Leckey Blog

What is Hippotherapy and How Can It Help Children With Special Needs?

Hippotherapy, derived from the Greek word ‘hippos’, meaning horse, is a form of physical therapy for children and adults that uses the motion of a walking horse to provide therapeutic movement to the rider. It is a treatment that is used to bring about change in children and adults, in areas including balance, strength, sitting posture or sensory deficits. But what should you know about this unique style of therapy?

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Why squatting works best when you need to go

The squat posture can stretch tight muscles, reduce straining, and assist natural physiological function. The resulting toilet training success will have a positive impact on activity, participation, and quality of life for both the child and the family.  Now there is a child-sized product to support this functional posture the only question that remains is when are us adults going to catch up?

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SATCo – (at last) an assessment which guides therapeutic practice

As clinicians, we know how essential trunk control is for function. From stabilising the head to enable a child to catch someone’s attention to providing the strong base for distal function in the arms and hands, trunk control is the foundation of many activities of daily living. But what is the best way to assess for it and what use is an assessment in guiding our practice anyway?

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The walking frame dilemma – when’s the right time to prescribe?

As a paediatric physio, one of the most frequent questions which I get asked from parents is, “is my child going to walk?” Naturally, it’s up there as one of the most emotive topics.  The dream of seeing their child take their first steps is something that all parents hope to witness. It is also a highly emotive topic for us too.

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How do you solve a problem like… Tummy Time?

There are no words which generate greater guilt in new parents than when a health professional asks, ‘Have you been doing Tummy Time?!’  Despite knowing the benefits because infants protest so loudly parents often do just enough (speaking from experience here), to reduce their guilt until this awkward stage can be forgotten.

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