Animal/Pet Therapy

“In an age of research when it is tempting to reduce human emotions to biochemical reactions and to rely heavily on the technology of medicine, it is refreshing to find that a person’s health may be improved prescribing contact with other living things. Members of the health and allied professions must continue to combine resources, work together in the spirit of cooperation, and never forget to ‘cure when possible but comfort always.’ ”
~ Michael J. McCulloch, MD (1981), co-founder of Delta Society, now known as Pet Partners®


Although intuitively known for thousands of years, the benefits of interacting with pets has only been scientifically studied beginning in the latter half of the 20th century. Research began in the 1970’s when visionaries Leo Bustad, a veterinarian, Michael McCulloch, a psychiatrist, his brother William McCulloch, a veterinarian, and several other veterinarians formed The Delta Foundation, now known as Pet Partners. The organization was originally founded to pioneer the scientific study of the health benefits of the human-animal bond.

In part because of the efforts of this organization over the past 36 years, there are now several classifications and uses of domestic animals, many of which can be very helpful for children with special needs.

Service dog
A service dog is one that is specially trained to perform a task or tasks that alleviate an owner/handler’s disability. Individuals who utilize service dogs are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act to have their dog accompany them into most public places. The ADA no longer recognizes any species other than dogs (or in some cases miniature horses) as service animal.

These amazing dogs can be trained to help children with autism, cognitive disorders, mobility limitations, seizures and to alert someone in the case of a medical emergency. There are hundreds of service animal training organizations across the country, but still there is a high demand in relation to a limited supply of dogs. If you are interested in researching the advantages of a service dog, it is never too soon to start the process. Pet Partners has an extensive online directory of service dog trainers: www.petpartners.org/servicedogtrainerdirectory. This directory can be searched by state and disability training type. Please note that these organizations are not necessarily recommended by Pet Partners; their inclusion is meant only as a resource. You are encouraged to read this section of their website for further information and consumer considerations: www.petpartners.org/ConsumerInfo.

Emotional Support Animal
Providing comfort and security, emotional support animals (ESAs) can be very valuable to a family with a special needs child. Although they may also perform some type of “work” for their owner, it is mostly the pet’s mere presence alone that is beneficial. “Unconditional love,” despite the limitations or appearance of their owners, is what most people describe as the biggest benefit gained from the bonds with these animals. People who own ESAs are protected under the Fair Housing Act to keep these animals in a public housing situation, but the property manager has the right to ask for documentation from a health care provider that the animal(s) is necessary for the person’s health and well-being. As with the ADA, however, the Fair Housing Act requires that the animal does not alter the environment for others; s/he must be held on a leash in public areas, must be well-controlled, clean and quiet. For more information about the Fair Housing Act as it relates to assistance animals, please visit http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/rhiip/phguidebooknew.pdf, section 16.1.

Companion Animal or Pet
Although there is no legal definition for these types of animals, research has proven the therapeutic effects of having a pet in the household. For example:

• Owning a pet enhances a child’s self-esteem.


• Having pets teaches children responsibility and respect towards other living beings.


• Children owning a pet are more involved in activities such as sports, hobbies, clubs or chores.

Pet Partners’ website has a vast library of articles, abstracts, book references, etc. detailing the beneficial effects of the human-animal bond: https://petpartners.org/Health_Benefits_for_Children.

Animal-Assisted Therapy
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a relatively recent treatment adjunct for many healthcare professions. AAT can be a significant part of treatment for many people who are physically, socially, emotionally or cognitively challenged. These sessions are more than just “fun” time with an animal; they are goal-oriented, therapist-guided visits with specific desired progress and outcomes. The benefits of AAT are many:

• Improved fine motor skills


• Improved balance


• Lowered blood pressure and heart rate


• Increased verbal interaction


• Increased attention


• Reduced anxiety


• Increased vocabulary


• Improved memory

To find a professional that incorporates AAT into his/her practice, please visit www.petpartners.org/aatprofessionals.

