EFFECT OF AN EQUINE THERAPY PROGRAM ON PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN BELONGING TO THE SCHOOL INTEGRATION PROGRAM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15621/ijphy/2020/v7i2/653Keywords:
Psychomotor development, Equine therapy, Student integration, Special Educational Needs, Motricity, CognitionAbstract
Background: A large number of children with disabilities exist, who have special educational needs and a delay in psychomotor development; they are frequently incorporated into student integration programs (SIP), forming part of the regular class and receiving complimentary technical and educational assistance. The health system has historically handled these cases through traditional physical therapy; however, currently, other complementary treatment techniques have arisen that produce benefits in the physical, psychological, cognitive, and social aspects of the child. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an Equine therapy program on the psychomotor development of SIP students.
Methods: A quantitative study with a quasi-experimental design and convenience sampling was conducted. Eighteen students (ten men and eight women) from SIP were obtained to establish a control group (N=9) and an experimental group (N=9). The intervention consisted of an 18-weeks program of equine therapy with two sessions each week. Psychomotor development was assessed before and after the intervention with the “Test de Desarrollo y Aprendizaje” (TADI).
Results: There was a significant improvement in psychomotor development (p<0,001) and in the cognitive and motor skills at the end of the intervention (p<0,05), the effect size obtained in the psychomotor development construct and the cognition and motor skills indicators were large (d> 0,8).
Conclusion: Statistically significant changes were found in the experimental group comparing the initial and final values after the intervention through many variables. It is then possible to conclude that equine therapy has a moderate to large impact on psychomotor development of SIP students, which was also statistically significant.
References
Servicio Nacional de la Discapacidad (SENADIS). II Estudio Nacional de la Discapacidad. Retrieved from http://www.senadis.gob.cl/descarga/i/3959.
Mary Warnock & Brahm Norwich. Special Educational Needs A New Look. 2nd Edition; 2010.
del Rosario-Montejo, O., Molina-Rueda, F., Muñoz-Lasa, S., & Alguacil-Diego, I. M. Efectividad de la terapia ecuestre en niños con retraso psicomotor. Neurología. 2015;30(7):425-432.
Ortúzar, D. Políticas del Cuerpo en la Discapacidad: Retóricas de la Rehabilitación en Chile. Intersticios. Revista sociológica de pensamiento crítico. 2009; 3(1):67-77.
Centro de Innovación en Educación, Fundación Chile. Análisis de la Implementación de los Programas de Integración Escolar (PIE) en Establecimientos que han incorporado Estudiantes con Necesidades Educativas Especiales Transitorias (NEET). 2013. Retrieved from https://especial.mineduc.cl/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2016/08/Resumen_Estudio_ImplementacionPIE_2013.pdf.
Departamento de Administración de Educación Municipal (DAEM) Talca. Plan Anual de Desarrollo de la Educación Municipal (PADEM) 2017. Retrieved from https://www.talcatransparente.cl/plan-desarrollo-educativo/doc_download/8789-padem-2019-.
Voznesenskiy, S., Rivera-Quinatoa, J. A., Bonilla-Yacelga, K. A., & Cedeño-Zamora, M. N. Do equine-assisted physical activities help to develop gross motor skills in children with the Down syndrome? Short-term results. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2016; 233:307-312.
González Prior, M. Beneficios de las terapias ecuestres, estudio de caso : Asociación Hispalense de Terapias Ecuestres y la Herradura (Thesis degree). Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla. 2016. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11441/44804.
López-Roa, L. M., & Moreno-Rodríguez, E. D. Hippotherapy as a technique of habilitation and rehabilitation. Universidad y Salud. 2015; 17(2), 271-279.
Meregillano, G. Hippotherapy. Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of north America. 2004; 15(4), 843-854.
