The Association Between Therapeutic Horseback Riding and the Social Communication and Sensory Reactions of Children with Autism

This study investigated the association between therapeutic riding (TR) and the social communication and sensory processing skills of 21 elementary students with autism attending TR as part of a school group. An interrupted treatment design was employed to determine whether children were able to maintain treatment effects following the removal of TR. Teacher ratings indicated that participating children with autism significantly increased their social interaction, improved their sensory processing, and decreased the severity of symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorders following TR. Gains were not maintained consistently after two 6-week breaks from TR, but were recovered once TR was reinstated. Potential explanations regarding the benefits of TR are discussed, and suggestions for future research provided.     

RouTEAM: Home and School Partnerships to Support Communication for Children with Complex Communication Needs

A workshop format is often the professional development (PD) model used by educators; however, research shows that workshops are often not sufficient to change educator behavior. Additionally, including caregivers in PD can promote shared decision-making and support children’s transfer of skills between home and school environments. This pilot study examined the effectiveness of a PD intervention delivered to caregiver-educator teams that included team-based coaching to target adults’ use of evidence-based strategies delivered in a planned instructional sequence (i.e., CPR - create a communication opportunity, prompt as needed, respond to child communication) designed to support reciprocal interactions with children and use of aided augmentative or alternative communication. Using a multiple baseline across five caregiver-educator-child triads, the effect of intervention on adults’ percentage of correct CPR cycles was compared to a baseline condition in which adults learned isolated strategy implementation in a workshop format. Five adults showed positive behavior changes when intervention was implemented at three different time points, demonstrating promise of the intervention; however, for reasons discussed herein, the study produced mixed results. Results are consistent with prior research, and may be useful to administrators, educators, or families interested in PD and collaboration across home and school settings.