Coping with Sensory Issues

As an occupational therapist that is certified in Sensory integration, hippotherapy clinical specialist and AHA faculty for the Sensory Connections course I have a lot of children with sensory issues on my caseload.  I find hippotherapy to be an excellent treatment strategy to address their sensory needs and to help them develop improved coping skills.

Although the horse cannot provide the variety of vestibular input that a swing can provide, the horses’ movement combines vestibular input with proprioceptive input for a modulating effect.  This can be helpful for many client who have poor regulation skills.  Those who seek vestibular movement can be positioned to increase the vestibular input while remaining weightbearing through extremities to help them process the input for longer periods of time without becoming overstimulated.  For those who are sensitive to vestibular input the astride position provides the least vestibular input and can be modulated through weightbearing and active muscle contraction for balance on a dynamic surface.

My clients often impress me with their novel strategies for coping to multi-sensory input that is found in the Equine Assisted Therapy environment.  Certainly we have a variety of sounds, smells and sights to accommodate to, modulate and produce an adaptive response from.  The behavior that we see may at first glance appear random or unrelated to the task or activity being requested, but upon reflection a clear sensory value can be seen.  Some examples include: leaning forward to watch the horses’ feet move (increasing vestibular and visual input)- client is then able to produce increased postural control and is able to fix eye gaze; pulling/leaning back from a surcingle handle/mane/grab strap (deep tactile pressure and proprioception) – client uses this position to regulate when becoming overstimulated, but redirection is needed if the pulling is on the horses’ mane; standing in stirrups (proprioception)- client uses this position to decrease eye contact with therapy team members and as a modulator.  Each of these strategies is used with an improved adaptive response following the sensory based behavior.  The client looks at the stuffed animal, answers a “ready, set” prompt or claps hands with the team.

Carefully graded equine movement and the outdoor environment can be used very successfully to help children with sensory issues cope with a variety of everyday environments including home, school and daycare.  It is up to the clinician to be aware of the sensory characteristics of the horse, the movement and the environment to ensure a successful experience that promotes an adaptive response.