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Thursday, September 02, 2010 - 2:34:10 PM
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Alternative Therapy for Autism - 7/14/2010
Before he started riding lessons with Elvis the horse, Jaden Farnham didn't say much."He just said words, not a lot of sentences," said his grandfather, Bob Farnham.
Now...
"Tell her what you do at the creek with Elvis," urges farm owner Linda Fargnoli.
"I throw stones and I see fish," answered Jaden.
Laurie McNulty had trouble talking and connecting with people outside her immediate family.
"She's a lot more affectionate," says her mom, Cathy McNulty. "She seems a little more confident."
And Max Markosky didn't speak.
"That moment when he said that sentence, 'I want ball, please,' everybody around the horse that was walking with him just was astounded," said his mom, Catherine Markosky. "They just fell over."
These are the stories you'll hear at Fargnoli Farms.
Each week, 13 children with disorders ranging from autism to Prader Willi Syndrome come to ride horses as part of their treatment.
Some, like Laurie and Max, come for hippotherapy, where a therapist works with kids to use the movement of the horse to improve things like muscle development and strength.
Others, like Jaden and Max's brother, Mason, come for riding lessons to help with balance and posture.
All say they've seen results.
"I have seen them go to making full eye contact, being able to change their sentences, change the order of their words," said Fargnoli.
Physical therapists say riding mimics walking movements, helping kids to build up strength.
Other exercises can also be worked into a child's routine, including learning how to read.
"Being on a horse, they have a personal connection with the animal," said physical therapist Beth Parks. "It's like they develop a relationship and it doesn't feel like work or therapy to them. It's fun."
State legislators recently approved a measure that would require insurance companies to cover diagnosis and evidence-based treatments for autism spectrum disorders. Therapeutic riding and hippotherapy would not be included in the bill.
Catherine Markosky, Mason and Max's mom, is also the founder of Southern Tier Alternative Therapies. The organization awards scholarships to families to help them afford therapy sessions with horses. She says she's seen families' financial struggles firsthand.
"Parents are going broke paying for these and STAT is here to help assist with that and supplement that, but we couldn't find enough money in the world to support all the families 100% with this," said Markosky.
Sen. Neil Breslin, who sponsored the bill, says alternative therapies weren't included in the bill because their success hasn't been medically proven.
"We just could not afford to have every experimental treatment included as part of the bill because I should say that every time you drive the cost of someone's health insurance up by 1%, 30,000 people in the State of New York leave the insurance rolls," said Breslin.
Parents like Markosky say they'd like to see the legislation amended -- something Breslin says is possible since within the bill there's a provision which allows expansion of coverage if alternative techniques are proven medically sound.
Until then, Mason, Max, Laurie, and Jaden are among the lucky ones growing through traditional therapies...with some help from alternative methods.
"There's no pill, there's no prescription the doctor can write for autism, there's no surgery," said Bob Farnham. "You have to go to these alternative therapies, because we think there's a therapy out there that can help our child, we want to try it."
For more information about STAT, visit www.statinc.org.
***FOX 40's SARAH BLAZONIS REPORTING***
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