Autism and Horseback Riding

Thus far I have read about various types of animals and how they are therapeutic for children with autism. I have seen how caring for animals and spending time with them can dramatically improve the functions of these children. But this week's article presented something entirely different--horseback riding.

The Effect of Therapeutic Horseback Riding on Social Function in Children with Autism by Margret M. Bass, Catherine A. Duchowny, and Maria M. Llabre suggest that "therapeutic horseback riding may be effective in improving social cognition in children with autism spectrum disorders" (1261). Through horseback riding therapy, the researchers attempted to improve functions such as communication, physical activity, balance and coordination, planning skills, vestibular processing, and proprioception; to improve these things, researchers designed structured activities, which were mounting/dismounting, exercises, riding skills, games and care activities. 

Ultimately, research showed that some, but not all, of the goals were fulfilled. The researchers found improvement in sensory integration, directed attention, social motivation, and sensory sensitivity. Similar to past studies, the presence of the animal made the children want to participate, and yielded improvement in key areas.

Over and over again I have found that animal assisted therapy has had great benefits on children with autism, no matter what the therapy session included. I thought this study was particularly interesting because it was not typical to the other studies I have read-- the animals used were much larger and required more direct activity than care or petting. Though the mode of therapy was extremely unique, it did seem like the improvements in functions using horseback riding as the means of therapy were not as high as improvements seen in the other therapy studies. 

I suggested in the last post that perhaps in the future, normal household pets, combined with training by parents, could improve the lives of autistic children on a daily basis. This study supports that suggestion because horses are much less accessible to the average family, and require quite a bit of work that most working families might not have time for, and because they are somewhat less effective in comparison to studies with more common household pets. Therefore, I will continue to believe that pets can someday change the lives autistic children.

Lounging around

Watching TV

"I'm cute and I know it!"

The Small Great Therapist

I recently read a study called Guinea pigs--The "Small Great" Therapist for Autistic Children, or: Do Guinea Pigs Have Positive Effects on Autistic Child Social Behavior? by Lucia Krskova, Alzbeta Talarovicova and Lucia Olexova, in which the researchers aimed to gain concrete understanding of the use of small pets (specifically guinea pigs) as therapy tools for autistic children, and the effect of said therapy. They asserted that information on the use of small animals for therapy purposes is limited mainly to case studies, and they hoped to gain both qualitative and quantitative information on the topic. 

The definition of autism in this study is "a deficit in social reciprocity and communication, and an occurrence of repeated behaviors," of which social problems could be social avoidance, social indifference, and social awkwardness. They also define Animal-Assisted Therapy as "a goal-directed intervention in which an animal that meets specific criteria is an integral part of the treatment process." I wanted to share these two definitions because I find it interesting to see how definitions of these vary from study to study.

The researchers observed nine autistic children and their social behavior in a school setting. The main focuses of social interaction were tactile, verbal, and eye contact, all of which could be made to the school teacher or fellow students, the observers (who was an unfamiliar person), or the animal. They found that the guinea pig's presence influenced more contact by the autistic child. While the children were still willing to make contact with the unknown person more often during the animal's presence, it was significantly less than compared to the children's desire for contact with the animal. The children were much more likely to spend time with the animal, and preferred it over contact with the unknown person or their peers. 

While each child varied in their preferred contact, I think it is very interesting that guinea pigs could show dramatic affects at all. Earlier in the article, the authors asserted that dogs, horses and dolphins are the most frequent animals used for animal assisted therapy. The fact that a less active creature could produce these results seems monumental because this is an animal that many households could easily care for. It could also be suggested that rabbits, ferrets or cats could have a similar effect--it certainly wouldn't be hard for many autistic children to have a pet like this.

This new found information makes me wonder if the future of AAT could lead to most, if not all, autistic children having a pet that could contribute to an easier and more efficient life on a daily basis. I think it could be truly amazing if the lives of autistic children could be so greatly improved because they are able to incorporate a pet into their therapy process. I envision a program in which the children care for the pets, and the parents are trained to work on certain goals with them and the animals, even when a therapist is not present. Perhaps animals could change autism...

LAZY

"Help me out!"

How could you not love that face?

Getting Basic

Statistics and research are all fine and dandy, but I think it's time to take a deeper look into Animal-Assisted Therapy. There has to be more to it than just playing with dogs and caring for llamas. This week I set out to find out more about AAT on a more in depth level.

In the American Journal of Critical Care, Margo A. Halm defines Animal-Assisted Therapy in her article entitled "The Healing Power of the Human-Animal Connection"; she says that it "is an intentional healing modality" in which goals are set and achieved through the use of trained therapy animals interacting with patients. While AAT is often found in professional settings, it is also common for patients to have their own pet -- for example, elderly patients in hospice care may often have a fish to take care of. 

