'When he's up there he's just happy and content': Parents' perceptions of therapeutic horseback riding

A Scoping Review of Equine-Assisted Therapies on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Autistic Children and Adolescents: Exploring the Possibilities

Animals are increasingly being utilized to assist with therapies for people with various health conditions. Horses are often used as a mechanism of engagement and development for autistic children and adolescents. Horses offer a unique opportunity for interaction as the child or adolescent can physically ride and interact with the animal, thus creating a therapy that involves contact that is different to other animals. Benefits derived from equine-assisted therapies can be physical, social, behavioral, emotional, sensory, and cognitive. However, a current and specific research gap exists in understanding the potential mental health impacts of horse riding on autistic children and adolescents, as perceived and experienced by their parents, carers, and horse-riding service providers. This scoping review examined research on parents' and service providers' perceptions of the benefits of horse-related therapies, with a particular focus on perceptions of positive mental health impacts. A comprehensive electronic search across PubMed, Scopus and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature identified 16 articles from 15 studies which met the inclusion criteria. Findings included non-mental health-related benefits (as perceived by parents and service providers), mental health-related benefits (as perceived by parents and service providers), benefits for those other than the child/adolescent, and limitations of equine-assisted therapies. With the increased use of equine therapy, and the mounting evidence of its positive impacts on mental health, it is timely to expand research on how to better harness interventions and maximize the mental health benefits for autistic children and adolescents.

The use and value of play: Perspectives from the continent of Africa - a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Published play knowledge predominantly originates outside Africa. This review was undertaken to summarize sources on play originating from the continent of Africa.

OBJECTIVE

To locate and summarize sources on the use and value of play in human development and learning from the African continent.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

Following the PRISMA Extension - Scoping Reviews guidelines, the initial search yielded 17,004 sources. Title and abstract screening identified 263 sources which were evaluated for eligibility namely; sources originating from the African continent, in any language, focussing on play as occupation.

RESULTS

A total of 127 sources were included; 76 qualitative, 28 quantitative and 23 mixed design sources; 100 from Southern Africa. Nine themes emerged: Who plays, why, where and how individuals play, intentional use of play, play and adult-related work skills, what is used in play, time/duration of play and barriers to play.

CONCLUSIONS

Play was used effectively in human development and learning. Withholding play as a form of discipline, emphasized how adults and children valued play. Adults still loved playing. Safety concerns contributed to the reasons play occurred indoors more than outdoors, despite outdoor play being preferred.

SIGNIFICANCE

The review provides a reference for play as an occupation which may promote learning and development.

Can Interacting with Animals Improve Executive Functions? A Systematic Review

There has been growing interest in the potential benefits of using human-animal interactions to improve executive functions: cognitive processes that allow individuals to plan, solve problems, and self-regulate behaviour. To date, no comprehensive review has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to evaluate existing literature, adopting broad inclusion criteria. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 16 papers were identified from peer-reviewed literature. Additional papers were identified from grey literature, including 6 dissertations and 1 thesis. A review of these 23 studies found that human-animal interactions and executive functions are investigated in three main ways: (1) exploring the potential benefits of the human-pet relationship, (2) exploring the impact of an animal's presence during administration of executive function tests, and (3) evaluating the efficacy of animal-assisted services (e.g., animal-assisted therapy) on executive functions. Five of the included studies reported a significant improvement across all measured domains of executive functions, but effect sizes were underreported. Comparatively, 9 studies reported mixed findings, d = 0.32-0.55, while 8 studies reported no significant results. The overall rigour of the research was limited, with great heterogeneity between the study methodologies and outcome measures used. It is recommended that future studies utilise high-quality research methodologies through the use of randomisation, pre- and postmeasures, and appropriate control conditions, where possible.

Dogs at school: a quantitative analysis of parental perceptions of canine-assisted activities in schools mediated by child anxiety score and use case

Canine-assisted activities in schools can benefit students' educational, emotional, and social needs. Furthermore, they could be an effective form of non-clinical mental health treatment for children and adolescents. In the United Kingdom, school dogs are growing in popularity, however, little is known about how parents perceive canine-assisted activities as a treatment option. This is important as parental perceptions can influence engagement, whilst lack of awareness can become a barrier to treatment. This study uses a cross-sectional design to quantitatively explore the acceptability of canine-assisted activities amongst UK-based parents (n = 318) of children aged six to 16 (M = 10.12, SD = 3.22). An online survey used a treatment evaluation to determine acceptability across three use-cases. These included a child reading to dogs to improve literacy skills, a child interacting one-to-one to foster greater self-esteem and social skills, and a classroom dog to improve student behaviour and motivation. Additionally, the scale for generalised anxiety disorder was used to rank child anxiety as high or low, where high was a score equal to or above the UK clinical borderline threshold. The results found canine-assisted activities were less acceptable for the behavioural than the reading and social use-cases. Furthermore, parents of children with high anxiety had higher acceptability scores than parents of children with low anxiety for the reading and social use-cases but not for the behavioural use case. These findings suggest that UK parents' acceptability of canine-assisted activities in schools is mediated by child anxiety score. Furthermore, that parents may be less aware of the benefits of classroom dogs than other types of school-based canine-assisted activities.

Parental Perception of Changes in Basic Life Needs of Children with Disabilities after Six Months of Therapeutic Horseback Riding: A Qualitative Study

Therapeutic horseback riding (THR) has a positive effect on the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning of children with disabilities. Parents’ reports of the effects of THR on their children support professionals in individualizing the THR program. With this qualitative study, we aimed to explore parents’ perceptions of changes in the basic life needs of their children with disabilities after six months of THR lessons and to survey parents’ explanations for the causes of these changes. The study involved parents of 13 children with disabilities who were enrolled in a six-month THR program. Parents continuously monitored their children and wrote a report on possible changes in their child’s needs according to Virginia Henderson’s need theory. Qualitative content analysis of parents’ reports indicated only positive changes in 11 children. Most codes were identified in categories “relationships and communication with other people” and “movement and posturing”. Other categories identified codes such as easier breathing, a better quality of sleep, better appetite, better elimination of stool and urine, more independence in clothing and maintaining personal hygiene, and greater interest in play and learning. Parents’ reports are further supported by the assessments of professionals. Most parents think THR is responsible for the noticeable improvements in their children’s quality of life.