Children with Autism

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the development of the brain, particularly in the areas of communication and social interaction, Symptoms can develop for 18-24 months for classic autism. Children that have autism have difficulty with attention span and concentration, repetitious behavior, such as obsessively rocking, flapping hands, repeating words, or arranging objects. They also have trouble with making and maintaining eye contact.

Hippotherapy and Therapeutic Riding use the horse’s multidimensional rhythmic movement, which resembles the natural walking gait of human’s, to achieve specific therapeutic outcomes. Therapists help patients ride the horse in different positions, including sitting or laying forward, backward, or sideways; standing up in the stirrups; and riding on the horse without holding on. Specially trained physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language therapists use this therapy with autistic children and teenagers and kids with a wide range of other types of disabilities. Hippotherapy is good for relaxing tight muscles, increasing balance, building muscle strength, sharpening hand/eye coordination. Hippotherapy also improves communication, concentration, socialization and patience.

 

 

"Every day is another beginning filled with new wonder and experiences, Remember that your child is one of them"

 

 

Horses and Children with Down Syndrom

Down syndrome is a genetic condition in which a person only has 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46. Children with down syndrome may have difficulty with social skills seen through impulsive behavior, poor judgment , short attention spans or slow learning. It is also common for children with down syndrome to have low muscle tone throughout their trunk and extremities.

The interaction between the patient, the horse and the overall environment can be very effective in facilitating increased muscle tone, and improvement in flexibility, mobility and posture. Equine therapy provided sensory stimulation to muscle and joints, impacts balance and movement sense, and provides touch experiences through the horses body heat, or when a client rubs, pats or hugs the horse.

 

"There is no greater disability in society than the inability to see a person as more" Robert M.Hensel

Equine Therapy for children with Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a condition caused by damage to the brain, usually occurring before, during, or shortly following birth. The cause for cerebral palsy includes illness during pregnancy, premature deliver or lack of oxygen to the baby.Cerebral palsy is characterized by an inability to fully control motor function. Depending on which part of the brain has been damaged and the degree of involvement of the central nervous system, some may occur: spasms; tonal problems; involuntary movement; disturbance in gait and mobility; seizures; abnormal sensation and perception; impairment of sight, hearing or speech; and mental retardation.

 

Children with Cerebral palsy have difficulty coordinating and producing purposeful, functional movements. Some people have to much muscle tone such as those with spasticity. Their muscles hold their limbs in rather stiff postures and it is difficult to relax these muscles. Thus, the rider cannot move his limbs easily except in the direction the spastic muscles pull. Other types of tone abnormalities include fluctuating tone, as seen in athetoid cerebral palsy and hypotonia, or too little tone.

 

"Children with disabilities are like butterflies with a broken wing. They are just a beautiful as all the others, but they need help to spread their wings"