OT Tip - What is OT? Series on Hippotherapy + Giveaway

It is time for part two of my What is OT? blog series! Today we are going to take a look at an area of OT that many of you may not have heard of.

PhotoCredit: health.uml.edu 

Hippotherapy; no it's not therapy with hippos, haha. According to the American Hippotherapy Association, Hippotherapy promotes the use of horses as a treatment strategy for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy practitioners for people living with disabilities. Hippotherapy has been shown to improve the following:

• Muscle Tone
• Balance
• Posture
• Coordination 
• Motor Development 
• Emotional well-being 

Some areas that Occupational Therapists work on using horses are fine motor control, sensory integration, feeding skills, attention skills, and functional daily living skills. The reason horses are a great intervention strategy is because their gate provides sensory input through movement in a rhythmic pattern which is very similar to a person's gate pattern in the pelvis while walking.

So what types of population of people do we see receiving and benefitting from hippotherapy?

• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Cerebral Palsy 
• Developmental Delay 
• Genetic Syndromes
• Learning Disabilities 
• Sensory Integration Disorders 
• Speech Language Disorders
• Traumatic Brain Injuries 

Is therapeutic riding the same as Hippotherapy? NO! Therapeutic riding is simply an umbrella term for any type of equine activities that a person with disabilities participates in. When a licensed therapist using equine assistance as a therapy strategy, it is then considered hippotherapy. Hippotherapy does require a special education and you must be a licensed therapist, either Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, and Speech Therapist.

If you think your child would benefit from Hippotherapy, visit the American Hippotherapy Association to find a practicing therapist near you!

Now it's time for the giveaway this week! I am really excited about this week's giveaway! For those of you who have heard of Handwriting Without Tears, you will love this giveaway too. I recently took the preschool training for Handwriting Without Tears for work and I really like their program. It is a great way to developmentally teach handwriting to your preschooler and kindergardener. And don't forget, you can use Handwriting Without Tears all the way up to 5th grade! 

One lucky winner will be getting one of their Roll-a-Dough Letters set. 

The Roll-a-Dough Letter set is a great way to teach your child proper letter formation while using a great sensory strategy, other than writing. You can also use shaving cream, rice, beans and other sensory mediums to learn their capital letters. I use this with my kids at work and they love it! Be sure to check out their free activity idea pdf form here.

Here is how to enter:

Main Entry

• Leave a comment stating why you would love to win this giveaway! Please include a valid e-mail address in this post. All main entry posts must include these two things! 

Extra Entries

• Follow Golden Reflections through Google Friend Connect. If you already do, just leave a comment that you already follow. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Subscribe to Golden Reflections through e-mail, on the right side of the site. You must validate your e-mail subscription to count. (2 comments, 2 entries) 
• Vote for Golden Reflections on Picket Fence Blogs. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Follow Golden Reflections on twitter. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Tweet about this giveaway (1 comment, 1 entry)
• Handwriting Without Tears #Giveaway @goldenreflect going on now! Ends 4/26 at 11:59pm. http://bit.ly/gKqw9H

Giveaway ends Tuesday, April 26 at 11:59pm. A winner will be chosen via random.org. Winner's entry will be validated before a winner is announced. If the winner does not have a valid entry, a new winner will be chosen by random.org. I did not receive any monitory compensation for this giveaway. Handwriting Without Tears has not sponsored this giveaway in any form. 

Good luck!