Does acupuncture have a positive effect on school success in children?

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate school success in pediatric patients undergoing acupuncture treatment for variousindications.METHODS: The grades achieved during both school terms by children undergoing acupuncture treatment for various indications at the pediatric out patient clinic of Ulus State Hospital were analyzed. Exam grades in mathematics, social studies,and Turkish was compared between the first and the second terms. Forty children were included in thestudy,with 22 male and 18 female,and their average age was 11.1 years. These patients were undergoing acupuncture treatment for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), enuresis nocturna, migraine, obesity, atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata, and Tourette’s syndrome. Treatments were done at the beginning of the second term. Four of the 25 patients with ADHD had borderline intelligence quotients.The report cards of all 40 patients were examined, and their grades in the first and these condschool term were compared.RESULTS: There was a statistically significant increase in the grades obtained in mathematics, social studies, and Turkish(P<0.005) by the students from the first to the second school term. When 4 ADHD patients with borderline deficiency in intelligence were excluded, and the grades among the 21 patients with ADHD were compared for both terms, there was also a statistically significant increase in mathematics, social studies, and Turkish grades(P<0.05).CONCLUSION: Acupuncture contributed to the academic success of the children who under went acupuncture treatment for their primary symptoms.