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Hippotherapy for Children with ASD: Heart Rate Variability and Emotion Dysregulation

Received: 21 April 2022     Accepted: 7 May 2022     Published: 29 July 2022
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Abstract

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have lower heart rate variability (HRV) and higher rates of emotional dysregulation when compared to their non-disabled peers. Evidence suggests hippotherapy increases individuals with ASD’s HRV and improves their emotion regulation skills. Accordingly, the current study examined hippotherapy’s influence on emotion dysregulation and HRV in children diagnosed with ASD. Participants included two male children, ages seven and eight, who attended six weeks of hippotherapy at Ride-on-Ranch, a therapeutic riding center in Lovettsville, VA. This single-subject design study used a concurrent mixed methods design, collecting quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously. The quantitative data included emotion dysregulation scores collected from the Emotion Dysregulation Inventory (EDI) and HRV scores from each participant. Pre- and post-test interviews, collected from the participants’ caregivers, measured their perceptions of their child’s emotion dysregulation. Both participants experienced statistically significant improvements in emotion dysregulation and marginally significant improvements in HRV. These results were consistent with the caregiver interviews, as the caregivers reported significant differences in their children’s emotion dysregulation after hippotherapy intervention. Based on these findings, the present study may contribute to a deeper understanding of alternative therapies for children with ASD to improve one’s physical, cognitive, and emotional states.

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 11, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20221104.11
Page(s) 101-112
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Hippotherapy, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emotion Dysregulation, Heart Rate Variability, Occupational Therapy

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Kristen Springer, Emily Boynton, Paige Hamilton, Hannah Hamsher, Maureen Piotrowski, et al. (2022). Hippotherapy for Children with ASD: Heart Rate Variability and Emotion Dysregulation. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 11(4), 101-112. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20221104.11

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    ACS Style

    Kristen Springer; Emily Boynton; Paige Hamilton; Hannah Hamsher; Maureen Piotrowski, et al. Hippotherapy for Children with ASD: Heart Rate Variability and Emotion Dysregulation. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2022, 11(4), 101-112. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20221104.11

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    AMA Style

    Kristen Springer, Emily Boynton, Paige Hamilton, Hannah Hamsher, Maureen Piotrowski, et al. Hippotherapy for Children with ASD: Heart Rate Variability and Emotion Dysregulation. Am J Appl Psychol. 2022;11(4):101-112. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20221104.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20221104.11,
      author = {Kristen Springer and Emily Boynton and Paige Hamilton and Hannah Hamsher and Maureen Piotrowski and Kelly McClintock and Daniel Martin},
      title = {Hippotherapy for Children with ASD: Heart Rate Variability and Emotion Dysregulation},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {11},
      number = {4},
      pages = {101-112},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20221104.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20221104.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20221104.11},
      abstract = {Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have lower heart rate variability (HRV) and higher rates of emotional dysregulation when compared to their non-disabled peers. Evidence suggests hippotherapy increases individuals with ASD’s HRV and improves their emotion regulation skills. Accordingly, the current study examined hippotherapy’s influence on emotion dysregulation and HRV in children diagnosed with ASD. Participants included two male children, ages seven and eight, who attended six weeks of hippotherapy at Ride-on-Ranch, a therapeutic riding center in Lovettsville, VA. This single-subject design study used a concurrent mixed methods design, collecting quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously. The quantitative data included emotion dysregulation scores collected from the Emotion Dysregulation Inventory (EDI) and HRV scores from each participant. Pre- and post-test interviews, collected from the participants’ caregivers, measured their perceptions of their child’s emotion dysregulation. Both participants experienced statistically significant improvements in emotion dysregulation and marginally significant improvements in HRV. These results were consistent with the caregiver interviews, as the caregivers reported significant differences in their children’s emotion dysregulation after hippotherapy intervention. Based on these findings, the present study may contribute to a deeper understanding of alternative therapies for children with ASD to improve one’s physical, cognitive, and emotional states.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    AU  - Kristen Springer
    AU  - Emily Boynton
    AU  - Paige Hamilton
    AU  - Hannah Hamsher
    AU  - Maureen Piotrowski
    AU  - Kelly McClintock
    AU  - Daniel Martin
    Y1  - 2022/07/29
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20221104.11
    T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
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    EP  - 112
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5672
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20221104.11
    AB  - Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have lower heart rate variability (HRV) and higher rates of emotional dysregulation when compared to their non-disabled peers. Evidence suggests hippotherapy increases individuals with ASD’s HRV and improves their emotion regulation skills. Accordingly, the current study examined hippotherapy’s influence on emotion dysregulation and HRV in children diagnosed with ASD. Participants included two male children, ages seven and eight, who attended six weeks of hippotherapy at Ride-on-Ranch, a therapeutic riding center in Lovettsville, VA. This single-subject design study used a concurrent mixed methods design, collecting quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously. The quantitative data included emotion dysregulation scores collected from the Emotion Dysregulation Inventory (EDI) and HRV scores from each participant. Pre- and post-test interviews, collected from the participants’ caregivers, measured their perceptions of their child’s emotion dysregulation. Both participants experienced statistically significant improvements in emotion dysregulation and marginally significant improvements in HRV. These results were consistent with the caregiver interviews, as the caregivers reported significant differences in their children’s emotion dysregulation after hippotherapy intervention. Based on these findings, the present study may contribute to a deeper understanding of alternative therapies for children with ASD to improve one’s physical, cognitive, and emotional states.
    VL  - 11
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Author Information
  • Division of Occupational Therapy, Shenandoah University, Winchester, United States

  • Division of Occupational Therapy, Shenandoah University, Winchester, United States

  • Division of Occupational Therapy, Shenandoah University, Winchester, United States

  • Division of Occupational Therapy, Shenandoah University, Winchester, United States

  • Division of Occupational Therapy, Shenandoah University, Winchester, United States

  • Division of Occupational Therapy, Shenandoah University, Winchester, United States

  • Division of Occupational Therapy, Shenandoah University, Winchester, United States

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