TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effects of Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program on Motor Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
AU - Zhao, Mengxian
AU - You, Yonghao
AU - Li, Jinming
AU - Healy, Sean
AU - Taylor, Alyx
AU - Zhang, Zhihao
AU - Li, Linlin
AU - Zou, Liye
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, Tech Science Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Therapeutic horseback riding (THR) as an animal-assisted intervention is one of the innovative approaches emer-ging in the treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study was designed to investigate the effects of a 12-week, twice a week THR program on motor skills in sixty-eight children with ASD aged 5–10 years old. All participants selected met the DSM-V criteria for ASD, and a total of fifty-three participants completed the study. A randomized controlled trial design was utilized for the study. Data was collected via a pre-THR test, interim-THR test, and post-THR test to investigate the possible changes in motor skills throughout the 12-week THR program. Results showed that the THR program significantly improved overall motor skills across time points (p < 0.05) and sub-skills of run, gallop and two-hand catch (as compared to the control group, p < 0.05). In conclusion, the THR program may be an effective option for improving motor skills in children with ASD and further investigation with a longer period of intervention is warranted.
AB - Therapeutic horseback riding (THR) as an animal-assisted intervention is one of the innovative approaches emer-ging in the treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study was designed to investigate the effects of a 12-week, twice a week THR program on motor skills in sixty-eight children with ASD aged 5–10 years old. All participants selected met the DSM-V criteria for ASD, and a total of fifty-three participants completed the study. A randomized controlled trial design was utilized for the study. Data was collected via a pre-THR test, interim-THR test, and post-THR test to investigate the possible changes in motor skills throughout the 12-week THR program. Results showed that the THR program significantly improved overall motor skills across time points (p < 0.05) and sub-skills of run, gallop and two-hand catch (as compared to the control group, p < 0.05). In conclusion, the THR program may be an effective option for improving motor skills in children with ASD and further investigation with a longer period of intervention is warranted.
KW - animal-assisted intervention
KW - autistic
KW - children with ASD
KW - developmental disability
KW - equine-assisted activities and therapies
KW - motor skills
KW - Therapeutic horseback riding
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131682538&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.32604/ijmhp.2022.021361
DO - 10.32604/ijmhp.2022.021361
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85131682538
SN - 1462-3730
VL - 24
SP - 475
EP - 489
JO - International Journal of Mental Health Promotion
JF - International Journal of Mental Health Promotion
IS - 4
ER -