Wollenweber, V., Drache, M., Schickendantz, S., Gerber-Grote, A., Schiller, P., & Pöhlau, D. Study of the effectiveness of hippotherapy on the symptoms of multiple sclerosis–Outline of a randomised controlled multicentre study (MS-HIPPO). Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications. 2016; 3:6-11.
Trzmiel, T., Purandare, B., Michalak, M., Zasadzka, E., & Pawlaczyk, M. Equine assisted activities and therapies in children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and a meta-analysis. Complementary therapies in medicine. 2019; 42:104-113.
Pardo Quiñones, M. y Edwards Guzmán, M. Manual del examinador TADI. 1st Edition; 2013.
Selby, A., & Smith-Osborne. A systematic review of effectiveness of complementary and adjunct therapies and interventions involving equines. Health Psychology. 2013; 32(4):418-432.
Tseng, S. H., Chen, H. C., & Tam, K. W. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of equine assisted activities and therapies on gross motor outcome in children with cerebral palsy. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2013; 35(2):89-99.
Hoagwood, K. E., Acri, M., Morrissey, M., & Peth-Pierce, R. Animal-Assisted Therapies for Youth with or at risk for Mental Health Problems: A Systematic Review. Applied Developmental Science. 2017; 21(1):1-13.
Catalan L, J., & García P, D. Hipoterapia: Otra alternativa terapéutica en la rehabilitación infantil. Rehabilitación Integral. 2009; 4(2):93-99.
García, I., Rojas, D., Patiño, B., Cárdenas, P., & Vélez, T. Revisión sistemática de programas deportivos aplicados a personas con autismo. Ciencia y Actividad Física. 2017; 3(2):64-74.
Ho, N. F., Zhou, J., Fung, D. S. S., & Kua, P. H. J. Equine-assisted learning in youths at-risk for school or social failure. Cogent Education. 2017; 4(1):1-18.
Sterba, J. A., Rogers, B. T., France, A. P., & Vokes, D. A. Horseback riding in children with cerebral palsy: effect on gross motor function. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 2002; 44(5):301-308.
Casady, R. L., & Nichols-Larsen, D. S. The effect of hippotherapy on ten children with cerebral palsy. Pediatric Physical Therapy. 2004; 16(3):165-172.
Shurtleff, T. L., Standeven, J. W., & Engsberg, J. R. Changes in dynamic trunk/head stability and functional reach after hippotherapy. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation. 2009; 90(7):1185-1195.
Heffernan, K., & Heffernan, K. The effect of an equine assisted therapy (EAT) programme on children’s occupational performance–a pilot study. Irish Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2017; 45(1):28-39.
Jae Hyun Yoo, Yunhye Oh, Byongsu Jang, Jihye Song, Jiwon Kim, Seonwoo Kim et al. The Effects of Equine-assisted Activities and Therapy on Resting-state Brain Function in Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Pilot Study. Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience. 2016; 14(4):357-364.
Noemi Martín-Paredes, Helena Chacón-López. La equinoterapia como nueva práctica educativa para la diversidad funcional: perfiles y actitudes del terapeuta. Revista científica electrónica de Educación y Comunicación en la Sociedad del Conocimiento. 2017; 17(1): 168-184.
Pérez Álvarez, L., Rodríguez Meso, J., & Rodríguez Castellano, N. La equinoterapia en el tratamiento de la discapacidad infantil. Revista Archivo Médico de Camagüey. 2008; 12(1):1-8.
Whalen, C. N., & Case-Smith, J. Therapeutic effects of horseback riding therapy on gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review. Physical & occupational therapy in pediatrics. 2012; 32(3):229-242.
Winchester, P., Kendall, K., Peters, H., Sears, N., & Winkley, T. The effect of therapeutic horseback riding on gross motor function and gait speed in children who are developmentally delayed. Physical & occupational therapy in pediatrics. 2002; 22(3-4), 37-50.
Published
Abstract Display: 844 
PDF Downloads: 714 How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright © Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This work is licensed under a