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GRANT TO HELP START HIPPOTHERAPY PROGRAM
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Joint Effort with D’Youville and Lothlorien Therapeutic Riding Center
BUFFALO
– A $31 thousand grant from the Community Foundation for Greater
Buffalo to D’Youville College will fund the startup of the area’s first
college endorsed Hippotherapy Treatment Program.
Hippotherapy is
a treatment strategy that uses multidimensional movement of the horse.
The name is derived from the Greek word “hippos” which means horse,
according to Project Director Dr. Sarah P. Pictor, an assistant
professor of physical therapy at the college and the past Education
Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Hippotherapy
Association. (AHA)
In the United States, physical therapists,
occupational therapists and speech/language therapists have been
incorporating hippotherapy into treatment plans since the 1980s,” she
said. “However, there are no programs affiliated with a college or
university.”
The program will be partnering with the
Lothlorien Therapeutic Riding Center, which currently offers adaptive
or recreational horseback riding lessons to individuals with physical
and cognitive disabilities. “With the support of this grant, and the
collaboration with Lothlorien, the Western New York community will have
a high quality program.”
Hippotherapy has been shown to improve
balance, posture, mobility and function and may also affect
psychological, cognitive, behavioral and communications functions for
individuals of all ages. Clients who may benefit include those
diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Developmental Delay,
Brain Injury, Stroke, Autism and Learning or Language Disabilities,
according to the American Hippotherapy Association.
The
Community Foundation grant will help D’Youville establish an off-campus
hippotherapy practice in collaboration with Lothlorien at an arena
located at the” Lost Elms” estate of Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Fierle. The
indoor facility will allow treatment sessions to occur in inclement
weather. “We are pleased to be associated with this program as it will
improve the well being of children and allow them a better quality of
life,” Mr. Fierle said.
Lothlorien is an accredited adaptive
riding program through the North American Riding for the Handicapped
Association. “With their strong expertise in equine management, their
staff will provide the horse management training and handling for the
hippotherapy program,” Pictor said. The program will acquire two
appropriate horses, train therapists, and purchase therapy equipment
and assessment tools.
She said children in the WNY community
with neuromotor dysfunction will benefit from therapy and there will be
approximately 90 treatment sessions for children ages 3 – 10 years in
the first year. She plans to establish and begin the program within a
year and estimates that six children will be enrolled in ongoing
treatments initially. Pictor has been successfully running a pilot
program with hippotherapy since March.
“Within the first three
years it is anticipated there will be 20 children receiving therapy and
approximately 30 D’Youville students involved in several areas
including internships, masters and doctoral research, coursework and
volunteers,” Pictor said. “The program will also provide our students
an innovative opportunity to learn about hippotherapy in a clinical
internship setting.”
Pictor says each potential client must be
evaluated on an individual basis by specially trained health
professionals in the areas of physical therapy, occupational therapy
and speech and language pathology. Treatment plans are developed based
on each discipline’s scope of practice and the functional needs of the
child.
Area clinicians have participated in introductory courses
regarding hippotherapy and will continue to be invited to participate
in trainings to disseminate hippotherapy concepts into the health care
community.
Once established, the program will rely on fees,
fundraising and sponsorships and further grant funding, according to
Pictor. “Health insurance and private pay are options,” she said.
“There are Quality of Life grants available for families to help defray
the cost of therapy. The fees for service are the same as therapy
offered in the more traditional schools and clinics.”
Historically,
the therapeutic benefits of the horse were recognized as early as 460
BC according to the AHA. Using activities on the horse that are
meaningful to the client, the treatment takes place in a controlled
environment where graded sensory input can elicit appropriate adaptive
responses from the client. Specific riding and horsemanship skills are
not taught.
The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, now in
its 90th year, used funds from the J. Warren Perry and Charles Donald
Perry Memorial Fund for the project.
- 30 –
Contact: Dr. Sarah P. Pictor at 829-7827
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