Horsing Around

Beth Macauley gets to play with horses at work. The associate professor of communication sciences and disorders at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, uses hippotherapy in treatment with her clients. A recent article in the Grand Rapids Gazette shares insights from Macauley on how hippotherapy can help with speech-language treatment. “We are actively moving the horse to facilitate different neurological reactions in a person, including body control, posture and attention, which leads to speech and swallowing because it is all the same nervous system,” Macauley states in the article. Macauley also performs academic research on finding connections and studying the efficacy of using horses in speech-language treatment. Read about other ASHA members using out-of-the-ordinary approaches to treatment: An SLP uses STEM—science, technology, engineering, mathematics—vocabulary and activities to cultivate language and literacy skills among older students. An SLP moved her social skills groups to a fitness center to offer clients engaging real-world experiences and the added bonus of motor-skills development. Boots, belt buckle, and even a cowboy hat—Catherine Coleman walks the walk and talks the talk when it comes to working with clients and horses at the Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program.    Shelley D. Hutchins is content editor/producer for The ASHA Leader. shutchins@asha.org. 
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: News Speech-Language Pathology Cognitive Rehabilitation Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs