Russell’s First Dolphin Therapy Encounter

Russell’s first encounter with dolphins happened as a result of Carla Henco’s visit to the Second Step Parent Support Group for children with autism.  Carla presented an information session for parents and several families decided to try out this outdoor therapy activity.

My son, Russell, was 12 years old at the time. He has a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder or Asperger’s Syndrome and has always been hypersensitive to water and cold temperatures. I didn’t expect a lot of time in the water although Russell is always cooperative in trying to be a part of whatever is organised.

Following his initial reluctance to participate, he became very interested in Carla and what she was doing on the beach, water, sand, etc. Her playful approach to children keeps them from relating to “therapy” sessions, which are usually indoors and can be very difficult. From walking along the beach hand-in-hand to running at the waves, Carla developed Russell’s confidence and social desire to play.

This particular Sunday morning, we were over on the estuary side of the bay and quite a number of dolphins came in to see what we were doing.  One of the volunteers from the Dolphin Discovery Centre was running an inflatable boat from the parking lot to the beach area and Russell really
enjoyed this experience as well.

As it happened, the dolphins came in late when Russell and I were swimming and moving in the water.  Two dolphins came right up to us and circled Russell almost exclusively. He is not interested particularly in any animal and did not appear to be very excited about seeing the dolphins up close.  But they continued to move around us and as Carla and others approached greeted them as well.  All together, we spent about 25 minutes interacting with these friendly and joyous creatures before they swam back out to sea.

Russell had a wonderful outing and was quite relaxed on the journey back to Bridgetown where we live.  That afternoon, for the first time in his life, he sat down in the living room and read a book on his own, without physically and verbally interacting with family. We had never seen Russell act in a quiet independent manner before so kept checking on him to make sure he was okay. He sat and read for almost 30 minutes before resuming his more normal very dependent activities.

I believe something unique happened that day.  The alpha and theta waves produced in the human brain by dolphin interaction results in a deeply relaxed state. In this state, the most chaotic mind can centre and be open to learning.  Combining this with physical exercises keyed at right-left brain integration seems to be the ideal therapy approach for Russell.

Russell is now 14 years old and has continued with at least fortnightly dolphin therapy sessions during the summer months of the past two years.  He continues to grow, develop, and benefit from this great opportunity to experience a unique therapy program.

Christine Morris
26 Blechynden Street
Bridgetown WA 6255
gabchris@iinet.net.au

[Back to Homepage]