Animal-Assisted Activities
Visiting animal programs are increasingly popular in hospitals, medical centers, nursing homes, schools and other facilities. Pet Partners registers appropriate pets with their owners as therapy animal teams after the “human end of the leash” passes a comprehensive training program and the team passes an evaluation performed by a licensed Pet Partners Team Evaluator.

In institutions where animals are not usually allowed, these visits provide a welcome respite for patients from painful treatments, loneliness and boredom. For children with learning disorders, the presence of a therapy animal can create a comfortable atmosphere where the children exhibit more confidence and readiness to learn.

Pet Partners is the only national therapy animal organization that registers species other than dogs with their owners to provide therapeutic visits to patients in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, etc. Cats, horses, guinea pigs and birds are some of the other animals that are welcome.

To learn more about Pet Partners visit www.petpartners.org or watch their promotional video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCXXxfVCA6Y&width=500&height=350&autoplay=0&rel=0

Contributed by Paula Scott-Ginn- Marketing Coordinator / Service Animal Resources with Petpartners

The Feldenkrais Method: Movement in Mind

In a comfortable, airy room strewn with exercise mats, a Feldenkrais teacher guides her students verbally, as they move their bodies slowly and gently. She invites them to explore a sequence of easy movements, and then to rest, noticing whether one of their legs feels longer than the other. Then, she asks them to notice whether it feels easier when they turn toward the left, or the right. Each student pays attention to his or her own experience, tilting, turning, or gently lengthening an arm or a leg. These movements are extremely simple, but unlike most other forms of exercise, each movement is also packed with valuable neurological information. The movements in a Feldenkrais exercise are functionally based and meaningful, and provide the brain with a therapeutic opportunity in which it can assist the body. When the exercise is finished, the students stand up and walk around the room to explore how they are now feeling. Many will report feeling refreshed and capable, in ways they had long forgotten.

Across town, an 11 year old boy, who broke two ribs while playing sports six months ago, lies down, fully dressed on a low table for an individual Feldenkrais treatment. Though his ribs have technically “healed”, he complains that he can't breathe deeply the way he used to. The practitioner quietly uses gentle touch along the child’s spine to help him regain confidence in the flexibility and function of his entire upper torso. The practitioner does not focus on the youngster's injury, pathology, or diagnosis. Instead, he creates possibilities for improvement by facilitating a natural process of sensory motor learning in the child's brain. As the child takes his first deep breath in months, he smiles with relief.

The exercise class and the private session are two forms of a somatic therapy called the Feldenkrais Method. Offering abroad range of benefits for people of all ages and abilities, this unusual technique uses the power of the brain to help the body.

Often, necessity is the mother of invention. The Feldenkrais Method is one such case, created by a physicist and engineer named Moshe Feldenkrais when he lost the ability to use his legs after a series of
serious knee injuries. Determined to find a solution, he applied his understanding of physics, motor development, biomechanics, psychology, and martial arts, and not only restored his ability to walk,
but also developed the work for which he is known today. Over and over again, Feldenkrais found that given the right sort of opportunity, the brain can improve the body's comfort and function. Feldenkrais created exercises to help every part of the body, and devised a mode of hands on treatment rooted in the fact that when the brain is offered new options for our posture and movement, it will naturally choose better ones on our body's behalf. Simple movements done with basic home grown awareness, Feldenkrais discovered, are the best way to communicate effectively with the brain and nervous system.

Instead of focusing on symptoms, the Feldenkrais Method works by improving the body’s underlying neuromuscular and skeletal organization. Although we know that body and mind are exquisitely intertwined, few of us understand the profound connection between our habitual posture and our psychological habit patterns. We assume that we simply “are” the way we are, and while caught in a web of unconscious patterns, believe that we have only one way of doing things. What the Feldenkrais Method does, is to restore our sense of having options and choices. Georgetown University neuroscientist Karl Pribram once said, “Feldenkrais is not just pushing muscles around, but changing things in the brain itself.” With better muscular and skeletal organization, many aspects of our physical comfort and functioning can change and improve. By engaging the brain’s plasticity, or ability to change, Feldenkrais gives us an opportunity to change even our most engrained habits of posture and movement.

