Unofficial figures imply a rapid increase in the number of autistic children in Vietnam; accordingly, the utilization of acupuncture for treatment of these kids is a good step to help kids with autism to integrate into the life.
Couple Ho Thi Thu Hien in HCMC’s District Thu Duc discovered her daughter to have autism three years ago, they had taken the baby girl to hospitals and centers specializing in teaching autistic children yet their daughter’s illness did not abate.
Lately, via searching information in internet, Ms. Hien found out acupuncture is highly effective in treating children with autism; subsequently, she took the daughter to the Institution with expectation that her daughter’s illness will abate.
In the same expectation, father Bui Duy Linh hailing from the Mekong delta city of Can Tho has taken his son Bui Danh Nhan to hospitals and institutions for treatment. Accidentally, he heard of application of traditional treatment for the disease; therefore, he took his son to the institution in HCMC to seek opportunity.
Dr. Truong Thi Ngoc Lan from the Institution said that three years ago, the institution has sent its doctors to the National Acupuncture Hospital in Hanoi to learn the techniques after the news that the hospital has gained success in treating an autistic child by acupuncture.
Since early 2017, the Institution in HCMC began performing separate techniques such as Threading the points, Injection therapy , scalp acupuncture , electro-acupuncture. The institution has achieved positive results. After three year preparation, the Institution has worked out its own treatment plan when the National Acupuncture Hospital.
The Institution will petition to the Ministry of Health to cover treatment under health insurance to reduce burden for parents’, said Dr. Lan.
The superiority of the traditional medicine in treatment of autistic children is to reduce autism’s core symptoms yet it has not influenced on kids’ brain. Taking supplement and vitamin can help kids more.
Most of all, parents play an important role in treatment process, said Dr. Nguyen Quoc Van from the National Acupuncture Hospital. Parents need to talk to their children everyday and train them communication skills and utilize behavioral therapies.
Since 2012, the National Acupuncture Hospital has set up the Autism Ward to receive over 1,500 autistic children annually. So far, 60 percent of these kids treated in the ward showed improvement in cognitive and expressive language skills; they can integrate into the society as per the World Health Organization’s standard. Twenty percent of them can learn with their normal peers in school.
Dr. Van recommended the treatment is effective for kids under three years old especially for kids below 20 months , this is the golden time for treatment. Accordingly, parents need to early detect their children to have intervention. .