Even though my research focuses on the use of AAT with autistic children, this mode of therapy has many uses, and is found to be useful for a wide array of issues -- from depression, to terminal illness, to autism, and everything in between. In fact, even in 1860, before autism was even a know disability, Florence Nightingale commented on AAT, saying that "a small pet is often an excellent companion for the sick, for long chronic cases especially" (qtd. in Halm). 

The goals that are set for AAT use vary as much as the disorders it is used for. Generally, goals can be as simple as improved happiness or comfort, and even for improvement in self esteem. From there goals can become more complex, such as lowered body temperature, slowed respiratory rate, and reduced pain. In cases involving autistic individuals, goals range from improved communication, improved sensory functions, and increasing motivation in patients.

Given this information, it is safe to say that simply owning a pet does not simply mean you are being treated for some ailment, but it can improve the way you feel in general. Halm's article said that dog owners walk 400-500% more than people without dogs, and that animals improve our mood and emotions. As for myself, I know that my special little guy always helps improve my mood...

Lounging around...

I wish he would do my homework while he's sitting at that desk.

He's pretty stylish.

Occupational therapy and... llamas?

I recently read a study conducted by Mona J. Sams, Elizabeth V. Fortney and Stan Willenbring in which autistic children were observed during occupational therapy sessions both with and without animal incorporation. Typically these sessions focus on sensory integration theory, which states that sensory deficits "interfere with the ability to attend to and respond appropriately to complex stimuli...making organized behavior difficult." Similarly, children with autism may also experience lowered levels of motivation, such that reinforcement stimuli that would be beneficial for "normal" children doesn't sway the autistic child. Occupational therapy centered around sensory integration theory focuses heavily on "child-directed sessions" in which the child is encouraged to participate in challenging (but not too challenging) activities that fit a given goal specific to the child.

Another hypothesis has also been formed called the "biophillia" hypothesis. This hypothesis, from a 1997 study by Kellert,  states that "humans have adapted to be attentive to both human and nonhuman life forms in their environment." From this hypothesis, the use of animal integration in occupational therapy has grown more popular and widely used.

Yet one of the most influential researchers in this field not only relies on data but on personal experience -- Temple Grandin is an autistic woman with a PhD who also teaches animal science says in a book she wrote that "being autistic has helped me to understand how they [animals] feel ... People often fail to observe animals." She even used her perceptions and her love of animals to even create a way to calm cows down before entering a slaughter house.

They study by Sams, Fortney and Willenbring examined 22 children in occupational therapy sessions within the school setting. Each child received the typical occupational therapy session, as well as animal-assisted sessions as well, keeping the durations of each fairly constant. These sessions attempted to incorporate sensory integration, as well as promote language use, sensory skills, and motor skills. When animals were not used in the session, tools for therapy included teeter totters, swings, stretchy play clay, mechanical toys, sensory balls, arts and crafts, puzzles, and letter magnets. 

While working with animals, children were most often caring for llamas. They would brush and feed them,  train and lead them through obstacle courses, and ride them, as well as card the wool, and load and unload them. These activities improved sensory input, and communications promoted language use. The children also spent time petting dogs and rabbits, as well as throwing a ball for the dogs.

Their research found that when animals were incorporated in occupational therapy sessions for autistic children their social interaction and their language skills were improved. Children were much more willing to participate in the activities and interact with the therapist, compared to when sessions incorporated the typical therapy practices for sensory integration. 

This study opened my eyes to some things I hadn't thought about before concerning animal assisted therapy. The first thing I realized is that animal assisted therapy doesn't always include the common house pets -- even barn animals help improve the basic functions of autistic children. At the risk of sounding naive, I had always pictured children in a therapists office simply hanging out with a dog, perhaps brushing them or playing with them, but in a more professional setting, which brings me to the second thing I found interesting and new. The use of more concrete tasks, such as feeding and training the llamas, is very interesting because it provides children with productive tasks that provide work but in a context that they find stimulating and motivating. 

Reading this study opened up my research to more possibilities and I'm excited to explore further. But until then...I'll leave you with some pictures!

Cute llama

 He loves the warmth of the drier...

 ... and the warmth of the sun.

But most of all, he loves being lazy.

RJ at the zoo

This weekend I chose to start my research in a more interesting way than to sit in front of my computer reading jargon-filled scholarly articles. I wanted first-hand experience with an autistic child and I decided it would be most interesting (and relevant to my research) if it was in a setting that involved animals. So I met up with RJ and his mother and we went to the zoo for a day.

On the way to the zoo, RJ took a little nap, so I had a chance to learn a little bit more about how RJ's life is different because of autism. She told me that RJ, and most autistic children, have sensory problems, which means that they are sensitive to the textures of the food they eat and often won't eat certain foods; RJ, for example, won't eat mashed potatoes because of their mushy texture, but rather prefers chicken nuggets from McDonalds that are crunchy, but not too hard. Another common thing that autistic children face is a very abnormal sleep schedule caused by the body's inability to recognize the difference between night and day. To counter this, Sasha keeps RJ on a very tight sleeping schedule by putting him to bed and waking him up at roughly the same time each day, and limiting his naps throughout the day.

