Abdominal Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation on Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

CARS is a 15 item behavioral rating scale developed to identify children with autism and to categorize these behaviors from mild to moderate to severe.

The Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) is a 7-point scale that has been adapted so that clinicians can easily and quickly rate social communication behaviors.

The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) measures the presence and severity of social impairments within the autism spectrum. Parents, teachers, or other observers evaluate social abilities in various natural settings for children between 2.5 and 18 years using age-appropriate forms with 65 Likert-scale items. SRS-2 has 5 subscales: social awareness, social cognition, social communication, social motivation, restricted interests, and repetitive behavior. The total continuous score indicates the severity of social deficits in the autism spectrum.

The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) is a method to assess how an individual with autism is progressing over time. It was developed with the aim of evaluating a wide array of behaviors and skills, thereby offering a comprehensive look at an individual's abilities and challenges. This makes it a valuable tool for tracking the effectiveness of various autism treatments. It is designed to be filled out by individuals who know the person with autism well, such as parents or primary caregivers, and can be completed in approximately 10-20 minutes. The ATEC spans four subtests: Speech/Language/Communication、Sociability、Sensory/Cognitive Awareness、Health/Physical/Behavior. These subtests evaluate various aspects, including verbal and non-verbal communication skills, social interactions, sensory responses, cognitive abilities, physical health, and behaviors.

The GSRS is self-administered scale and has 15 questions divided into 5 domains that cover the gastrointestinal system: diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, reflux and indigestion. The scale answers are arranged according to the 4-point Likert scale, in which "1" indicates absence and "4" the higher frequency or intensity of the symptoms. This tool has already been validated as to their questions and assessment scales (construct validity and criterion validity).

The severity of GI symptoms was assessed using a shortened version of the 6-item Gastrointestinal Severity Index (6-GSI) questionnaire, composed of six symptoms, including constipation, diarrhea, stool consistency, stool smell, flatulence, and abdominal pain. Each symptom is rated on a three-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 to 2, with a higher score signifying more severe GI symptoms.

The Bristol Stool Scale (BSS) is a 7-point scale used extensively in clinical practice and research for stool form measurement. This is a tool to assist patients, family members and health care providers to share common language about stool consistency. The original Bristol Stool Form Scale description with notations in brackets: Type 1 Separate hard lumps, like nuts [constipation/encopresis, difficult to pass] Type 2 Sausage-shaped but lumpy Type 3 Like a sausage or snake but with cracks on its surface Type 4 Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft [average stool] Type 5 Soft blobs with clear-cut edges Type 6 Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool Type 7 Watery, no solid pieces. [diarrhea, easy to pass and may involuntarily be passed]

Differences in gut microbiota composition in children with ASD before and after intervention. It involves studying the collective genomes of microorganisms that reside in the gastrointestinal tract. This approach aims to understand the composition, diversity, and functional potential of the microbiota, which plays a crucial role in human health and well-being. By analyzing the DNA extracted directly from fecal samples, researchers can identify and characterize the various bacterial, viral, and fungal species present in the gut.