This has been a fairly quiet week in terms of blog material. Except, a big congrats to my sister who will be moving her and Trav into their new house in Oregon City in about a month! Yay!! I'm excited to head down to P-town to help them move and get settled in.

My week was spent working on my Reiki for Autism paper, and I was really happy with the information I found. There was more than I expected out there. I found a few practitioners across the U.S. who are using Reiki specifically for kids who have AS/ASD. So cool! This means that if I want to do this, I won't be starting from scratch on *how* to do it. One practitioner is actually in Portland, and she graciously answered a few questions for me over email. All of this is making me increasingly motivated to revive my own healing work and to take classes again, and I'd really like to have a chance to work with her.

For those of you who are interested in learning a little bit about this, I took some paragraphs from my paper and included them below, along with my sources. The purpose is to give you a good overview (even though the writing is far from perfect, which bugs me!) without making you read tons, and I hope the flow still works with some paragraphs omitted. The bottom line on the research is that there appears to be very little to none out there on Reiki, yet the CDC estimates that up to a third of children with autism will try complementary or alternative medicine (CAM), so it seems that more research and exploration of many CAM services is needed.

I think I'm going to take this summer off from regular classes and volunteer tutoring. I've been going strong for the past year at the tutoring center, and neither of my girls will participate in the summer reading program, so I think I'll either find something closer to home or work to do, or just take a few months off. There aren't any regular classes that fit with my work schedule this summer, so I think I'm going to make energy healing, reading the huge pile of books that has stacked up in my apartment over these past months, and figuring out what the heck I'm going to do about grad school my priority after spring quarter ends. It would be fun if I could find some sort of research project to participate in. I'd love the experience, so I'm going to look into it to see if it's an option.

Friends beware: I have a feeling I'm going to be eager to practice my energy healing techniques, which means I may be hounding you to be my subjects. (piano fingers) Just say yes! :-)

I think after Paris and Israel in the past year, I'm going to take a travel break. Maybe I'll do some smaller summer adventures, but I feel like my focus is elsewhere in the short-term. My travel bug is temporarily subdued.

Kitty and I made an emergency vet visit this week for symptoms that seemed pretty scary, which actually turned out to be a bladder infection. Poor thing. Her cute little grayness is getting pretty old, but this is something that will hopefully be fixed with a strong round of antibiotics. She seems much better.

Lymelife didn't happen last weekend, so I'm hoping to make it to the Seven Gables this weekend to see it. But, I watched Frost/Nixon this week. It was really interesting, and I learned a lot from it. I also started I've Loved You So Long, which seems very good, but I think I need to start over because I've missed some parts. Even if I don't understand most of it, I love hearing the French. And, I added the Garden State soundtrack to my player which is making me really want to watch the movie again, so I think I will soon. It makes me happy.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the gorgeous weather, steal some of my neighbors lilacs that are hanging over the fence, read, read, read to catch up with school, and prepare for my parents' visit next weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing them very much. I'm also looking forward the the Autism Society's Best in the Northwest Conference on the 29th. The event is focused on my area of interest--transitioning into adulthood. If there is wireless at the event, I'll plan to blog from there throughout the day.

Happy Belated Birthday to my wonderful friend Elizabeth! I had a lovely time celebrating with her, eating delicious food, and I appreciate how sweetly she accepted my homemade gift, which was, well, a little bit gaudy. I try!

***************************************************************

Reiki for Autism

Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing rooted in the belief that life force energy flows through all living things. The word can be broken down into two parts: Rei, which means “Universal Force” and ki, which means “energy”. The principle of Reiki is that each human being has the ability to connect with healing life force energy to strengthen up and rebalance the energy within themselves or others for mental, physical, and/or emotional benefits. When the flow of energy within a person is strong and at full force, a positive state of health exists. Conversely, if energy within a person is weak or blocked, this lack can manifest itself in physical ailments or emotional imbalances.

During a Reiki session, a client typically lies on a massage table or sits in a comfortable chair, fully clothed, and the practitioner uses light touch on the body, or places hands over the body with no touch. The purpose is to use the hands to move life force energy through the body to restore balance, either by removing excess energy and blocks, or by filling or increasing the amount needed. Not only is Reiki used for healing, but it also promotes wellness through stress reduction and relaxation. Depending on the needs of the client, Reiki can lessen or remove physical pain, calm when upset, or reduce stress when anxious. Many clients report a feeling of deep relaxation after a Reiki session. It is a safe treatment with no serious side effects reported. With classes and training, a person can learn Reiki techniques to use in self-care as well.

