riding v.good treatment for autism- book/film- The Horse Boy

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a new book has come out from the parents of an autistic (diagnosed as PDDNOS) boy, and the treatment they sought for him.

interstingly, they ended up trying healing with horses; not only did the boy interact with the horses, but there is 'some evidence' of the benifits of riding on the brain..

"Rowan’s father Rupert noticed that his quarter-horse mare, Betsy, displayed submissive body language to the two year old boy whenever he wandered, babbling and spasmodic, into the horse pasture. Intrigued, Rupert put him up on the mare’s back. Immediately the ‘stimming’ (self-stimulation) stopped, replaced by an unusual, even blissful calm. The next day Rupert took Rowan riding with him, holding him in front of him in the saddle. Not only did the shrieking and jerking cease, Rowan began to talk."

http://www.horseboymovie.com/index1.html

"There is some scientific evidence, briefly referred to by Isaacson, that the continual adjustments of balance required by the act of riding a horse have a beneficial effect on brain function. Dr Temple Grandin, a professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University, who is autistic, tells Isaacson of her belief that autists are able to communicate with animals more easily than with their fellow humans. But hard science is not really the concern of this painfully personal and intensely mystical book. "

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/book ... pirit.html

and there is now a centre in texas for autistic children (autistic adults, as always- clearly dont get to join in)-
"we bring special needs (mainly kids on the autistic spectrum) and neuro typical chlidren together using horses as a social nexus."

http://www.horseboyfoundation.org/

sounds interesting?
film and book out soon- book has good reviews, film well recieved at sundance. (it also says autism is a pandemic- 1 child in 150 affected- is that true???)

i thought it was unusual, as though there is much anecdotal evidence that autists identify etc more with animals than people (i certainly do) and that animals are often used in healing/ stress reduction of all types, the mention of riding having an effect on brain stimulation was not something ive seen mentioned... a quick search indicates its fairly common, though- but thought other people might not be aware either....

theraputic effects of riding- (called- oddly- hippotherapy!)
http://www.horseplayriding.org/disabili ... tr_tbi.pdf
http://autism.healingthresholds.com/wiki/riding-therapy

riding is really good for the brain and the mind, both for aesthetic and neurological reasons.

unless you fall and hit your head, in which case, it's really, really bad for your brain.

I think that Autism is the original human consciousness. Maybe this is just my prejudice, because it makes more sense to me personally, but I think it really is true. I think that is why some of us have a closeness with beasts and that sort of thing.

I used to ride, but then I started feeling sad for the horses that carried me around (I'm not devoid of all feelings).

Now, interacting with horses, that's something I really like doing. Before the 'net, my best (well, only friend) friend was a horse (past-tense; a sad story).

I understand that jumping on a trampoline can also have beneficial effects on the brain because of the the need to constantly adjust balance.