New Trails Learning Systems New Trails Learning Systems Ending the notion that suffering is necessary for learning
  • Home
    • Parents
    • Teachers & Schools
    • Therapists
    • Equine Therapists
  • Online Courses
    • Free Courses
      • The Science of Learning
      • Free E-Books
      • Ru's Autism Tips
    • Mini Courses
      • Stuck at Home
      • Addressing Behaviors
      • Stress & Coping
      • Lesson Plans
    • Certification & Continuous Ed Courses
      • Online Workshops (old)
      • Movement Method courses
      • ATHENA℠: Horse Boy℠ Method courses
      • Continuous Education Courses for Teachers
      • My Online Course Certificates
      • Evaluations
  • Live Workshops & Certification
    • Movement Method
      • Movement Method Workshops
      • Become a Certified Movement Method Mentor
    • ATHENA℠
      • ATHENA: Horse Boy℠ Method Workshops
      • ATHENA: Equine Assisted Learning
      • ATHENA: Horse Training for Development & Growth
      • Become a Certified ATHENA Practitioner
    • Local Events & Trainers
      • Local Trainers
      • All Events
  • Community
    • Community
    • Forum
    • Find a Mentor or Practitioner
    • Testimonials
    • Endorsements
    • Newsletter
    • All events
    • Create event
  • Blog
  • About Us
    • Shop
    • The Story
    • Horse Boy Foundation
    • Support the Foundation
    • About the Books
    • About the Movie
    • In the Press
    • Contact Us
    • Public Speaking
    • Research
    • Language Pages
      • Deutsch
      • Nederlands

Log in

Register
Forgot username Forgot password

Get me started:

  • Parents
  • Teachers & Schools
  • Therapists
  • Equine Therapists
  • Deutsch
  • Nederlands

Self-Compassion

Research supporting Horse Boy Techniques
Empty
  •  Print 
  • Email

 

  • Parents of children with autism experience greater stress and depression than parents of typically developing children (Baker-Ericzen et al, 2005, Higgens, 2005).
  • Pre-intervention parental stress levels are the single most important predictor of the success of early intervention programs (Robbins et al, 1991).
  • Self-compassion universally predicts parental well-being over and above the effects of child symptom severity (Neff & Faso, 2014)
  • Mindfulness and psychological acceptance have a significant mediating effect on maternal anxiety, depression and stress.
Read more: Self-Compassion

Back-riding

Research supporting Horse Boy Techniques
Empty
  •  Print 
  • Email
  • The movement of the horse stimulates the cerebellum which has been linked to both language and attention (Bass et al, 2009; Wolf et al, 2009).
  • Close body contact stimulates the release of oxytocin which is linked to decreased levels of stress and anxiety. Both are essential to learning (Holt-Lunstad, 2008)
  • Children with autism experience activation of the amygdala when forced to maintain eye contact (Kleinhans et al, 2010). 
Read more: Back-riding

Movement

Research supporting Horse Boy Techniques
Empty
  •  Print 
  • Email
  • We are evolutionarily programmed to learn on the move – (Leonard et al, 1997)
  • Imaging studies have shown that when we exercise there is increased blood flow to the dentate gyrus which is a part of the hippocampus deeply involved in memory formation (Green et al, 2004).
  • Imaging studies have shown that exercise stimulates the brain’s most powerful growth factor, BDNF, which is responsible for creating new brain cells and encouraging neurons to connect with one another, both essential parts of learning (Vaynman et al, 2006).
  • There is a strong body of evidence that shows a strong relationship between motor and cognitive processes. There are direct links between the cerebellum and the basal ganglia (two parts of the brain that process motor activities) and the parts of the brain that process language and memory i.e. cerebellum activation triggers activation in these other parts of the brain (Middleton & Strick, 1994).
  • The vestibular (inner ear) is activated by any movement that stimulates inner-ear motion such as swinging, rolling, jumping or riding a horse. Activation of the vestibular causes activation of the reticular activating system which is critical to our attentional system and learning (Wolfe, 2005).
  • Oxygen is essential for brain function, and enhanced blood flow increases the amount of oxygen transported to the brain. Physical activity is a reliable way to increase blood flow, and hence oxygen, to the brain (Medina, 2008)
  • Simply standing increases heart rate and this blood flow by up to 10% in just seconds (Krock & Hartung, 1992).
  • 68% of high school students in the US do not participate in a daily physical education program (Grunbaum, 2002).
  • Numerous studies show that increased exercise leads to better academic performance and increased learning in general (Summerford, 2001).
  • Children with dyslexia were helped by a movement program i.e. when they were allowed to move their reading scores increased (Reynolds et al, 2003).
  • Children with autism show reduced activation in the pre-frontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for emotional regulation. This could explain why many children with ASD exhibit symptoms such as irritability, problems with delayed gratification, anxiety and tantrums.
  • Children with autism and sensory over-responsivity have stronger brain responses in the areas of the brain that process sensory information as well as the amygdala than children with just autism. Both groups of children showed an initial similar brain response but those children with sensory over-sensitivity took much longer to get used to the stimuli. It is suggested that those children with autism that do not have sensory over-responsivity may be compensating through strong brain connectivity between their pre-frontal cortex and amygdala.
  • Recent research coming out of The University of Loughborough shows that not only are children starting school less physically ready than ever before, but that teachers are noticing this change and its impact in the classroom.
Read more: Movement