It’s important to remember that Reiki is not massage, and it is not attached to any particular religion. Reiki is not a “cure” for an ailment or illness, nor is it meant to replace conventional medicine, but it can be a complementary modality in a personal health or healing program. Over 40 hospitals in the U.S. now incorporate Reiki practices into treatments for chronic illnesses and pain, cancer, headaches, HIV/AIDS, asthma, and during and after surgery.

According to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine website, a “2007 National Health Interview Survey, which included a comprehensive survey of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by Americans, more than 1.2 million adults had used an energy healing therapy, such as Reiki, in the previous year. The survey also found that approximately 161,000 children had used an energy healing therapy in the previous year.” In a national study conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota (UPI, 2009), 539 physicians surveyed said they are more likely to ask patients with autism about complementary alternative medicine use compared with children with other chronic illnesses/disorders. Another survey of 112 families showed that 74% were using complementary and alternative medicine for their child with ASD (Hanson et al., 2006), and the Center for Disease Control’s site states that research indicates up to a third of children with autism spectrum disorders have tried complementary or alternative medicine treatments.

I found that there are several Reiki practitioners in the United States who specialize in working with children who have autism spectrum disorders. While it’s not intended to be a cure for autism, the primary goal is to provide a calming effect, without drugs and without interfering with other treatments. Practitioners feel that one of the biggest difficulties for those who have autism is the extreme anxiety in everyday life over social interactions, transitions, and facing changes of the smallest degree. It often is used to manage sleep problems, anxiety, beginning stages of meltdowns, learning problems, sensory sensitivity, hyperactivity, perseverations, tight muscles, headaches, and stomach issues. In an email interview with Reiki Master Heather Long, who practices in Portland, OR., she explained that while she works with parents on their goals for the child, she’s found that consistently the primary goal is to reduce anxiety, improve sleep issues, and teach the client how to self soothe. Reiki gives these tools.

Reiki sessions for children don't involve lying down and seldom includes sitting still for long. For a child with sensory issues or who is stranger-shy, it can be done without touch. Before starting a session, Heather Long finds out if there are any touch sensory issues involved and, if so, may use no touch or deeper pressure than is traditionally used in energy healing. Reiki can even be done while the child is engaged in a favored activity, such as coloring or video games. Many Reiki practitioners understand that therapies for autism are expensive, and they encourage parents and caregivers to learn Reiki techniques to use with their children and as a stress reliever for themselves. At first this may be used along with the treatment provided by a practitioner, but the overall goal is to empower the parents to take over this treatment themselves. Children with autism may also be able to learn Reiki as a valuable tool for self-regulation and immediate relief during stressful situations.

When working with a child who has ASD, practitioners recommend first having the client participate in a preferred activity that will help initiate relaxing. For a child with autism, this may not be a typical relaxation technique, but it should be something that works for the person. The Reiki treatment can be given in a part of the child’s natural environment that he/she finds soothing. At the beginning, the practitioner will focus on drawing out negative energy from the child’s body, usually by infusing the child with Reiki energy to move the negative out. In order to help brain functioning, the management of thoughts and emotion, and communication skills, practitioners may spend significant time using the first eight hand positions on or near the head to clear and infuse with energy. Heather Long explained that she usually has shorter sessions with a child who has autism, and a practitioner may just spend an extended time working on one area of the body, like the hands, for 15 minutes rather than the traditional hour-plus sessions of hand positions all over the body. Reiki sessions for children rarely look like the typical lying down, dark room, meditative music, and candles sessions. While many people report deep feelings of relaxation, the releasing of toxins can initially lead to irritability, so the client should drink plenty of water after to help release the toxins from the body.

Resources

National Institutes of Health Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/reiki/

International Association of Reiki Professionals: http://iarp.org/

Department of Health & Human Services, Center for Disease Control & Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/treatment.htm#Complementary

Reiki Master Heather Long’s website: http://www.reikiautism.com/

Alternative Autism Solutions: http://www.alternativeautismsolutions.com/Energy_Healing.html

How to Use Reiki with Autistic Children: http://www.ehow.com/how_2228350_use-reiki-autistic-children.html

Autistic Children Use Alternative Therapy, United Press International, March 13^th, 2009: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/03/13/Autistic-children-use-alternative-therapy/UPI-94591236997959/

Hanson, E. et al. (September 15, 2006). Use of complementary and alternative medicine among children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Kurtz, Lisa. (2008). Understanding controversial therapies for children with autism, attention deficit disorder, and other learning disabilities: A guide to complementary and alternative medicine. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Mehl-Madrona, L. (2000). Effective therapies for autism and other developmental disorders. Originally published in Autism/Asperger’s Digest as Enhancing Conventional Medicine: Alternative Medicine's Place in Treating Autism.
http://www.healing-arts.org/children/lmm-autism-article1.htm