22 Aug 2022 Can we apply aromatherapy on SEN kids? Are there any contraindications of aromatherapy on SEN kids?
To layman, people with special education needs might be a trouble to the society. (I am also one of them with ADHD.) In fact, if we apply suitable education models to teach them, they could have an outstanding results in their interested fields. There are many types of special educational needs as shown on the website of education bureau:
Intellectual disability
Autism spectrum disorder
Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder
Mental Illness
Specific Learning Difficulties
Physical Disability
Visual Impairment Hearing Impairment
Speech and Language Impairment
I once received a question from my students about the use of aromatherapy on kids with autism or ADHD. Frankly, there are not much research on the use of aromatherapy on SEN kids. Thus, we have to use essential oils cautiously on these kids. I once found a research article talked about the use of bergamot essential oil (5 drops of the bergamot essential oil for 15 mins) on kids aged 6 - 11 with autism spectrum disorder and anxiety trait. The result was shown to have no statistical differences among the aromatherapy and placebo groups. Even so, it does not mean that bergamot is useless in this case, as we need to see if the placebo used is a positive control. In this research, the placebo is a positive control that it can reduce pain and anxiety highly effectively.
Treatment and Precautions for Anxiety
Regardless of the types of SENs, whenever we encounter anxiety trait in these kids, we should avoid using essential oils that could induce anxiety, for example rosemary essential oil. Although the worsening effect was not shown in research, clinically we can observe for aggravating anxiety after the use of rosemary essential oil (perhaps camphor in rosemary might devote to such condition).
To treat anxiety, clary sage exerts a much better anti-stress effect than lavender in a study about urodynamic assessments. However, not all like the smell of clary sage, we can in fact use other anxiolytic essential oils to reduce the anxiety level, such as:
Lavender (majority of studies are not at high quality, but we can still merely draw a conclusion for that)
On the other hand, a student told me that after using mandarin to treat the insomniac condition of autistic kids, the kids became even much hyper than before. It is because majority of the citrus oils, especially mandarin oil, can enhance the rate of metabolism. Whenever we have quicker metabolism, we become much aroused.
However, if you don’t feel confident to use aromatherapy on SEN kids, it would be better to withhold the treatment.
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