01:07Ukraine: Dolphins open up new horizons for disabled children
Ukraine: Dolphins open up new horizons for disabled children
Dolphins are used to help treat children with disabilities at a therapy centre in the Ukrainian city of Odessa. The "Nemo" wellness centre offers special dolphin therapy for children who suffer from developmental, physical, and emotional disabilities. It hosted several young children on Wednesday, who swam and interacted with a number of playful dolphins in an indoor pool.
Dolphin Assisted Therapy was first used by David Nathanson at Sea World in Florida in the 1970s. The theory behind the treatment posits that intimate contact with dolphins in an unfamiliar environment encourages children to become the dolphins' "friend", leading to playfulness between the two. The mutual interest generated through the interaction is said to open up new developmental possibilities in the child.
Proponents of the theory say dolphins have the ability to communicate between species using different modes of contact depending on the characteristics of the partner being interacted with. For a child who has problems with motor skills and cognitive process development, playing with dolphins is said to be a chance to develop and master new functions.
01:07Ukraine: Dolphins open up new horizons for disabled children
Dolphins are used to help treat children with disabilities at a therapy centre in the Ukrainian city of Odessa. The "Nemo" wellness centre offers special dolphin therapy for children who suffer from developmental, physical, and emotional disabilities. It hosted several young children on Wednesday, who swam and interacted with a number of playful dolphins in an indoor pool.
Dolphin Assisted Therapy was first used by David Nathanson at Sea World in Florida in the 1970s. The theory behind the treatment posits that intimate contact with dolphins in an unfamiliar environment encourages children to become the dolphins' "friend", leading to playfulness between the two. The mutual interest generated through the interaction is said to open up new developmental possibilities in the child.
Proponents of the theory say dolphins have the ability to communicate between species using different modes of contact depending on the characteristics of the partner being interacted with. For a child who has problems with motor skills and cognitive process development, playing with dolphins is said to be a chance to develop and master new functions.