Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of therapeutic horseback riding on the quality of life and motor performance in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. For this purpose, 12 children (5 girls and 7 boys) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 8 and 13 (Meanage Sd: 9.66 1.61) were participated in the study. They joined an 8-week and 1-hour session per week therapeutic horseback riding training. The assessment of quality of life and motor performance measurements during arm reaching movements were performed one day before and one day after the therapeutic horseback riding training sessions. To assess the quality of life, the pediatric quality of life scale parent form was used. We assessed the two sub-dimensions of that scale, the total of physical health and psychosocial health. For the motor performance measurements, children were asked to reach a target with either hand and upper extremity kinematics during their reaching movements were recorded in horizontal plane. Accuracy in pointing and hand linearity were two parameters to assess motor performance in children. Only four children participated in the motor performance tests. The statistical analysis showed improvements on the quality of life following the 8-week therapeutic horseback riding training. Even though there was an improvement in the motor performance test from the pre- to post-test, this improvement did not reach the significant level. Therapeutic horseback riding is therefore recommended as an alternative rehabilitation treatment for the children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

Keywords: