Effectiveness of Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy on Emerging Adults with Autism

Biodynamic craniosacral therapy as a new alternative form of therapy has proved to improvise several developmental disabilities and acquired illnesses. However, it does not provide sufficient validity and clarity regarding the generalized benefit of the therapy. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of biodynamic craniosacral therapy as an adjunctive method for emerging adults with autism. With deficits in social-emotional reciprocity and ritualized patterns of behavior it becomes difficult for parents and therapists to cope with the daily challenging life ahead of them. An intervention technique was adopted for emerging adults from 17- 25years of age. The group was administered 30 therapeutic sessions on a regular interval of time. The study uses a pre-test, mid- evaluation and post-test design to understand the significant improvement on the overall characteristics and domains such as language, sociability, sensory/cognitive awareness and physical health. However, the results indicated that there was a significant difference obtained within the group in terms of their improvement from the pre-test to post test in the social skills, speech and cognitive awareness, with no significant improvement in physical behavior. From these findings, it is observed that biodynamic craniosacral therapy has contributed towards the improvement of the autism characteristics of the sample to a significant degree. The study tried to explain the possible reasons for the present findings and suggested what could be incorporated for the effectiveness of the self-healing body mechanism.