Horseback riding therapy for autistic children

BY CHRISTINA HERNANDEZ
January 27, 2008
'Do you want to get on the horse?" Taylor Rubin asked Nicholas Griecoduring a recent riding lesson.Nicholas, 9, didn't answer.He was standing in a century- old barn at Lakewood Stables in WestHempstead, brushing Layla, a brown Mexican pony.Nicholas was staring at Layla's brand, his nose nearly touching thehorse's hindquarters, lost in concentration. It's a commoncharacteristic of autism, a developmental disability that causesimpaired communication and unusual behaviors. More than 3,000 school-agechildren on Long Island have been classified as having an autismspectrum disorder, a neurological condition that causes mild to severeimpairment.Nicholas, of Bellmore, was at the stables for a regular riding lesson aspart of its therapeutic program for children with autism. He had beenhaving some difficulties that day.When Rubin, the program's director, asked what color the horse was,Nicholas replied, "OK." He occasionally became frustrated by Rubin'sdirections. But Nicholas had succeeded in learning to brush the horse incircular motions, among other skills."He definitely deserves to ride," Rubin said.At Lakewood Stables, saddling up is not always a right, it's a reward.Improving social skillsThe program, which began lessons last fall, aims to improve behaviors,motor skills and social function, said Alex Jacobson, who owns thestables with Ben Haghani."Riding a horse, for autistic children, is very therapeutic," saidJacobson, who was inspired to start the program after his fiancee's4-year-old cousin, who has autism, visited Lakewood.The riding rings also has a laboratory to study the connection betweenanimals and children. There is no scientific research, according to theNew Jersey-based nonprofit Association for Science in Autism Treatment,to support what workers at Lakewood and other stables say they've seen:Horses can help alleviate autism symptoms. So experts are seeking tolearn more."Is it that the animal is sensitive to the fact that the kid isdifferent?" Anthony Hollander said.Hollander, an Amityville autism specialist and consultant for Lakewood,helped set up the program in which staff members chart the children'sprogress in such areas as language development, ability to takedirection and social interaction by recording data during ridinglessons. His research also is trying to pinpoint why horses and childrenhave an affinity for one another by testing variables that couldinfluence that connection, such as whether the child smells like candyor some other food.Other scientists who have worked with dolphins have found they provokedlittle change in children's behavior.Data analysis is a component of Applied Behavior Analysis, a highlystructured teaching method generally considered by scientists to be themost effective way to teach people with autism.Despite the lack of hard evidence, parents have gravitated to Lakewood'sriding program, which costs $75 for each 30- to 45-minute session,Jacobson said.About 50 people have filled out the 10-page registration packetregarding each rider's health history, behavior and skills, includingmood, speech and toilet training, he said. The forms are used to createa customized data sheet for all riders, who range in age from 2 to 18years.Lessons are overseen by Rubin, who was trained by Hollander and is inthe process of being certified by the North American Riding for theHandicapped Association.Labor-intensive lessonsLessons for a person with autism require several staff members. Duringriding, a handler must stand on each side of the horse while anotherleads the horse around the ring. Someone else records data, such aswhether the child answers a question or responds to directions.Lessons begin with a "desensitization phase," Hollander said, which caninclude touching, brushing and feeding the horse, helping to clean thestables and, possibly, riding.With success, the workload increases. The hope is for the child to oneday leave the small riding ring on stable grounds and take a horse outon a trail.Across Long Island, other stables run similar programs for children withautism.Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, a nonprofit that providesservices for people with autism and other disorders, runs a horse ridingprogram that includes data collection at Saddle Rock Ranch in MiddleIsland, said chief executive Robert Budd.Pal-O-Mine Equestrian in Islandia also offers therapeutic horsebackriding for people with disabilities, including those with autism.At Lakewood Stables, parents say the riding program has had significanteffects on their children's demeanor and use of language."There's a lot of hope," said Cathy Grieco, 43, Nicholas' mother, whosedaughter, Ariana, 10, also began lessons in December. "It's just anotherstep forward for them."Behavior modificationLakewood instructors use a variety of behavior modification strategiesto teach new habits and eliminate undesirable behavior. Among thestrategies is "ABA," which teaches life skills such as reading,counting, conversing and following directions."If they're applying that to horseback riding, I think that's a reallynice idea," said Ellen Woodward of the Cody Center for Autism andDevelopmental Disabilities at Stony Brook University.The method is familiar to Bobby Greengus, 6, whose teachers use ABA whenworking with him at home in Long Beach, at school and during his weeklysessions at Lakewood.Bobby, a small boy with searching eyes, spent several minutes on arecent afternoon wandering the 1.2-acre grounds with Rubin. Holdinghands, Bobby dragged the instructor past the riding ring, stopped to runhis fingers along the side of an abandoned pickup and then wanderedaimlessly into a barn. When Rubin finally focused Bobby and led him over to a horse to brush,the goal was a modest one - three brush strokes before he wandered awayagain. Rubin moved Bobby's hand in circular motions on the horse'sflank. When the horse stomped the ground, Bobby stared at her.Over the half-hour session, Bobby rarely spoke a discernible word. Inworking with him, Rubin used the simplest directives, such as "brush."When Rubin and Bobby fetched his helmet for riding, Bobby refused to putit on.As they stood outside the riding ring, Rubin picked up a leaf and fed itto Layla, who was saddled up and ready to ride. Bobby looked on withinterest. Rubin showed him how to feed Layla, then pointed at a leaf onthe ground a few feet away and asked Bobby to get it. He did, ran backto Layla and held it out for the horse, which gingerly took it.Bobby's father, Todd Greengus, who had been watching the scene, placedthe helmet on his son's head - and this time Bobby didn't protest. Theyput Bobby on the horse's back, and as he rode around the ring, Bobbywaved both hands in the air.With more lessons came more progress, said Rubin and Bobby's mother, KimGreengus.At a lesson a few weeks later, they said, Bobby strung words together onhis own for the first time and built the foundation of a sentence."Ride Layla, please," he said.The horse as rider's therapistAutism is not the only disability with symptoms that seem to be eased byguiding a horse around a riding ring, local and national ridingenthusiasts say.The Christian Fellowship Ranch in Syosset hosts riders with Downsyndrome, cancer, brain injuries, heart conditions, mental disabilitiesand other handicaps, said Madeline Buglione, president of Long IslandRiding for the Handicapped Association, which runs the program."Wherever their weaknesses are," she said, "they work with it to makethem stronger."Riding provides new opportunities for people with disabilities to usetheir bodies, Buglione said. "Someone who's in a motorized wheelchair,"she said, "can be put up on a horse and actually feel like it is towalk."More than 42,000 people with disabilities participate in equine-assistedprograms in the United States and abroad, said Barbara Yost of theDenver-based parent organization North American Riding for theHandicapped Association. At least four Long Island facilities, she said,work with riders with disabilities.Horses are an ideal animal to bond with people who have handicaps, Yostsaid. "They are attuned to emotions," she said. "They have to be,because they're a herd animal."Despite the apparent connection between horses and those withdisabilities, lessons at the ranch in Syosset require significanteffort. Most riders need three handlers per session, Buglione said, oneto lead and one on each side of the horse. People with differentdisabilities require various types of equipment, she said.A special safety stirrup, which can break away if the rider falls, isused for those with multiple sclerosis, Buglione said. Riders withvisual impairments learn to steer the horse by listening to a bell rungby an instructor.Most lessons include exercises in physical therapy, Buglione said. Forexample, to teach balance, riders try to keep a beanbag from falling offthe top of their helmet.People with certain conditions, like severe cerebral palsy and severespina bifida, might not benefit from horse therapy, Buglione said.Potential riders with disabilities, she said, should be evaluated by adoctor or physical therapist.Although goals differ for each person, Buglione said instructors hopethe students will one day ride on their own. "Some can," she said. "Somecan't." - CHRISTINA HERNANDEZ