ERIC Number: EJ1077310
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1927-5250
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Effectiveness of Therapeutic Horseback Riding on Social Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Shiraz, Iran
Ghorban, Hemati; Sedigheh, Rezaei Dehnavi; Marzieh, Gholami; Yaghoob, Gharghani
Journal of Education and Learning, v2 n3 p79-84 2013
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of therapeutic horseback riding on social skills of children with autism spectrum disorder. Participants were 6 children with autism spectrum disorder in a special education center for autistic children in Shiraz, Iran. The hypothesis of the study was that participants would demonstrate significant improvement in social skills following a 4-week horseback riding intervention. Using a One Group Pre and Post Test design, the Stone's social skills Scale was administered to assess the social skills of children with autism spectrum disorder as pretest. Then the subjects participated in a 4-week therapeutic horseback riding program consisting of two 45 minute session of riding per week. After completion of the 4-week intervention the post-test was administered. Paired-samples "t-test" was utilized to analyze the data. The results indicated that therapeutic horseback riding improves affective understanding and perspective taking, initiating interactions and maintaining interactions significantly. It can be concluded that therapeutic horseback riding has a positive effect on social skills improvement.
Descriptors: Horses, Therapy, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Children, Special Education, Interpersonal Competence, Social Development, Program Effectiveness, Intervention, Hypothesis Testing, Pretests Posttests, Skill Development, Statistical Analysis, Foreign Countries, Recreational Activities, Rating Scales
Canadian Center of Science and Education. 1120 Finch Avenue West Suite 701-309, Toronto, OH M3J 3H7, Canada. Tel: 416-642-2606; Fax: 416-642-2608; e-mail: jel@ccsenet.org; Web site: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jel
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Iran
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Social Skills Rating System
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A