By Jimisayo Opanuga
20 June 2023 |
4:53 pm
A yellow-and-brown boa constrictor covers itself around David de Oliveira Gomes’s neck like a headscarf, however the 15-year-old Brazilian with autism is interested, not scared.
David de Oliveira Gomes goes to a treatment session with reptiles at the Walking Equotherapy Clinic in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 30, 2023. – In this center, clients with autism and other conditions receive an irregular reptile treatment that assists them to unwind and enhance, for instance, their interaction abilities. (Photo by Nelson ALMEIDA / AFP)
A yellow-and-brown boa constrictor covers itself around David de Oliveira Gomes’s neck like a headscarf, however the 15-year-old Brazilian with autism is interested, not scared.
For him, this is treatment.
“His name is Gold. He’s cold. He eats mice,” Gomes informs his therapist at a treatment centre in Sao Paulo, carefully holding the big snake as it wriggles around him.
That is precisely the type of sentence his therapist, Andrea Ribeiro, is attempting to generate.
She focuses on dealing with individuals with impairments, autism or stress and anxiety, utilizing an uncommon technique: reptile treatment, which she says assists clients unwind and enhance their interaction, motor abilities and other capabilities.
“He’s working on speech and memory formation,” the 51-year-old language-speech therapist says of Gomes, sitting at a table with him and the big snake.
Ribeiro has actually originated this technique over the previous years at the treatment centre, which includes an outdoor space where clients connect with lizards, turtles and a “jacare” — a type of alligator belonging to Latin America that prevails in Brazil, consisting of in the Amazon rain forest.
The treatment is not clinically shown.
But “it’s been medically demonstrated that when people come in contact with animals, it releases neurotransmitters such as serotonin and beta-endorphins that give a sense of pleasure and well-being,” says Ribeiro.
“That makes (patients) feel good and want to learn.”
The reptiles “enable us to achieve better, faster results,” she informed AFP.
– Step aside, dogs –
Ribeiro utilized to utilize dogs in her treatment sessions.
But she discovered their consistent efforts to play and connect made some clients anxious, specifically those with autism.
So she relied on reptiles.
It’s a class of animals that makes lots of people squirm.
But individuals with autism tend to approach them “without prejudice,” she says: The animals trigger their interest without making them unpleasant.
The reptiles, for their part, “are indifferent,” she says.
“They don’t seek attention the way some mammals do.”
Gabriel Pinheiro (Photo by Nelson ALMEIDA / AFP)
Ten-year-old Gabriel Pinheiro is cuddling a little alligator, attempting to mimic Ribeiro’s syllables by opening his mouth large 3 times: “Ja-ca-re.”
“It’s wet,” he says, his eyes focused on the animal from behind his glasses.
The alligator’s scales are “hard,” its tummy “soft,” he says, as the therapist assists him deal with revers.
He and Ribeiro then sing a tune about the jacare to practice acoustic memory abilities.
Pinheiro’s mom, Cristina, credits 4 years of this treatment with assisting enhance his listening, interaction and motor abilities.
“He’s always happy when we come,” she says.
– Reptilian massage –
Another client, 34-year-old Paulo Palacio Santos, suffered serious mental retardation in a mishap that left him paralyzed and speechless.
Paulo Henrique Palacio Santos (Photo by Nelson ALMEIDA / AFP)
Ribeiro covers his confront with a thick snake, whose weight and cold temperature level help reactivate Santos’s swallowing reflex, she says.
She then utilizes a smaller sized boa constrictor to work the muscles around his mouth.
The handling of these types is controlled by Brazil’s ecological authority, IBAMA.
Ribeiro works side-by-side with biologist Beatriz Araujo, whose job is to keep track of the animals’ tension levels and guarantee clients stay safe.
There has actually never ever been a mishap in ten years of treatment, the centre says.
The reptiles, which are raised on website, are accustomed to human contact. No harmful snakes are utilized.
“I’m always here, just in case (an animal) reacts unexpectedly,” says Araujo.
“The dangers are the same as for close contact with any animal.”
