Call (866) 845-1391 to learn about how therapeutic boarding schools and wilderness programs help teens with behavioral and emotional issues, learning differences, and social problems. The following programs offer Equine Therapy or Animal Assisted Therapy:
How Horses Help Kids with Emotional & Behavioral Issues
A kind of magic happens when a desperately unhappy child is brought to the country to interact with horses. A change of environment, especially from an urban area to open, natural surroundings, filled with fresh air and flooded with sunshine, can have an uplifting and calming effect, and with time, a troubled teen can begin to let go of a lot of pent-up, negative emotions.
When teenagers first arrive at an Equine program, they are often withdrawn and angry. Their relationships have been negative - but the relationship they will experience with a horse will be completely different from any other. Horses and other animals are completely honest in their encounters, and for many teens this will be the first interaction they have ever had in which they can honestly be themselves.
Equine-Assisted Therapy is an experiential therapy that is particularly effective with children and troubled teens. Horses are naturally social animals with personalities, attitudes, fears, and moods, and they are very sensitive to the energy around them. They will respond appropriately to human interaction, allowing teens to experience a sense of connection and participation without the negative feelings sometimes associated with traditional therapy. Horses and teenagers are seeking the same feelings of trust and connection, and once a child realizes this similarity, he or she is able to form a connection that is uplifting and inspiring. Horses are able to teach teenagers about themselves and their interaction with others around them.
Learn more about the benefits of Equine and Animal Assisted Therapy >>
Study Finds Autism may be Caused by Gene Mutations
A new study indicates that people with autism often have many DNA mutations, and that at least 100 different genes may be involved.
In this study researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring, NY, were looking at spontaneous "gene glitches" and not inherited genetic damage handed down from parent to child. They are not sure how environmental factors such as pollution and the age of an autistic person’s parents might cause genetic damage.
Dr. Jonathan Sebat and his team studied the DNA of 264 families to find portions of DNA that was damaged or mutated. They found that well over a hundred genes could be linked to autism. For example, one autistic child had a DNA deletion involving more than 25 genes.
The study takes research about the causes of autism into a new direction, according to Ezra Susser, chairman of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. "It shows us that we need to think about the many environmental factors that may influence autism."
This study appears in the March 16, 2007 issue of Science Express.