The Feldenkrais Method is available in two complimentary forms. The exercises, also called Awareness Through Movement lessons, are presented verbally to a group, or can be done independently at home. Feldenkrais treatment sessions, also called Functional Integration lessons, involve a hands on approach, as a practitioner individualizes the work. Both forms of the Feldenkrais Method are safe, enjoyable, and can be immediately effective.

As the Feldenkrais Method steadily gains recognition, people are increasingly turning to it for help with a wide range of issues. Some people use it to speed their recovery from injury, or because they wish
to avoid the physical limitations commonly associated with aging. Others use it to reduce tension, or to improve athletic abilities. It is being embraced by performing artists all over the world, by parents of
children with developmental issues, and people dealing with the aches caused by long days spent sitting in front of computer screens.

The famous anthropologist, Margaret Mead, once said that, “the Feldenkrais Method is the most sophisticated and effective method I have seen for the prevention and reversal of deterioration of function.” Well worth exploring, the Feldenkrais Method offers each person an opportunity in which they can experience their potential for improvement. Sometimes, all we need to do is remember what feeling better feels like.

If you would like to know more about this type of therapy, you may also be interested in How We Can Be More Effective Agents of Transformation and the Importance of Awareness Through Movement or any of the other articles available by David Zemach-Bersin.

Contributed by David Zemach-Bersin

Whole Body Medicines for Special Kids

One of the major benefits of alternative medical practices is their actualization of methods that incorporate the whole body and all of its systems into diagnostic criteria and treatment methods. When looking at the body as ONE integrated system, rather than it’s component parts, patterns of illness and imbalance emerge. These patterns are unique to each child, but are part of a larger ordered pattern of body processes. Just as a farmer would look to find the source of disease if his crops began to fail rather than simply pulling out the plants that are ill, alternative medicines is guided by the understanding that the parts of the body work together and rely on one another to maintain a healthy environment.

CranioSacral Therapy is one such “whole body medicine”. It is so named, because it relies on the subtle movement of the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) housed between the cranium (head) and the sacrum (tail bone). The influx of CSF into and out of the cranial base causes a gentle flexion and extension of the whole body around the spinal chord as the CSF pressure increases and decreases in a wave-like motion. Because the entire body moves with the rhythm of the CSF, CranioSacral Therapists can feel areas of restriction in the body’s movements. Treatment consists of the gentle pseudo-energetic application of pressure to areas of restriction to remove any constraint. Like taking the tension out of an overstretched rubber band or the emotional release that comes with a well-timed hug, tissues in the body begin to unwind, eliminating restriction and improving local function.

[caption id="attachment_4808" align="alignleft" width="250"] Image provided by Bubblews[/caption]

An older and more well-known “whole body medicine” is Chinese Medicine. This ancient healing art consists of acupuncture, acupressure, cupping, moxibustion, herbs, dietary therapy, energetic healing methods such as qi gong and tai chi, as well as, the more modern techniques of electric stimulation and laser therapy. The foundation of Chinese Medicine is that the body is one integrated operating system in which the internal organs support and control the functional activities of the other organs and the body as a whole. The methods used in Chinese Medicine are very gentle and work with the body’s natural processes to help strengthen and align bodily systems.

Both of these systems of medicine can be extraordinarily helpful to kids with special needs. Dealing with the often immense health issues that come with certain disabilities, it is important to make sure that the body is functioning at its optimal capacity, so healing can occur wherever possible. CranioSacral Therapy and Chinese Medicine work with the body to ensure that it is working at its best, supporting growth and encouraging function.