Sensory Work on the Horse

Research supporting Horse Boy Techniques
Empty
  •  Print 
  • Email
  • Oxytocin is released in response to sensory stimulation, such as warmth or touch (Uvnäs-Moberg, 1998).
  • Skin to skin contact with the horse helps calm the sensory systems of children with autism, perhaps due to the gentle rocking motion of the horse (Solodkin et al, 2007).
  • Equine assisted therapy is an effective therapy for sensory integration difficulties – (Candler, 2003).
Read more: Sensory Work on the Horse

The Importance of Replacing Bad Sensory Triggers with Good Ones

Research supporting Horse Boy Techniques
Empty
  •  Print 
  • Email
  •  Sensory over-responsitivity is now considered to be a core feature of autism (Ben-Sassoon et al, 2009). Children with autism are five times more likely to have sensory over-responsitivity than members of the general public (Green & Ben-Sasson, 2010).
  • Sensory processing difficulties are a unique predictor of communication competence and maladaptive behaviors (Lane et al, 2010).
  • Sensory stimulation (such as a loud noise or scratch sweater) causes hyperactivation in the primary sensory cortex (responsible for initially processing sensory information) and amygdala of children with autism. What’s more autistic brains do not ‘get used’ to the sensory information over time – their responses remain elevated (Owen et al, 2013).
  • Simply replacing fluorescent lights with softer and colored lighting, playing soothing music and using butterfly wraps that provide calming deep pressure dramatically decreased anxiety and negative behaviors among children with autism (Stein et al, 2013).
  • Deep pressure is therapeutically beneficial for children with an autism spectrum disorder (Grandin, 1992; Edelson et al, 1999).
Read more: The Importance of Replacing Bad Sensory Triggers with Good Ones

The Benefits of a Nature

Research supporting Horse Boy Techniques
Empty
  •  Print 
  • Email

 

  • People who live in areas with more green space have lower levels of cortisol (Ward et al, 2012).
  • Having plants in your home is linked to lower levels of cortisol (Ward et al, 2012)
  • ADHD symptoms greatly reduced when in the presence of nature or doing activities in nature (Kuo & Taylor, 2004).
  • Walking through nature evidence of lower frustration, engagement and arousal, and higher concentration and positive emotions (Aspinall et al 2013)
  • A strain of bacterium in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, has been found to trigger the release of seratonin, which in turn elevates mood and decreases anxiety.Seratonin is also thought to play a role in learning (Jenks & Matthews, 2010).
Read more: The Benefits of a Nature

The Positive Benefits of Horses & Other Animals

Research supporting Horse Boy Techniques
Empty
  •  Print 
  • Email
  • Positive interactions between humans and non-human mammals (such as dogs, cats or horses) can lead to an increase in oxytocin and a corresponding decrease in cortisol (Odendaal, 2000; Barker et al, 2005; Handlin et al,2011). Especially true in children with autism whose cortisol levels upon waking are reduced by up to 60% in the presence of a dog (Viau et al, 2010).
  • Children who participated in a 12 week riding program had significantly lower stress hormone levels than a waitlist control (Pendry, 2014).
  • Equine Assisted therapy leads to greater functionality in children with autism, especially in regards to their expressive language and social skills (Bass et al, 2009; Gabriel’s et al, 2012).
  • The presence of a dog leads to increased attention, social interaction and language. This is a direct result of activation of the oxytocin system (Beetz & UvnA, 2012).
  • In the first ever large-scale randomized controlled trial therapeutic horseback riding was found to be of benefit to children with an ASD (Gabriels et al, 2015)
  • The horse’s rhythmic stride may have a calming effect with its vestibular-cerebellar stimulation which studies show can lead to an improvement in hyperactivity (Arnold et al, 1985).
     
