Potential impact of an osteopathic intervention for internationally adopted children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD); a prospective case series

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Abstract

Objective: To explore the potential impact of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) on Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) on internationally adopted children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Methods: Twelve children with FASD adopted from Eastern European countries were recruited in this prospective observational study. HRQoL was collected using the Kidscreen-52 questionnaire. The participants followed a six-month intervention plan that included 4 bi-weekly OMT sessions and 4 monthly OMT sessions. Results: Significant differences were detected in the pre-post intervention values (p = 0.001), interaction by group (p = 0.048), in the results of four dimensions (Moods & Emotions, p = 0.008, Self-Perception, p = 0.016, School Environment, p = 0.008 and Social Acceptance, p = 0.017) and in the overall assessment for parents’ version (p = 0.002). A mild adverse effect (pain/discomfort) was reported by one participant (8.3 % of the total sample) after one session. Conclusion: This study shows that a six-month OMT intervention is a feasible personalized intervention for children and adolescents with FASD coming from international adoption. The study suggests that measuring instruments can detect changes in HRQoL over time, pointing out the need to develop a specific HRQoL assessment instrument for children with FASD to be applied in future studies. Even though promising significant changes were observed, these were most likely not only due to OMT, and further studies are required before assuming these could be due to osteopathic care.