Intellectual Disability
Conditions
Keywords
Equine Therapy, intellectual disability, balance, autonomy, stress level
Brief summary
The aim of this study is to determine the impact of an equine therapy programme on the emotional state and autonomy of school-aged individuals with intellectual disabilities. Methodology: pre-post quasi-experimental study of a single group. Study subjects: individuals with intellectual disabilities enrolled at the Cambrils special education school. Variables related to stress (salivary cortisol), balance, autonomy, vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, pulse oximetry) and clinical variables will be collected. Intervention: this will consist of 30 minutes of equine therapy and 30 minutes of activities related to horse care. All variables will be collected in an initial baseline measurement and some variables (stress, balance, autonomy and vital signs) will be monitored during and after the intervention.
Detailed description
Horse-assisted therapy (HAT) or equine therapy has been defined by the National Centre for Equine Facilitated Therapy as a treatment strategy that uses equine movement as part of a coordinated intervention programme to achieve physical, emotional, occupational, and cognitive goals. The objective of this study is to determine the impact of an equine therapy programme on the emotional state and autonomy of school-aged individuals with intellectual disabilities. Methodology: pre-post quasi-experimental study of a single group. The research will be carried out at the facilities of the Yabusan Equestrian Club. Study subjects: individuals with intellectual disabilities enrolled at the Cambrils special education school. Variables related to stress (salivary cortisol), balance, autonomy, vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, pulse oximetry), and clinical variables will be collected. Intervention: This will consist of 30 minutes of horse therapy in which the subject participates according to the degree of their disability. There are three types of therapy: hippotherapy, therapeutic riding, and adapted riding. The second intervention consists of 30 minutes of activities related to horse care (feeding, grooming, physical contact). Follow-up and data collection: all variables will be collected in an initial baseline measurement, and some variables (stress, balance, autonomy, and vital signs) will be monitored during and after the intervention.
Interventions
OTHEREQUINE THERAPY
EQUINE THERAPY AND HORSE CARE
Sponsors
Universidad Pontificia Comillas
Fundación San Juan de Dios
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
No minimum to 22 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Age under 22 years. * IQ equal to or less than 75. * Recognised degree of disability equal to or greater than 33%.
Exclusion criteria
* Subjects with adrenal gland disorders (Cushing's or Addison's disease). * Subjects undergoing treatment with corticosteroids. * Subjects with skin lesions in the area where the portable device is placed.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| STRESS LEVEL-HEART RATE | Basal measurement before/after each session. On the day of the equine therapy sessions, subjects will wear the Embraceplus™ device for up to 4 hours before and after the session. Measurements every 15 days until the final of the Equine Therapy (3 months) | Heart rate will be measured by Embraceplus™ device. It is a smartwatch. t will be measured in beats per minute. |
| STRESS LEVEL-OXYGEN SATURATION | Basal measurement before/after each session. On the day of the equine therapy sessions, subjects will wear the Embraceplus™ device for up to 4 hours before and after the session. Measurements every 15 days until the final of the Equine Therapy (3 months) | Oxygen saturation will be measured by Embraceplus™ device. It is a smartwatch. It will be measured as a percentage of spO2. This value indicates the proportion of haemoglobin in the blood that is bound to oxygen relative to the total haemoglobin available. |
| STRESS LEVEL-RESPIRATORY RATE (RR) | Basal measurement before/after each session. On the day of the equine therapy sessions, subjects will wear the Embraceplus™ device for up to 4 hours before and after the session. Measurements every 15 days until the final of the Equine Therapy (3 months) | Respiratory rate will be measured by Embraceplus™ device. It is a smartwatch. It will be measured as breaths per minute. |
| STRESS LEVEL-BODY TEMPERATURE | Basal measurement before/after each session. On the day of the equine therapy sessions, subjects will wear the Embraceplus™ device for up to 4 hours before and after the session. Measurements every 15 days until the final of the Equine Therapy (3 months) | Body temperature will be measured by Embraceplus™ device. It is a smartwatch. It will be measured in degrees Celsius. |
| STRESS LEVEL-ELECTRODERMAL ACTIVITY (EDA) | Measurement before and after each session. On the day of the equine therapy sessions, subjects will wear the Embraceplus™ device prior to and up to 4 hours after the end of the session. | Electrodermal Activity will be measured by Embraceplus™ device. It is a smartwatch. Electrodermal Activity is the variation in the electrical conductance of the skin caused by the activity of the sweat glands, regulated by the sympathetic autonomic nervous system, and is used to measure emotional arousal, stress, or physiological responses to stimuli, using electrodes that measure changes in skin resistance. It is useful in psychology, neuromarketing, and medicine to detect anxiety, depression, or autonomic neuropathy. |
| AUTONOMY | Before the start of therapy (baseline assessment) and at the end of therapy (3 months) | The level of autonomy or dependency will be assessed through adaptive behaviour using the Diagnostic Adaptive Behaviour Scale (DABS). The DABS is a tool that assesses a person's ability to function in daily life and determines whether there are significant deficits in this area, which is a fundamental criterion for the diagnosis of intellectual disability and other developmental disorders. Designed by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), the DABS is administered to individuals aged 4 to 21 and provides scores on the conceptual, social, and practical dimensions of adaptive behaviour. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| BALANCE | Before the start of therapy (baseline assessment) and at the end of therapy (3 months) and 6 month. | It will be evaluated by collecting kinetic variables through the PhysioSensing Vestibular pressure platform. Pressure platforms use a set of pressure sensors, in this case 4,000, to measure the distribution of pressure exerted during footfall. They enable the recording and evaluation of pressure values under the foot in static or dynamic conditions, and are used for diagnosis and evaluation of foot function and balance. Thanks to the use of pressure sensors, it is possible to obtain reliable and accurate measurement data, which is essential in clinical and research applications. |
Countries
Spain
Outcome results
None listed