Amanda DeLizzio loves the occupational therapy job she holds so much that she was hard-pressed to specify one case that demonstrates how beneficial her specialty is, according to a published report.
The hippotherapist, which is the name of people who work with horses, practices her trade in Colorado, PsychCentral reports. She cites watching children take their first steps after dismounting a horse, seeing children speak for the first time while atop a horse and observing children overcome fears and sensory aversions.
"I think the case that stands out the most is a little 4-year-old child I treated who was not talking, was scared of everything in her environment, had sensory aversions to eating, was scared of all loud noises, and was fearful in general of her environment," she told the publication during an interview. "The horse transformed her, and after the eight-week session she was talking, interacting in the environment like a typical 4-year-old, and smiled and laughed all the time. The horse changed her!"
She cited improvements to postural control, core strength and balance as some of the benefits to hippotherapy.
Individuals with disabilities can improve their quality of life by undergoing therapy with horses, according to the American Hippotherapy Association.