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Home / Equine Research Bank / J Clin Med / Effectiveness of Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies fo...
Journal of clinical medicine2021; 10(8); 1726; doi: 10.3390/jcm10081726

Effectiveness of Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies for Improving Adaptive Behavior and Motor Function in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Abstract: Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) have been suggested to improve adaptive behavior, and possibly motor function, in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study investigated the effects of EAAT on adaptive behavior and motor function in 15 children with ASD (13 males) aged 7-15 years as well as the impact of EAAT on the magnitude of stress in the parent-child system and the evolution in the child interaction with both the trained therapist and the therapeutic animal through the 20 weekly sessions of EAAT. EAAT were associated with greater adaptive behavior and coordination (all ≤ 0.01) as well as a progressive improvement in the child's abilities to respond to the increasing complexity of such form of positive behavioral support (all < 0.001). However, EAAT did not prove to be effective in reducing parental distress. Collectively, preliminary evidence presented here may have important public health implications and gives reason to hope that EAAT could possibly be an effective option in ASD, warranting further investigation of its potential benefits in clinical trials among larger samples.
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Publication Date: 2021-04-16 PubMed ID: 33923582PubMed Central: PMC8073280DOI: 10.3390/jcm10081726Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article explores the effectiveness of equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) in improving adaptive behavior and motor function in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study discovered that EAAT can indeed enhance these areas, but does not significantly reduce parental distress.

Study Design and Participants

  • The study investigated the effects of equine-assisted activities and therapies on children with autism spectrum disorder. The research involved 15 children (13 boys) aged between 7 and 15 years.
  • The research was conducted over 20 weekly EAAT sessions. The sessions’ goal was to assess the impact of EAAT on adaptive behavior, motor function, stress within the parent-child system, and the progression of the child’s interaction with the therapist and the therapy animal.

Findings and Statistical Analyses

  • The findings suggested that EAAT was associated with a significant improvement in adaptive behavior and coordination in children with ASD, as evidenced by a statistical significance level of ≦ 0.01.
  • The study also observed progressive improvements in the children’s ability to respond to the increasing complexity of this form of positive behavioral support, showing a statistical significance of < 0.001. This suggests the participation in EAAT led to positive behavioral changes in the children.
  • Despite these positive outcomes, the study found that EAAT did not significantly reduce parental stress. This indicates that while EAAT has beneficial effects on children with ASD, it may not directly alleviate the challenges faced by parents.

Conclusion and Implications

  • The researchers concluded that the preliminary evidence presented in this study gives reason to hope that EAAT could be an effective therapeutic option for children with ASD.
  • However, as this was a relatively small-scale study, the authors state that further investigation into the potential benefits of EAAT is necessary through clinical trials with larger sample sizes.
  • The implications of these findings are significant as they may influence therapeutic practices in managing ASD, thereby having potential impacts on public health.

Cite This Article

APA
Zoccante L, Marconi M, Ciceri ML, Gagliardoni S, Gozzi LA, Sabaini S, Di Gennaro G, Colizzi M. (2021). Effectiveness of Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies for Improving Adaptive Behavior and Motor Function in Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Clin Med, 10(8), 1726. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10081726

Publication

Journal of clinical medicine
ISSN: 2077-0383
NlmUniqueID: 101606588
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 8
PII: 1726

Researcher Affiliations

Zoccante, Leonardo
  • Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Maternal-Child Integrated Care Department, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy.
Marconi, Michele
  • Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Maternal-Child Integrated Care Department, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy.
  • Corte Molon-ASD HorseValley, 37124 Verona, Italy.
Ciceri, Marco Luigi
  • Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Maternal-Child Integrated Care Department, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy.
Gagliardoni, Silvia
  • Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Maternal-Child Integrated Care Department, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy.
  • Corte Molon-ASD HorseValley, 37124 Verona, Italy.
Gozzi, Luigi Alberto
  • Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Maternal-Child Integrated Care Department, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy.
Sabaini, Sara
  • Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Maternal-Child Integrated Care Department, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy.
Di Gennaro, Gianfranco
  • Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy.
Colizzi, Marco
  • Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Maternal-Child Integrated Care Department, Integrated University Hospital of Verona, 37126 Verona, Italy.
  • Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
  • Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK.

Conflict of Interest Statement

M.C. has been a consultant/advisor to GW Pharma Limited, outside of this work. All the other authors declare no conflict of interest.

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This article has been cited 9 times.
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