Anxiety management through hippotherapy in children with developmental disorders

Chrysoula Moscholouri 1 and Konstantinos Chandolias 2, *

1 Department of Physical Therapy, University of West Attica, Greece.
2 Department of Physical Therapy International Hellenic University, Greece.
 
Review
International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2021, 02(01), 106-110.
Article DOI: 10.30574/ijsra.2021.2.1.0031
Publication history: 
Received on 14 January 2021; revised on 10 February 2021; accepted on 12 February 2021
 
Abstract: 
A large number of children with developmental disorders show symptoms of anxiety compared to children with normal development. High levels of stress weaken relationships with people around these children, thus limiting the social interaction they may have. In addition to having higher anxiety overall, children with developmental disorders also have a higher comorbidity of anxiety with other disorders. Hippotherapy is an intervention, which uses the natural gait and movement of a horse to provide motor, and sensory stimulation. It is a unique treatment strategy for children with disabilities, as it improves movement coordination and posture control. By improving movement, children with disabilities gain confidence and sense of security which helps them to deal with stress.
 
Keywords: 
Hippotherapy; Stress management; Children with developmental disorders
 
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