| This study explored the effectiveness of hippotherapy intervention over a six-week period for children with developmental disabilities. Six children identified with developmental disabilities between the ages of 3 and 13 participated in the study. Intervention included hippotherapy sessions for one hour, once a week for six weeks from the same physical therapist trained to provide hippotherapy intervention. The methods used to record performance included goal attainment scales (GAS) and semantic differentials which were both created by the physical therapist to coincide with existing functional goals. The results of the six-week hippotherapy sessions were evaluated through visual analysis of the GAS and semantic differentials. Three out of six children improved after the hippotherapy sessions according to the GAS. Analysis of the semantic differentials reflect gains in five of the six children comparing the pre and post-session ratings. The conclusion of this research is that the six-week hippotherapy program provided modest gains in functional and affective skills. This research provides support for hippotherapy services. Future research is recommended for further support. |
