Occupational Therapy
An occupational therapist is
assisted by a dog and its handler as they work to increase a patient’s range of
motion in her shoulder. The person has a specific goal of increasing her
ability to reach toward one of her feet. The dog understands specified commands
used during the sessions. The progress made during each session is documented
by the occupational therapist.Physical Therapy
There have been several published reports of children developing their motor
skills by learning how to groom and play with their pets. Some other forms
of animals in physical therapy include horseback riding and swimming with
dolphins. Therapeutic riding programs purport to provide both physical and
emotional benefits.
Horseback riding has been known to improve physical,
psychological,
and social functioning. Alleged benefits include normalizing
muscle tone, increasing flexibility, improved coordination, balance/strength,
circulation, and mental relaxation.
Dolphin therapy was first attempted in the 1970s by David Nathanson, a psychologist
who suggested that interactions with dolphins would have a variety of benefits,
including better attention span and stronger cogntive faculties. In a number of studies, he found that
children with disabilities learned faster and retained information longer when
they were with dolphins compared to children with similar disabilities who learned in a classroom setting. |
