Benefits of equine therapies on the cognitive of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose main characteristics are changes in cognitive areas and social deficit. The aim of this study was to describe the benefits of equine activities and therapies in the cognitive areas of children with ASD/autism. This is a systematic review with meta-analysis of scientific articles indexed in the following online databases: BVS Salud, Periódicos CAPES, PubMed, Science.Gov and SCIELO, in addition to the website of the National Association of Riding Therapy (ANDE), Brazil, and the REDALYC platform, for inclusion of additional studies. As per Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis and assessed for quality by Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials - CONSORT checklist. There were 29 articles eligible for analysis, totaling 591 participants. The methods used in the interventions and evaluations differed between the articles, but it was possible to identify benefits of horse-assisted activities and therapies in the cognitive areas of children with ASD and autism, especially with regard to social and emotional cognitive, as well as, in reducing irritability, hyperactivity and aggressiveness. Therefore, this systematic review confirms the benefits of horse-assisted activities and therapies in the cognitive areas of children with ASD and autism with intellectual deficit.