But the hardest part about living with autism for RJ is his limited vocabulary. At 2 years old, RJ should be able to put full sentences together and effectively tell Sasha what he wants or needs; however, it is very common for autistic children to start talking later than children without autism. This was very evident to me, because when I first met RJ, all I knew was that he was very excited to be in the car with me. As I spent more time with him, it was a little easier to figure out what he wanted, especially through facial expressions, which he used quite well.

When we got to the zoo, it seemed like RJ wasn't too sure at first what to expect. He couldn't figure out what we were doing there, so he spent more time staying close to mom. The first exhibit we saw was the monkeys, which happened to be RJ's favorite. Immediately he was running up to the glass, and you could see his little eyes light up. From there we moved from building to building, looking at everything we could possibly see, and with each building RJ was more and more excited. 

By the time we left it was evident that animals made RJ very happy. Even though he didn't know me very well, he wanted to hold my hand and drag me from exhibit to exhibit. When he couldn't see well enough he would put his arms up and say "up!" to tell me he wanted me to pick him up and show him what he was missing. I felt like I learned a lot from RJ in the few hours we spent together. I think spending time with him at the zoo will be helpful when working on my research because I understand autism better and I can relate what I read with what RJ taught me. I'm sure RJ and I will continue to be great friends. I look forward to spending more time with both him and his mother.

As always, here are some pictures I snapped while we were at the zoo...

A very excited RJ in between exhibits

Amazed by the lion walking around

He thought the giraffes were so cool!

Who is Luigi and what the heck am I talking about?!

In a world filled with prescription drugs and over diagnosed problems, how can we counter the use of self-medication but still help ourselves feel better? The growing popularity of holistic medicine has sparked interest in a different kind of medicine -- animal assisted therapy. 

You may not think Fido is good for much else besides pooping out your keys after he ate them yesterday, but research has shown that animals of all kinds are beneficial to our health. I, myself, have a cat which I consider to be a therapeutic helper when my hyper-active anxiety runs wild.

And here is! The feline of the hour, my loving and wonderful, Luigi. Aside from being cute and cuddly, Luigi is also very intuitive of my emotions; he comes to me when I am upset or stressed out and cuddles me until I'm forced to smile. He helps me through the bad days, and is a fun friend for the good days as well.

Luigi was always a part of our family, but wasn't allowed to live with us in Duluth due to rules in our apartment building. That is when Luigi had the chance to become more than just a simple house pet. After discussing my issues of anxiety with my doctor, and informing my reluctance to take prescription drugs, we came to the conclusion that Luigi would help calm me down without putting potentially harmful chemicals into my body in the form of a pill. And thus, Luigi came to live with us once again.

With my new found somewhat anxiety-free life, I have come to think about how Luigi has helped me overcome my problems, and how he could potentially help other people, perhaps with other ailments. Since I'm not a doctor, I'm not able to run any tests, or attempt to help anyone with the use of my cat. I am however able to research animal assisted therapy, so that I can suggest it to people who don't like the thought of using chemical drugs to improve their lives, people like me! And thus, Luigi become inspiration number one for my research. 

But anxiety, while a very common problem for many people, is a somewhat simple ailment compared to what others experience, and furthermore, I already know first hand that an animal can help counter the feelings anxiety brings. I also know about the more commonly practiced ways that animals help people, like seeing eye dogs. So what about other problems? Ones that are less easier solved through alternative methods? Ones a little less understood and a little less common? I want to know that an animal can help a person with the types of disorders that I will never be able to fully understand myself.

Enter RJ. Or rather, enter Sasha, RJ's mother, as I haven't yet had the privilege of meeting RJ. I befriended Sasha through a mutual friend, and later learned that she has a son who is autistic, named RJ. After seeing pictures of him, I felt that the impossibly adorable RJ would be inspiration number two for my research on animal assisted therapy. 

And thus, the topic is born. Animal assisted therapy with autistic children. Normally, this would be the time when I would pose a research question to adapt my research to, but I find this topic too fascinating to limit myself. Instead, I want to know as much as possible, letting questions arise as I learn, and then writing about the most significant information.

I will hopefully be able to meet little RJ next weekend. I hope to spend time with him, learning more about him, and about autism. Essentially, I view getting to know RJ as the first step to understanding how animals might be able to help children with autism, because in order to understand potential treatment, you must first understand the disorder. 

Until then, I will leave you with some pictures to enjoy!

Luigi Napping 

Me and my handsome little man!

"What are you doing, Mom?"