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Levon Ghoukasyan
Born: 2001
Problem:spastic tetraparesis Attendance: December 2008 - June 2010 Progress recorded at: July 2010
Mother Anoush: We have been attending hippotherapy sessions for around a year, with little breaks. We alternate hippotherapy sessions with sessions in the Children’s State Rehabilitation Center. The horse’s positive impact on Levon was visible a month after we started sessions. The first and biggest success was we stopped taking medicine for relaxing spastic muscles which Levon was taking for 2 years. Then he started rolling from back to belly (before he could do it only from belly to back). Hands’ spastic muscles got pretty much relaxed; hips’ muscles which were strained like a whip are totally relaxed and hardly touched after getting off the horse. Sitting and standing skills got improved a lot; the child now sits at the table on a backless chair (before the chair not only had to have a back but also an insurer next to him) and stands holding at the table. He lessened crossing legs while walking (held by both hands).
Hippotherapist's conclusion: The biggest problem of Levon was even not his physical weakness but an absolute absence of stimulus to improve. Now apart from the physical development mentioned by his Mom there are also big changes in Levon’s psychological behavior. He became more confident, many fears disappeared and a stimulus to move forward and be independent appeared. He learnt to keep his back straight on the horse, to hold the rains in the air not touching the saddle (a very hard position for him) and to maintain balance on the horse with his legs only. |