AbstractAutism spectrum disorder is characterised by inability of the child to socially interact with people , poor eye to eye contact, absent or perverted speech, abnormally received sensory stimuli (more or less than optimum response to sensory stimulus),self stimulating, self injurious behaviour ,with associated intellectual disability of varying severity, liking for sameness, abnormal stereotactic movements. Hyperactivity and sleep disorders are usually associated ,making it difficult for parents to look after the child. Mostly this abnormal behaviour is noticed at the age of 11/2 to 3 years. This is a progressive condition worsening with age.1 The incidence has been noticed to increase over the years in most parts of world.2 The incidence in western world is said to be around 1 in 59 children.3 In India the incidence has been estimated to increase but real prevalence is not known. Many of these children remain undiagnosed and untreated due to difficulty in diagnosis by health care personnel and poor understanding by parents. Two scales developed for Indian children4,5 have now made the work easy. Juneja et al found prevalence around 0.9/1000.6 This study will test the utility of deep touch pressure therapy on telomere length and development of the child.
Keywords: Deep touch pressure therapy; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Synopsis.