Our daughter (7 and diagnosed with Rett Syndrome) grew in alertness, eye contact, disposition, ability to sit up straight (posture)/core strength and her right foot became far more flexible, rather than turning inwards and being quite rigid. Improvements were unlikely to be profound but a small improvement (that we could build upon) was seen.
Our son (4) was encouraged to have a couple of sessions with the dolphins and all sessions of hippotherapy in the Turkish mountains. We believe both these therapies contributed to a PROFOUND change in him: he transformed from a hesitant, anxious and at times quite insular boy (apparently classic symptoms of a younger sibling of a disabled child) to a lively, talkative, imaginative, engaged, inquisitive young lad whose progress has been praised at school – a fantastic ‘by-product’ of a trip that we thought essentially focused on our daughter’s well-being.
At the outset, the team at Antalya stated that this period was not just focused on our daughter – they aimed to help the whole family, whilst working with her. The COMBINATION of therapies and wide-focus across the family allowed ‘change’ to take place…some small progress, some considerable. This is a worthy experience for any child with difficulties and their respective family – especially younger siblings.
Family from the UK; visit during April 2012