Horse Therapy for Children with Special Needs!

Our daughter began to go through a phase, for the second time, where she was resisting doing her physical and occupational therapy exercises, especially with her mama.  And since mama is the one person who is with her the most, I began to feel frustrated and hopeless.  Determined to find other sources to encourage her to learn to stand and eventually walk, I discovered horse therapy from a dear friend.  We had the good fortune to have a horse therapy center not too far from us called MBHTC (Monterey Bay Horsemanship and Therapeutic Center), so on we went to discover horse therapy.

The first time our daughter Marissa got on a horse she was just taking in everything and was very calm.  In fact, I wasn't sure she enjoyed it at first, but by the end of her ride she did not want to leave and was pointing to the horses, signing horse in sign language.  She has had 5 horse sessions now and this is what I discovered.  She falls asleep on the way home in the car after each horse session, well before her usual naptime.  The fact that she is tired after each session makes me think either she is getting a good physical workout or that new neuropathways must be occurring in her brain.  I have been told by other parents of special needs kids that their kids often fall asleep after horse therapy as well.  Since doing horse therapy, her speech has taken off.  She was only saying 3 - 4 words and now her words have increased weekly.  She even said her first sentence, "you did this"!  After 3 sessions, her gross motor skills also began to show improvement.  She stood up from a sitting position by herself for the first time, which was huge for us, as we have been working hard on this the last 2 years.

Seeing these improvements drove me to learn more about horse therapy, also called equine therapy and/or hippotherapy.  Horse therapy helps strengthen children's core and upper body strength, balance and coordination skills , while having fun.  Margo Dewkitt, director of Windridge Equestrian Therapeutic Center of East Texas, has long said "the movements of a walking horse stimulate muscle groups the rider would use while walking if his or her brain were more in control".  In 2012, at her center, they began doing scientific research to quantify physical improvements of horse riders overtime.  In an article by Linda Hubley, she says "some of the other important factors that horseback riding offers is it teaches a skill while at the same time helps the rider to stretch and strengthen muscle tone.  The rhythm of riding helps to relax the body and improve balance and coordination."

A study done in 2008 by the University of Washington Research Team found that after 12 weeks of hippotherapy, the use of the rhythmic movement of a horse to effect therapeutic gains, improves both head and trunk stability and upper extremity function in children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy".  "They actually maintained a continuum of measureable improvement - better head and trunk stability and improved control of their arms as they reach - even months after their hippotherapy sessions ended."

Horse therapy also has mental and emotional benefits as well.  Equine therapy is often geared toward mental/emotional support for children so that they can learn how to interact in the world.  "It's been clinically proven that just being in the vicinity of horses changes our brainwave patterns", says Franklin Levinson.  "They have a calming effect which helps stop people from becoming fixated on past or negative events - giving them a really positive experience".  This type of therapy is often done with kids with autism. 

And in case you are wondering how safe horse therapy is, a good place will often have one person riding with the child and another person holding the horse's reigns, walking beside the horse.  Often helmets are used as well.  And of course, I always look for a place where horses look well-treated, happy and healthy!

While horse therapy can be costly, some places will have scholarship programs or grants available to support families.  It is also a great gift to ask for the holidays or birthdays.  In California, after age 3, you might be able to use Respite Hours through your local Regional Center to cover the cost.  As more and more research is being done on the benefits of horse therapy, health insurances may cover this type of therapy in the future. 

Marissa and I look forward to her weekly horse therapy sessions and to seeing more benefits in the future.  Let us know if you have tried this!  I would love to hear the outcomes from other families!


References:
Brown, Julie (2014). Horse Therapy - Changing Lives.  Taken from http://www.wayofthehorse.org/Articles/horse-therapy.html
Evans, Glenn (2012). Research could validate horse therapy at East Texas Center.  Taken from http://www.news-journal.com/news/local/research-could-validate-horse-therapy-benefits-at-east-texas-centera/article_bfd9604b-f14a-5aa4-8a08-98f7024584ed.html
Henry, KC for Washington University Research Team. (2008). Benefits of Equine Therapy. Taken from http://www.horsesandhumans.org/WUfinal_press_release.pdf
Hubley, Linda. (2014). Horse Therapy for Children with Special Needs. Taken from http://www.childrensdisabilities.info/therapy-service-animals/horse-therapeutic-therapy.html

 

Bone Broth For Health!

