틱 증상을 동반한 자폐성 장애 환아 증례 보고

A Case Report of a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder with Tic Symptoms

Objectives: Tic disorder is characterized by sudden, rapid, recurrent, and nonrhythmic movements(motor tics) or vocalizations (phonic tics), and is one of the most common disorders in children. Several studies reported the effectiveness of Korean medicine treatment for Tic disorder and we aimed to report a case of with a combination treatments of Korean medicine for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who had motor tic symptoms. Methods: A 44-month-old boy with ASD exhibited tic symptoms of tilting his head back and squinting his eyes. We administered Eokgansan Gagambang and performed Chuna therapy to stimulate the acupuncture points of the neck and head, and checked the change of Yale global tic severity scale (YGTSS). Results: After 1 month of treatment, YGTSS score changed from 13 to 0 and secondary symptoms of sleep disturbance were also alleviated. Conclusion: Through this case report, we were able to confirm the possibility of non-invasive Korean medicine treatments for tic disorder. We hope that this will provide an opportunity to provide customized treatment to patients in cases where invasive treatment is not possible.