For more information, or if you would like to give these therapies a try, contact Bee Well Kids in Los Angles and/or Las Vegas, or search for a Chinese Medicine provider near you.

Contributed by Naomi Richman

Music Therapy

As a traveling music therapist, I spend all day driving through the Texas sun, hauling guitars, drums, and tambourines from house to house, but still the hardest part about my job is answering, "What is music therapy?". The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) defines music therapy as "the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program".

...Am I watching an episode of ABC's Lost because I feel like I have more questions than answers after reading that definition! Don't worry, because I am here to break down that definition and give you as many answers as possible about the field in which I work.

First things first, what do music therapists do? My go-to answer for this question is to compare it to something everyone knows. Music therapists are similar to physical therapists, speech therapists and/or occupational therapists in that we are working with clients to improve their quality of life. The areas mainly focused on are physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs. Through music therapy, clients learn social and communication skills; they learn how to appropriately express themselves through improved emotional processing; they can increase fine and gross motor skills; even stress and pain management can be learned through music therapy treatment. We are not teaching people how to play instruments, but rather using music as our therapeutic medium to increase those areas that are deficient in the clients lives. This would be the "clinical use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals" of the definition.

The second most common question is who can benefit from music therapy? The short answer: anyone! Really, it's true. Music therapists across the US and throughout the world work with clients in all types of settings and with all types of needs, ranging from dementia to mothers in labor. AMTA has an excellent definition of who can benefit from music therapy. They say "Children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly with mental health needs, developmental and learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease and other aging related conditions, substance abuse problems, brain injuries, physical disabilities, and acute and chronic pain, including mothers in labor all benefit from music therapy". So going back to the short answer, anyone with a general desire and enjoyment of music can benefit from music therapy treatment. With that being said, there is a common misconception that you have to be musical or have "musical talent" to benefit from music therapy, but that is not the case. Again, we are not teaching music, we are using the therapeutic properties of music to increase skill areas.

Once someone learns about music therapy and what we as therapists do, the last question is usually where do you work? This is different for every therapist. I myself work through the Medicaid waiver program - CLASS - providing one on one, in-home services for children and adolescents with developmental and learning disabilities. I have also been contracted through school districts here in Texas to work with a few children with developmental and/or learning disabilities whose parents have requested music therapy to be incorporated into their child's Individual Education Plan (IEP). And finally because I enjoy working with the elderly, I reached out to some local rehabilitation centers and am contracted through four nursing homes in the Austin, TX area to provide monthly group sessions for elderly dealing with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. This may seem like a crazy set up, but I'm pretty sure my situation is the exception. Other therapists have private practices where they have a studio and all their clients come to them. Still other full time therapists work solely in hospitals, one school district, a nursing home, or a psychiatric facility.

Going back to that initial definition, the "credentialed professional" is indeed the music therapist. We, as certified music therapists, do have to obtain at least a four year degree in music therapy. Most of us leave college with a bachelor of science in music therapy. We are trained heavily in music theory and music therapy as well as biology, psychology, social and behavioral sciences, and general studies. After we have completed all the course work, we are required to complete an AMTA approved internship usually lasting 6-9 months depending on when the student completes the required 1200 hours of clinical experience. Lastly, we are required to pass a board certification exam to become a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC).

Throughout this article, I have continuously referenced the national association, AMTA because they do a fantastic job informing people who we are and what we do as a profession. If you have any remaining questions about music therapy, www.musictherapy.org is a great place to start. You can find therapists in your area, see where they are working and whether or not music therapy is funded through a waiver program or an insurance provider. I also have a website if you would like to know more about me or are in Austin and want to learn more about what I do in the area. Roads of Connection Music Therapy is where you can find my information. It's common for people to still have questions about our field, don't hesitate to contact a music therapist in your area to gain more insight.


Contributed by Danielle Baumgartner, MT-BC