QF offers equine therapy programme for children with autism

Al Shaqab programme offers specialised therapeutic lessons to children with autism in Qatar. (Picture: QF website)

* Qatar observes World Autism Awareness Day With World Autism Awareness Day marked on April 2, Al Shaqab, the equine and equestrian centre at Qatar Foundation (QF) is offering a unique programme to help and support children diagnosed with autism. “Horses have an amazingly positive and empathic power, and when a horse and a child with autism start interacting, they eventually build a special bond with each other,” says, Chiara Rosi, a certified therapeutic instructor at Al Shaqab’s Equine Education Department who is responsible for providing the therapeutic riding lessons for autistic children. “A child with autism may find it difficult to understand non-verbal signals. Horses give non-verbal cues through their body language, and children gradually learn to pick up these non-verbal cues and begin to understand them better. I use this to help the children understand and interact with other people around them, and it also helps them to control their tone of voice and their body language,” she explained.