Parents' and facilitators' perceptions of children with autism spectrum disorder in an equine-assisted learning programme

[摘要] ENGLISH SUMMARY: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) currently affects an estimated 1:68 children globally and is the second most common disability worldwide. ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by abnormal social behaviour, delays in language, sensory processing difficulties and restricted and stereotyped patterns of behaviour and interests. These impairments vary in nature and affect the individual throughout their lifetime. The cause of ASD is still unknown. Therefore interventions for individuals with ASD target the impairments of the ASD individual as opposed to treating the cause. One intervention that is proposed to effectively reduce the impairments of children with ASD is Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) interventions. HAI interventions take place when an animal is incorporated into the treatment process. A specific type of HAI intervention for children with ASD that is under researched in South Africa is equine-assisted learning (EAL).The current study aimed to address this gap in literature by exploring the effect EAL may have on children with ASD in South Africa. The effect of EAL was explored through conducting semi-structured interviews with parents and facilitators involved in an EAL programme in the Western Cape. Eight parents with a child with ASD in the programme and 3 facilitators of the EAL programme participated in the study.The interviews were transcribed and further analysed using thematic analysis. Following thematic analyses three main themes emerged, namely, the benefits of EAL, feedback and experiences of the EAL programme, and the perceived role EAL plays in producing the benefits. It is within the context of these themes that parents and facilitators described the beneficial nature of EAL for their child with ASD and explained how these benefits were facilitated in a session. Facilitators further provided their feedback on the physical environment of the EAL sessions, the children and the parents. The facilitators concluded that rain and wind influenced the sessions – favourably and unfavourably respectively.These results supported findings in existing literature. However, these results also addressed a gap in literature on EAL programmes for children with ASD, in particular the lack of the facilitator's perceptions. The facilitator's perceptions, in this study were essential in providing a more in-depth understanding of the benefits, the physical context of the EAL sessions and the differential behaviour of children with autism and Asperger's syndrome within the sessions.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University