Mengxian Zhao¹, Yonghao You², Jinming Li³, Sean Healy⁴, Alyx Taylor⁵, Zhihao Zhang³, Linlin Li⁶, Liye Zou^7,*

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, Vol.24, No.4, pp. 475-489, 2022, DOI:10.32604/ijmhp.2022.021361 - 27 May 2022

Abstract Therapeutic horseback riding (THR) as an animal-assisted intervention is one of the innovative approaches emerging in the treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study was designed to investigate the effects of a 12-week, twice a week THR program on motor skills in sixty-eight children with ASD aged 5–10 years old. All participants selected met the DSM-V criteria for ASD, and a total of fifty-three participants completed the study. A randomized controlled trial design was utilized for the study. Data was collected via a pre-THR test, interim-THR test, and post-THR test to More >

Sherry L. Farr¹, Karrie F. Downing^1,2, Tiffany Riehle-Colarusso¹, Ginnie Abarbanell^1,3

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.4, pp. 633-639, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12621

Abstract Objective: To examine how cognitive and motor limitations in children with heart disease are associated with education and participation in extracurricular activities.
Design: Using 2009–2010 parent-reported data from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN), we examined prevalence of five functional limitations (learning/ concentration, communication, self-care, gross motor skills, and fine motor skills) by diagnosed heart disease status using chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression. Among CSHCN with heart disease, we examined the associations between severity of each functional limitation and missing ≥11 days of school in the past year, receiving special education… More >