Equine-assisted activities (EAA) have emerged as a new method of treatment for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in recent years. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of EAA in the areas of social functioning, autistic behaviours, family functioning, and clinical severity for children diagnosed with ASD. The participants were 24 children (4-12 years old) diagnosed with ASD and their mothers. Subjects were randomized into two groups, and the programme consisted of eight sessions of EAA. A social communication questionnaire and clinical global impression scale were used to evaluate the severity of autistic behaviours, and family assessment device was used for family functioning, while the Beck Depression Inventory was used to evaluate the severity of maternal depression. The results suggested that the severity of ASD decreases and improvements in maternal mental health and family functioning were observed in the experimental group, while no significant results were observed in the control group. This study provided preliminary evidence that an eight-week EAA can provide significant improvements in terms of both family and child functioning for children diagnosed with ASD. Further studies in larger samples are needed to investigate these effects.

中文翻译：

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马匹辅助活动对自闭症谱系障碍和家庭功能正常的孩子有积极影响

近年来，马辅助活动（EAA）成为一种新的治疗被诊断为自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童的方法。这项研究旨在评估EAA在诊断为ASD的儿童的社交功能，自闭行为，家庭功能和临床严重性方面的有效性。参与者是被诊断患有ASD的24名儿童（4-12岁）及其母亲。将受试者随机分为两组，该程序由八节EAA组成。使用社交沟通问卷和临床总体印象量表评估自闭症行为的严重程度，并使用家庭评估设备评估家庭功能，而使用贝克抑郁量表评估孕产妇抑郁的严重程度。结果表明，在实验组中，ASD的严重程度降低，孕产妇的心理健康和家庭功能得到改善，而对照组中没有观察到明显的结果。这项研究提供了初步证据，为期8周的EAA可以为诊断为ASD的儿童的家庭和儿童功能提供显着改善。需要在更大的样本中进行进一步研究以研究这些影响。