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What are Non-Traditional Therapies? | Ep. 179
Description
Samantha and Lauren discuss non-traditional, child-led approaches to therapy for kids diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and related needs, contrasting them with more compliance-based, clinical models and emphasizing that therapy should match the child.
They highlight alternatives that can complement traditional services like OT, speech, and PT, including equine-assisted services, animal-assisted interventions, aquatic/swim therapy (including water safety), creative arts therapies (music, art, dance/movement, drama) provided by credentialed professionals, nature-based/outdoor therapy, and technology/gaming/special-interest-based approaches like Minecraft and GarageBand.
They stress these therapies are not about reducing autistic traits but improving quality of life and participation, and they outline how to evaluate legitimacy by asking about evidence, risks, credentials, meaningful progress measurement, and goals, while warning against “cure,” “detox,” guarantees, and testimonial-only expensive programs.
00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup
00:22 Traditional Therapy Norms
02:10 Why Child-Led Matters
05:12 Equine Assisted Therapy
07:45 Animal Assisted Options
09:52 Aquatic Swim Therapy
13:19 Creative Arts Therapies
20:33 Nature-Based Outdoor Therapy
23:32 Tech Gaming Special Interests
27:44 Spotting Legit Therapies
29:18 Red Flags and Research
31:51 Final Takeaways and Wrap Up
Connect with Samantha Foote!
Website: https://everybrainisdifferent.com/