The Impact of Horse-Assisted Therapy on Socio-Emotional Behaviors in Children with Autism

Abstract

Animal-assisted therapy for children with autism (ASD) is a form of complementary therapy, integrating methods from various other types of therapy. AAT, or animal-assisted therapy, is a series of interventions that are based on the behavioral traits of animals, especially dogs and horses, which are the most common in this context. These interventions can be integrated into conventional treatments such as behavioral therapy, play therapy, music therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and art therapy, depending on the individual needs of patients. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of an already existing Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) program on social communication skills, executive functions and motor skills in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. The research adopted an observational design to analyze how often certain behaviors occur in the presence or absence of horses in a group intervention program. This research included 16 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), aged between 9 and 14 years (12 boys and 4 girls), who were selected from an School Center for Inclusive Education. The conclusions drawn from our results showed that the horse-assisted therapy, implemented in our experiment, recorded a notable improvement in all the behavioral parameters analyzed. Improvements were observed in Attention in Activity (21.2%), Communication (18.3%) and Compliance (9.1%) during activities, Physical Movements, with a difference of 34.1%, Affective State (23.33%), Visual Control (45%), Functional Skills and Response to Command (46.66%), Social Attention (33.5%) and Dynamic Motor Skills (35.55%) during activities. And the biggest difference was observed in Vocalizations, with a difference of 53%. Our results strongly support the fact that complementary therapy of autism spectrum disorders with the help of horses is an effective form of intervention, which can bring substantial improvements in therapeutic outcomes.