VIDEO: Autism Study Uses Horses for Therapy
Anne Herbst Posted by Anne on 2012-10-25 16:33:40 tags: Video
A study being conducted by Children’s Hospital and the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center is connecting kids with autism and horses.
The study is in its third year, and aims to learn more about therapeutic horseback riding’s effects on autism. So far, researchers and parents are seeing differences in the children.
“He loves it,” said Veronica Trujillo, mother of a child participating in the study. “There was a point when Zane was diagnosed–he wasn’t even speaking, he was barely putting two words together. And to hear him just interact with his peers here and the assistants here.”
Dr. Robin Gabriels with Children’s Hospital said while there seems to be progress in children participating, there needs to be research done as to why there is that improvement.
“It’s very important to give this some science behind it,” Gabriels said. “Everyone’s saying it’s a great thing, but do we reallly want everybody running out, paying for an expensive experience when we don’t really know why it works or how it works.”
Video by Anne Herbst