Canine therapy in hospital to help autistic children

Lucknow:  A military hospital in Meerut has started canine therapy for children suffering form cerebral palsy and autism.
The Asha School run under the guidance of the sub-area command hospital for “divyang” children are being made to interact and play with dogs owned by the Army.
“The 30 odd children here have been responding well to the canine therapy. Initially, children were afraid to touch the dogs but gradually the fear has gone and they are not happy to touch, hold and even cuddle the dogs. We are using the traditional sensory therapy along with canine therapy to treat such children and the results are positive”, said the principal Sandhya. The canine therapy is being given to children twice a week.
A senior Army officer involved in the project said that some parents were so thrilled with the results that they have now brought dogs as pets at home. He said that the therapy showed that the inactive part of the patient’s brain also started showing signs of activity.
Since the Army dogs are trained, they help the children to walk and run with them and even help them in case they are unable to balance themselves.

“In certain cases, we have seen that the children are more receptive to canines than humans”, said a teacher at the Asha School. The Army doctors now plan to introduce equine therapy for “divyang” children in the coming days.
“This has been effectively used in several countries. Horse riding help in activating the vestibular nerve and we will be getting amry horses for this soon”, a doctor said.
Sources said that a senior Army officer has twin daughters, one of whom was suffering from cerebral palsy. “The officer brought his daughters to us and we started sensory therapy along with canine therapy. Seeing the improvement, he brought two pups as pets in his home and the results are so positive that, today, the girl studies in Class 7, can write stories and even work on her laptop,” said the doctor.