Why Bone Broth?
Last winter I started an immune regime for my little one to help prevent her from getting sick.  If you have a special needs child you know how challenging setbacks can be when your baby keeps getting colds.  This regime has worked out great in strengthening my daughter's immune system and digestive system.
One of the things I added to my daughters diet was bone broth.  So I thought I'd share why this is such potent food medicine.  Here are some of the wonderful properties bone broth contains:

1. Bone broth contains many wonderful nutrients such as minerals in a form the body can absorb easily.  Some of these minerals include calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. 
2. Bone broth contains amino acids such as glutamine (which provides fuel for intestinal cells), glycine, proline and arginine which are anti-inflammatory.  
3. Bone broth contains gelatin.  New research shows bone broth helps to heal leaky gut syndrome as it helps heal the lining of the gut through the gelatin which promotes digestive juices in the gut.  Babies have been shown to have fewer digestive problems when gelatin was added to their milk as it promotes digestive juices to food in the gut.  A survey comprised of over 30 years of research on gelatin showed its ability to improve the digestion of milk. In the early 1900s gelatin was therefore recommended as an ingredient in infant formula, to decrease allergic reactions, colic and respiratory ailments. Gelatin was also reported to increase the digestibility of beans and meat. It was also found that gelatin increased the utilization of the protein in wheat, oats and barley, all gluten containing grains.
4. Bone broth can help strengthen the immune system.  Because over 70% of our immune cells lie in our gut, a strong digestive system may very well be connected to a strong immune system.  Furthermore, chicken contains a natural amino acid called cysteine, which can thin the mucus in your lungs and make it less sticky so you can expel it more easily.
5. Bone broth is beneficial in pregnancy. In pregnancy, the growing fetus creates a demand for glycine that is two to ten times greater than normal, and two to ten times greater than the need for other amino acids.

How to Make Bone Broth?
Ingredients:
Filtered water
3 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar (I like Bragg's brand)
Sea salt, to taste
Organic chicken with bones
Bone broth is easy to make especially if you have a crockpot.  Place chicken with bones in crockpot and fill crockpot with filtered water until water reaches 2 inches above chicken.  You can add any spices you like. I add 2-3 cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, sea salt to taste and 1 to 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar.  Let chicken cook in crockpot on low for 24-48 hours.  When done, skim the top and take chicken out of crockpot.  Keep chicken meat for later use.  If you don't want any sediment you can strain broth through cheesecloth after it cools or if you don't mind some sediment you can freeze broth in ice cube trays or containers.  It will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

How to Use Bone Broth?
*Use broth to make soups
*Use broth to cook grains in
*Use broth as one of baby's first foods - can be mixed with breastmilk
*Broth can be used in sauces to add flavor
*Broth can be used to sautee veggies in
*1 cup of bone broth can be drunk daily with spices and sea salt as a beverage to help heal a leaky gut

*Disclaimer:  This information should not be taken in place of medical advice.  Seeing a health practitioner is always the preferred route to go if you have a health concern.  This information is for sharing purposes and hopefully inspiration!  

Be well!!

References:
Fallon, Sally (2000). Broth is Beautiful.  Retrieved from http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/broth-  
is-beautiful 
Jackson, A, et al. Optimizing amino acid and protein supply and utilization in the newborn, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 1989, 48, 293–301.
Mercola, Joseph MD (2013). Bone Broth: One of Your Most Healing Diet Staples.  Retrieved from   http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/16/bone-broth-benefits.aspx 
Samonina, G, et al. Protection of gastric mucosal integrity by gelatin and simple proline containing peptides, Pathophysiology, April 2000, 7, 1, 69–73.
27. Koyama, et al. Ingestion of gelatin has differential effect on bone mineral density and bodyweight in protein undernutrtion, Journal of Nutrition and Science of Vitaminology, 2000, 47, 1, 84–86.

Siebecker, Allison (2005). Traditional Bone Broth in Modern Health and Disease.  Retrieved from http://www.townsendletter.com/FebMarch2005/broth0205.htm