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Dolphin Therapy and Autism Dolphins are one of the most intelligent animals in the world. Researchers found out that they can help people who suffer from neurological disorders, especially autistic children. Dolphin therapy is claimed to increase speech and motor skills of children with autism, however, it's still a controversial topic. Dolphins are popular in human culture because of their friendly appearance and loveable attitude, in Greek myths, dolphins are helpers of the Minoans, messengers of Poseidon. Recently, Dr. Ken Marten at Sea Life Park in Hawaii demonstrated that dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors, and, they are also sentient, fully conscious, with complex language of their own. Nowadays, Dolphins are among the most popular choices of animal-assisted therapy for children with autism, Down's syndrome, depression and other developmental disabilities and psychological problems. In dolphin assisted therapy (DAT) programs, kids on the Autism Spectrum could swim with dolphins in natatorium, and having lessons on land. Commonly, kids are delighted to pet and play with dolphins, but there is no scientific evidence to prove that the dolphin therapy is effective.
If the autism child has a hobby to swim, maybe you can take to do the dolphin therapy. A therapy that was allegedly very beneficial for the autistic children. For centuries, dolphin is known as kind and intelligent animal.
Now, the doctors try to use dolphin therapy for children with special needs. These kids love being in warm water, touch the dolphin’s body and hears voices that are issued by the dolphin. In the past 2 decades some therapists and psychologists believe that swimming with the dolphin has the power to heal. Some people even believe that the vibration can heal dolphin human cells.
We have developed a rehabilitation system for patients suffering from neurological disorders (in adults- chronic fatigue syndrome, in children - conditions brought about by a negative influence of the environment, enuresis, logoneuroses, phobias, depression, neurosthenia, infantile autism syndrome and cerebral palsy) based mainly on the contact of the patients with specially trained Black Sea bottlenose dolphins. 1 The Black Sea bottlenose dolphin is the natural factor that exerts a healing effect on patients suffering from neurological disorders, mainly with a strong psychogenic component of the pathogenesis. 2. The employment of the dolphin for therapeutic purposes is based on its positive attitude towards humans; desire to establish contact, ease of training and control, exotic appearance, large size and the ability to conduct treatment in an aquatic environment.
Dolphin Therapy and Autism There are many different kinds of dolphin therapy. The simplest involve the child swimming with, touching or ‘looking after’ dolphins. The more complex therapies, such as Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT), are based on structured programmes which are supposedly designed to meet the needs of the individual child. In DAT the child is encouraged to complete one or more pre-determined tasks, such as placing a ring on a peg or saying a word. If the child completes the task to a satisfactory standard, he or she is rewarded by being allowed to interact with a dolphin. This interaction may include touching or kissing the dolphin, or getting into the water and taking a ride holding onto the dolphin’s dorsal fin.
Research on autism and wild dolphin therapy in Panama City Beach
A University of Montreal student in Child and Youth Care Work (translated from the French: psychoeducation), previous Water Planet intern, has spent the month of June and July of 2004 and the summer of 2005 in Panama City for the field research portion of a Masters thesis meant to shed some light on the subject of Dolphin Assisted Therapy. The subject of her dissertation is "The impact of the Water Planet Harmony Program on the adaptative behaviors of children with pervasive developmental disorders".