اثربخشی اسب‌سواری درمانی بر مهارت های اجتماعی کودک دارای اتیسم

Background: Autism is a developmental neurological disorder of childhood. Autistic children face with many stereotypical problems like social skills, communication skills, and repetitive behaviors. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of social skills for children with autism by using horses. Method: Sample of study consists of a nine-year-old autistic boy who were selected by accessible sampling, and participated in a single subject. Social skills of children with autism are assessed by Treatment Evaluation Checklist and the Social Skills Rating Scale that during the baseline, intervention and follow-up was completed by the child's mother. Then, obtained data were analyzed by using the effect size indices. Results: Results show that horse assisted therapy improves social skills of children with autism. Conclusion: In general, we can say that horse assisted therapy will lead to improve social skills in children with autism.