Read more: The Positive Benefits of Horses & Other Animals

The Physiology of Autism

Research supporting Horse Boy Techniques
Empty
  •  Print 
  • Email
  • Our bodies are built to deal with short term stress not chronic stress. Chronic levels of cortisol damage cells in the hippocampus which impairs our ability to learn (Medina, 2008).
  • Children with autism have elevated levels of cortisol and tend to respond to novel and threatening stimuli with extreme cortisol reactions (Corbett et al, 2006).
  • Oxytocin can help decrease stress by acting on the amygdala and inhibiting cortisol production (Neumann, 2008; Heinrichs et al, 2003).
  • Oxytocin might lead to improved speech comprehension in individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (Hollander et al, 2007). 
  • Low functioning children with autism have higher levels cortisol throughout the day than higher functioning children or neurotypical children. Researchers suggest that the elevated cortisol level may be linked to functionality. (Putnam et al, 2015) http://www.newswise.com/articles/research-shows-elevated-cortisol-in-autism
Read more: The Physiology of Autism

More Articles ...

  1. ‘Tone’ of phrase may differ in autism, but meaning is clear
  2. Study Finds That Long-Banned Pesticides Linked to Higher Risk of Autism
  3. Severity of ASD symptoms and their correlation with the presence of copy number variations and exposure to first trimester ultrasound
  4. Kids with ADHD need to move in order to learn, research reveals

Subcategories

Horse Boy Research

Horse Boy Method Case Studies

Research supporting Horse Boy Techniques

Autism Research

Therapeutic Riding Research

Animal Assisted Therapy Research

Other interesting research

Not so scientific but inspirational

Books Worth Reading

DVDs worth watching

Page 4 of 26
  • Start
  • Prev
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • Next
  • End

About Us

  • Shop
  • The Story
  • Horse Boy Foundation
  • Support the Foundation
  • About the Books
  • About the Movie
  • In the Press
  • Contact Us
  • Public Speaking
  • Research
  • Language Pages
    • Deutsch
    • Nederlands

Research Categories

  • Horse Boy Research (7)

  • Horse Boy Method Case Studies (8)

  • Research supporting Horse Boy Techniques (16)

  • Autism Research (115)

  • Therapeutic Riding Research (8)

  • Animal Assisted Therapy Research (3)

  • Other interesting research (14)

  • Not so scientific but inspirational (5)

  • Books Worth Reading (14)

  • DVDs worth watching (11)

  1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. About Us
  4. Research
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Shipping Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund Policy
  • Sitemap
  • My OS Courses
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Like us on Facebook
Copyright © 2021 New Trails Learning System. All Rights Reserved. Website by Roberts Web Desgin. Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU General Public License.

ATHENA℠ and Horse Boy℠  Method are registered trademarks.

Information deemed to be reliable but not guaranteed. Check for pricing and trainings. Terms subject to change.

Horse Boy Method and Movement Method are not intended or offered as a cure for autism. Ameliorative effects may or may not occur. The Methods were found to be very useful with Rupert's son Rowan and with other children. Subsequently numerous university studies have been done and suggest a positive effect and the Methods are endorsed by neuro scientists. There is no guarantee of outcome.

By participating in a Horse Boy Method or Movement Method sessions, playdates, camps or training or applying them at home you accept full personal responsibility for any injury or death that can follow any equine activity. Horse Boy LLC, Horse Boy Foundation and it's staff and officers do not accept any liability.

Just as a reminder… Horse Boy Method Training is an introduction into the methods including but not limited to back-riding. We do NOT suggest that you go home and start back-riding with children. Practice, practice, practice! Seek professional advice from your trainers to deepen your skills as a rider and horseman/woman. Take lessons! Again, after the training you are probably NOT ready to ride with a child. Practice until you, your horses and your property are ready for back-riding! To advertise you are offering Horse Boy or Movement Method you need to complete our evaluation phase. Anybody not listed on this website as Mentor or Practitioner is not authorized to offer the Methods. HORSE BOY LLC, IT’S MEMBERS, OFFICERS, TRAINERS ETC ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INJURY, DEATH OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY YOU BACKRIDING WITH A CHILD OR OTHER PERSON.

We do suggest you and anybody you work with wears protective gear like protective riding helmets etc.