Equine-Assisted Therapy in the Behavior of Individuals With Autism

Brief summary (registry, in English)

Purpose of the Study: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of 8 weeks of equine-assisted therapy exercises applied to children with autism spectrum disorder on autistic behavioral levels (sensory development, relationship building skills, development in body and object use, social and self-care development, and language skills) based on parental opinions. Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 20 volunteers (n=20) with a mean age of 9.90±1.44 years. They were diagnosed with ASD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, 2013), had partial verbal communication, had not received prior equine-assisted therapy training, had underdeveloped basic life skills (eating and dressing), were not taking regular medication, and had no other chronic diseases other than autism. Participants participated fully in equine-assisted therapy sessions twice a week for 8 weeks. The study included: Quantitative studies were designed using a single-group pretest-posttest experimental design without a control group, a method used in experimental research methods. A survey was used as the data collection method. Data were collected in three different stages using the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) scale, administered face-to-face to the parents of the participating children under the supervision of the researcher. The data were recorded in the SPSS 25 package program. Repeated Measures ANOVA was used as the statistical analysis. Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) The Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) was developed by Krug et al. (1980), and its Turkish adaptation and validity and reliability study were conducted by Irmak et al. (2007). The ABC scale has five factors and 57 items. The scale factors include 9 items on the sensory dimension, 12 items on relationship building, 12 items on body and object use, 13 items on language skills, and 11 items on social and self-care skills. The highest possible score on this scale is 159, and the lowest is 0. In other words, high scores on the scale indicate a high prevalence of autism symptoms. The Autism Behavior Checklist, also known as the ABC, is one of the most frequently used measurement tools for screening and assessing autism (De Bildt et al. 2005). The advantage of the ABC scale in the application process is that it is a scale that makes it possible to obtain information about autistic children from both educators and parents (Krug et al. 1980).Week Day Time Purpose Event Content 1 1 30 min Getting used to the environment and the horses Introduction to the therapy center, observing horses, and practicing getting close to horses 2 30 min First contact with the horse Touching the horse with your hands and holding the horse's mane while watching it 2 1 30 min Basic riding stances Balance exercises by sitting on a horse, learning the correct sitting position 2 30 min Movement awareness Slight bending forward, backward and sideways with the bust 3 1 30 min Upper body and arm coordination Extending the hands forward, to the sides and to the feet, petting the horse 2 30 min Lying on a horse Lying forward and backward, on the back or face down 4 1 30 min Motor skills Attempts to stand up with or without stepping on the stirrups 2 30 min Object control Games of throwing objects at targets with the right/left hand 5 1 30 min Social interaction Communicating with the coach (greeting, saying your name) 2 30 min Sensory awareness Touching the horse's front legs, noticing the mane, hugging the horse 6 1 30 min Balance and direction Trials of turning left and right, forward and backward, and steering on a horse 2 30 min Audiovisual mapping Saying the names of printed images and number recognition exercises 7 1 30 min Integration of mixed skills Trials of rein holding, steering and basic commanding 2 30 min Mixed-task applications Multitasking involving throwing objects + talking + changing direction 8 1 30 min Skill reinforcement Integrated repetition of all learned movements 2 30 min Skill reinforcement Integrated repetition of all learned movements 10 - - Final observation and evaluation Completing the Parent Autism Behavior Checklist Scale

What you commit to

• Study type: Interventional
• Participants enrolled: 20
• From 15 Mar 2024 to the primary completion date, 15 Mar 2024
• 1 site in 1 country
• Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

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Who cannot take part

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Who the study is looking for

Age in the registry: 9 years to 11 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (1)

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Related publications

• Parent-reported behavioral changes following equine-assisted therapy in children with autism spectrum disorder: a single-group longitudinal study.Front Psychol · 2026 · PMID 42325331