Equine-Assisted Therapy in the Behavior of Individuals With Autism

Summary

Purpose of the Study: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of 8 weeks of equine-assisted therapy exercises applied to children with autism spectrum disorder on autistic behavioral levels (sensory development, relationship building skills, development in body and object use, social and self-care development, and language skills) based on parental opinions.

Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 20 volunteers (n=20) with a mean age of 9.90±1.44 years. They were diagnosed with ASD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, 2013), had partial verbal communication, had not received prior equine-assisted therapy training, had underdeveloped basic life skills (eating and dressing), were not taking regular medication, and had no other chronic diseases other than autism. Participants participated fully in equine-assisted therapy sessions twice a week for 8 weeks.

The study included: Quantitative studies were designed using a single-group pretest-posttest experimental design without a control group, a method used in experimental research methods. A survey was used as the data collection method. Data were collected in three different stages using the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) scale, administered face-to-face to the parents of the participating children under the supervision of the researcher. The data were recorded in the SPSS 25 package program. Repeated Measures ANOVA was used as the statistical analysis.

Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) The Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) was developed by Krug et al. (1980), and its Turkish adaptation and validity and reliability study were conducted by Irmak et al. (2007). The ABC scale has five factors and 57 items. The scale factors include 9 items on the sensory dimension, 12 items on relationship building, 12 items on body and object use, 13 items on language skills, and 11 items on social and self-care skills. The highest possible score on this scale is 159, and the lowest is 0. In other words, high scores on the scale indicate a high prevalence of autism symptoms. The Autism Behavior Checklist, also known as the ABC, is one of the most frequently used measurement tools for screening and assessing autism (De Bildt et al. 2005). The advantage of the ABC scale in the application process is that it is a scale that makes it possible to obtain information about autistic children from both educators and parents (Krug et al. 1980).Week Day Time Purpose Event Content

1 1 30 min Getting used to the environment and the horses Introduction to the therapy center, observing horses, and practicing getting close to horses 2 30 min First contact with the horse Touching the horse with your hands and holding the horse's mane while watching it 2 1 30 min Basic riding stances Balance exercises by sitting on a horse, learning the correct sitting position 2 30 min Movement awareness Slight bending forward, backward and sideways with the bust

3 1 30 min Upper body and arm coordination Extending the hands forward, to the sides and to the feet, petting the horse 2 30 min Lying on a horse Lying forward and backward, on the back or face down 4 1 30 min Motor skills Attempts to stand up with or without stepping on the stirrups 2 30 min Object control Games of throwing objects at targets with the right/left hand 5 1 30 min Social interaction Communicating with the coach (greeting, saying your name) 2 30 min Sensory awareness Touching the horse's front legs, noticing the mane, hugging the horse 6 1 30 min Balance and direction Trials of turning left and right, forward and backward, and steering on a horse 2 30 min Audiovisual mapping Saying the names of printed images and number recognition exercises 7 1 30 min Integration of mixed skills Trials of rein holding, steering and basic commanding 2 30 min Mixed-task applications Multitasking involving throwing objects + talking + changing direction 8 1 30 min Skill reinforcement Integrated repetition of all learned movements 2 30 min Skill reinforcement Integrated repetition of all learned movements 10 - - Final observation and evaluation Completing the Parent Autism Behavior Checklist Scale

Conditions

• Autism Spectrum Disorder

Interventions

OTHER

Horse therapy

Participating children received horseback riding and riding training twice a week for 30 minutes over an eight-week period. The training included developing body and object use skills, relationship building skills, language skills, social and self-care skills, and sensory skills. These included mounting and dismounting a horse; sitting correctly; holding and using the reins; bustling movements on the horse, forward and backward, sideways, and reaching with the hands; naming printed pictures; reading numbers; throwing objects at targets with the right and left hands; developing a dialogue with the trainer; standing up with and without stepping on the stirrups; sitting down and standing; reaching forward and backward and lying down on the horse; petting the horse with one's hands; trying to touch the horse's front legs with the right and left hands; and holding the horse's mane. At the end of the training, the parents of the participating children completed the Autism Behavior Checklist.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• TC Erciyes University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Mehmet Behzat Turan, Associate Professor · TC Erciyes University

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

9 Years

Max Age

11 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-03-15

Primary Completion

2024-03-15

Completion

2024-05-24

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations