Equine Therapy for Aspergers Children

"We have heard that therapy using animals is an effective method for treating symptoms of AS. Is there one animal therapy that stands out above the rest, or one that is recommended more often?"

Typical treatment programs for Aspergers (high-functioning autism) focus on behavior modification and improvement. The complexity of the behaviors is gradually increased in an attempt to help the person continue developing. Medication is sometimes prescribed to people with Aspergers, but only to control symptoms like hyperactivity or seizures. There's currently no known cure for Aspergers.

Research into animal assisted therapy is fairly new. However, even among professionals who believe more research is in order, there's a general consensus that therapy animals can be a highly beneficial addition to treatment programs for kids with Aspergers.

Equine assisted therapy seems to have the best results. The rhythmic motion of riding a horse causes the kids to focus on the movement - which is slow, deliberate, and relaxing. The youngster indirectly learns how to focus better, which is aided by the calming effect of riding. Some equine therapy ranches have a policy of letting the horse pick the youngster, rather than "assigning" the youngster and horse to each other. It's a unique method that has had excellent results. A staff person will lead a youngster to a horse, and watch for the horse's reaction. If the horse dips his head or nuzzles the youngster, it's an indication that a bond is being formed and the youngster has been "chosen".

In addition to the movement experienced when riding the horse, tactile senses are stimulated. The horse's skin is fuzzy, the mane and tail are rough, and the nose is soft. Discovery of these sensations often helps draw a youngster out, stimulating development of his or her verbal communication and interest in other physical objects.

Motor skills are also developed as the youngster learns to ride, and eventually groom and tack. Equine therapy offers a safe, secure environment where a therapist or other staff person will be close at hand as new skills are learned. These new skills, and the youngster's continued improvement upon them, increase her self-confidence, which increases her desire and willingness to learn skills at home and/or at school. Learning is no longer scary, but fun, interesting and rewarding.

A youngster's ability to interact socially is often improved as well. The therapy sessions teach the youngster how to interact with the counselor and staff people. Group sessions allow the youngster to work and play with other kids and counselors, to learn how to handle relational conflict, and how to help others. Counselors who have consistently included equine assisted therapy in their development programs for autistic kids always have stories to tell of the dramatic improvements they see in the kids. Not only is basic communication and motor skills improved, but many kids experience improvements in their overall moods. Kids who before experienced angry outbursts or who rarely smiled are suddenly calmer, and smile more readily and frequently.

As with other types of animal assisted therapy, the introduction of the animal seems to calm and soothe kids. The playful nature of animals seems to draw autistic kids out of their "shells". Kids who start to isolate themselves have become more open as a result of equine assisted therapy. Often, they begin making eye contact with the animal first, then with other people. Soon after that, the youngster often becomes more relationally open; again, with the animal first, then with people.

Working with an animal such as a horse offers the youngster with Aspergers a safe, non-judgmental and tolerant relationship in which to practice both verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Communication is power when a command such as "Giddyup!" or "Giddup!" makes the horse go and "Whoa!" or "Ho!" makes it stop.

The Aspergers youngster can also learn to recognize the impact of his own behavior on others while working with a horse. If he yells at a horse, the animal won't come near him. If he speaks gently, it will.

During equine therapy, a licensed mental health professional will use the structured activity, whether feeding, grooming, haltering or even riding the horse to help the youngster to meet specific goals. The youngster may be asked to interpret how the animal is feeling by observing non-verbal cues, or to practice taking turns talking and listening while having a conversation with the therapist about the activity. He may join a group of other kids at the stable to discuss various aspects of horsemanship, practicing communication skills and age-appropriate topics of conversation.

In a challenging world, the Aspergers kid with horsemanship skills will have new (and age-appropriate) topics of conversation, new communication and social skills to apply to human relationships, and of course, a new friend in a therapy horse.

Speech Therapy for Aspergers Children?

Many moms and dads of extremely verbal kids with Aspergers (high-functioning autism) are surprised when it is suggested that Speech Therapy may help their youngster with communication difficulties. The difficulties are not in how the youngster speaks or pronounces words, but rather in how the youngster perceives the meaning of other people's speech and how they respond to it.

There are many expressions we use that are confusing to a youngster with Aspergers. Until you listen closely to the kinds of questions your youngster asks about what other people say, this problem is an easy one to miss.

Here's an example reported by one parent:

The other night my husband was holding a wooden bowl in his hands. Our younger son said "Can I see that?" and put out his hands to hold it. Our older son with Aspergers immediately asked "Why do people always say what they don't mean?" This had us puzzled until we dug a little deeper and found out the reason for his confusion. My son stated, "Why do people say ‘can I see that’ when they really mean ‘can I hold that’?" There was no way in which my husband and I could explain to our son why people say something that isn't what they mean to our son's satisfaction. I suspect that this problem occurs daily in my son's life, contributing to his stress and anxiety in dealing with the school environment.

Speech therapy can assist this youngster with the understanding of what other people mean when they speak and do something completely different. Social skills can be incorporated into the speech therapy as well. 

The parent went on to say:

When I brought up speech therapy for my son, who is 12 and extremely verbal, at a recent school meeting, there were some rather skeptical looks pointed my way until I explained the theory that speech therapy is one way of helping kids with Aspergers extract the meaning of other people's speech. Using the incidence of the wooden bowl as an example of the difficulty my son has, the teachers understood and are now incorporating this into my son's IEP.

One of the main differences between a youngster with Aspergers and those with one of the other autism spectrum disorders is a lack of a clinically significant language delay. Per the DSM, if there is a clinically-significant language delay present (i.e., lack of communicative phrases by 3 years of age), then a diagnosis of Aspergers cannot be made. However, speech-language pathologists can assist kids with Aspergers in a variety of ways.

Social Skills Group—

One of the hallmark signs of an autism spectrum disorder, including Aspergers, is a lack of age-appropriate social skills. This may manifest in several ways including a lack of eye contact, the inability to merge into a group of peers or simply the lack of desire to participate in reciprocal communication.

Some social skills groups are facilitated by speech-language pathologists (SLP). The SLP, who understands the nuances of language and knowing that language is one of the main methods of communication, assists kids with Aspergers with acquiring social skills. Social skills in typically developing kids emerge as the youngster ages. In kids with Aspergers, these skills often have to be taught just as math facts are taught.

Pragmatic Language Instruction—

Pragmatic communication involves the use of language, changing the language based on a situation and following the basic rules of conversation. Some kids with Aspergers can be verbally gifted, yet it is not uncommon to find pragmatic language concerns in these kids.

Pragmatic language is basically the social use of language. Kids with Aspergers who also have pragmatic deficiencies may not understand how to take turns when engaged in a conversation with another youngster or even an adult. Other pragmatic language concerns include standing too close to a person while talking, coordinating facial expressions and eye contact in conversation and even understanding how to speak differently to a young youngster as opposed to an adult. SLPs can work with kids with Aspergers to help them understand the rules of social language.

Speech Articulation Concerns—

Some kids with Aspergers may present with speech articulation errors. This can be a result of low oral-motor muscle tone or perhaps a problem with the motor coordination required to make certain speech sounds. When a youngster with Aspergers doesn’t grow out of typical speech articulation errors, working with an SLP may help reduce these errors. As a result, the youngster is better understood by peers and adults which could possibly decrease social anxieties that the youngster has as a result of his articulation.

Speech therapy is a fixture among those with an autism spectrum disorder, including Aspergers. If you have a youngster with Aspergers and are concerned with one of the above issues, consider contacting your school’s SLP to request an assessment.