona, A., Field, T., Cullen, C., Hartshorn, K., & Cruz, C. (2001). Behavior problem preschool children benefit from massage therapy. Early Child Development and Care, 161, 1-5.)

Preschoolers’ Cognitive Performance Improves Following Massage

METHODS: Preschoolers (M age = 4 years, 4 months) were given WPPSI subtests, including Block Design, Animal Pegs and Mazes, before and after receiving a 15-minute massage or spending 15-minutes reading stories with an experimenter. RESULTS: Performance on the Block Design improved following massage and accuracy was greater on the Animal Pegs in the massage group.Reference: (Hart, S., Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., & Lundy, B. (1998). Preschoolers’cognitive performance improves following massage. Early Child Development & Care, 143, 59-64.)

Massage Reduces Depression and Anxiety in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Patients

METHODS: A 30-minute back massage was given daily for a 5-day period to 52 hospitalized depressed and adjustment disorder children and adolescents. RESULTS: Compared with a control group who viewed relaxing videotapes, the massaged subjects were less depressed and anxious and had lower saliva cortisol levels after the massage. In addition, nurses rated the subjects as being less anxious and more cooperative on the last day of the study, and nighttime sleep increased over this period. Finally, urinary cortisol and norepinephrine levels decreased, but only for the depressed subjects.Reference: (Field, T., Morrow, C., Valdeon, C., Larson, S., Kuhn, C., & Schanberg, S.(1992). Massage reduces depression and anxiety in child and adolescent psychiatric patients. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 125-131.).

Children with Down Syndrome Improved in Motor Function and Muscle Tone Following Massage Therapy

METHODS: Twenty-one moderate to high functioning young children (M age = 2 years) with Down syndrome receiving early intervention (PT, OT and speech therapy) were randomly assigned to also receive two ½-hour massage therapy or reading sessions (control group) per week for two months. On the first and last day of the study, the children were assessed on functioning using the Developmental Programming for Infants and Young Children Scale and muscle tone using a new Likert scale. RESULTS: Children in the massage therapy group experienced developmental gains in fine and gross motor functioning and showed less severe hypotonicity in their limbs. These findings suggest that the addition of massage therapy to an early intervention program may enhance motor and muscle functioning for children with Down syndrome.Reference: (Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T., Bornstein, J. & Fewell, R. (2006). Children with Down Syndrome improved in motor function and muscle tone following massage therapy. Journal of Early Child Development and Care, 176, 395-410.)

Preschoolers’ Cognitive Performance Improves Following Massage

METHODS: This study examined the effects of massage therapy on the cognitive performance of preschool students on the Block Design, Animal Pegs, and Mazes subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) prior to and following a 15-min massage. RESULTS: Children’s scores on the Block Design test of abstract reasoning improved following massage. Massage was particularly beneficial to children rated as high-strung and anxious.Reference: Hart, S.; Field, T.; Hernandez-Reif, M.; & Lundy, B. (1998). Preschoolers\’ cognitive performance improves following massage. Early Child Development and Care, 143, 59-64.)