July 13, 2015 9:49 am
From American Overlook
As you know, animal therapy is a highly effective way for people to deal with traumatic experiences and other difficulties. Some veterans from war have found life easier with service animals for therapeutic reasons.
But a ground-breaking form of animal therapy using horses has recently been shown to help young people with Asperger’s really cope with their intense symptoms.
Over the last few years, awareness around autism has increased. You probably know the common traits of autistic individuals like difficulty in engaging socially, increased anxiety when faced with new situations, and higher levels of sensitivity. Asperger’s is a form of autism.
While autistic individuals can often have highly developed talents in some areas of their lives, it can be extremely challenging for them to experience success if they are unable to navigate the daily social interactions required of everyone.
Animal therapy has helped autistic individuals cope with their anxiety very successfully. While mostly using dogs, horse therapy offers people the opportunity to learn more about social cues and non-verbal communication.
Horses, like people with Asperger’s, are very sensitive and anxious. Because they’re a prey animal, horses instinctually keep their eyes open for danger and threats.
For this very reason, autistic individuals can learn how to manage their own feelings and reactions by working with the horses.
Posted by Gwendolyn
Categories: EAP
Tags: animal therapy, Asperger’s, autistic, equine-assisted psychotherapy, horse therapy, veterans
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Reblogged this on Never Less Than Everything and commented:
A wonderful video about equine therapy. Please comment on original post. Comments are disabled here. Thanks!
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By threehandsoneheart on July 13, 2015 at 10:23 pm