Center for Studies and Research "Caputo & Ippolito - Multisystemic Aquatic Therapy", Casoria, Via Vincenzo Cuoco, 26, 80026, Naples, Italy.
UOMI ASL Naples Third-South, Service of Developmental Neuropsychiatry, District 57, Torre del Greco, Via Marconi, 80059, Naples, Italy.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2018 Jun;48(6):1945-1956. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3456-y.
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.
水疗可以改善自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患者的运动技能，但它在治疗功能障碍方面的有效性仍需验证。我们测试了一种多系统水疗对 ASD 儿童行为、情绪、社交和游泳技能的效果。多系统水疗分为三个阶段（情绪适应、游泳适应和社会融合），在 10 个月的方案中实施。在治疗后，与对照组相比，水疗组在功能适应（韦氏儿童适应行为量表）、情绪反应、适应变化和活动水平（儿童自闭症评定量表）方面有显著改善。同时还证明了游泳技能的学习。多系统水疗有助于改善 ASD 儿童的功能障碍，效果远远超出游泳训练。
