As a special needs mom, I want to make sure my daughter is receiving all the services she needs to help her grow and thrive. When a child shows signs of a developmental delay, the pediatrician initially recommends physical therapy, occupational therapy, and/or speech therapy. In my daughter’s case, she receives all three: PT, OT, and speech therapy.
However, there are additional therapies that can supplement the ones mentioned above. Some extra therapies my special needs daughter participates in include aquatic physical therapy, hippotherapy (horse therapy), and vision therapy.
Because these therapies aren’t done in the traditional clinic setting, the child usually ends up having fun during the sessions and may not even realize that they’re doing therapy, although they are working very hard! These therapies can benefit kids who have autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, cerebral palsy, and genetic conditions, to name a few.
Hippotherapy
This incorporates PT, OT, and speech therapy using a horse. It can be done on or off the horse, called ground work. The movement of the horse helps strengthen the child’s muscles. Hippotherapy activates the core, which can help the child’s balance and coordination.
I was surprised to learn that the horse’s movement and breath help improve the child’s speech outcomes. By riding the horse, breath support is activated along with the core, which helps with speech production. Horse therapy is an immersive sensory experience that stimulates sight, touch, smell, and hearing.
Aquatic Therapy
Aquatic therapy is similar to PT and OT. However, it’s performed by a physical or occupational therapist in a large pool. The goal of aquatic therapy is to help improve weight-bearing, endurance, gait, and overall strength by performing various exercises in the water. This allows all muscles to be used, as it’s much easier to be mobile in the water.
This was a great additional therapy for my daughter, who, a year ago, at two years old, wasn’t yet walking and is now able to walk. The various exercises, like walking and going up and down stairs in the pool, helped my daughter so much, and within a few months, she was walking on land. Most aquatic therapists will also incorporate water safety in the session, and the child will eventually learn how to swim while keeping the child’s therapy the main priority.
Vision Therapy
An optometrist prescribes vision therapy. Vision therapy helps enhance visual skills and processing by using eye exercises, light therapy, and augmented reality, to name a few. It can also be as simple as wearing a pair of glasses. For example, my daughter had glasses prescribed by the optometrist that magnified and helped her look down because she would not look down while doing tasks.
She wore her glasses during her regular therapy sessions, and within a few months, her therapists and I saw a huge difference. She can now focus more and look down at what she’s doing. Vision therapy can also help with academics, attention, focus, and reading.
, and vision therapy.){kind=link}