Reptile Therapy Helps Treat Disorders Like Autism and Anxiety in São Paulo.
A yellow snake with brown circles wraps itself like a scarf around the neck of David de Oliveira Gómez, who delicately manipulates it: “It’s a boa constrictor” but “I’m not afraid.”
The process is accompanied by animal therapist and speech therapist Andrea Ribeiro and biologist Beatriz Araujo from São Paulo, where therapy has been carried out for ten years. – Video: Florence Guasnar/AFPTV/AFP
The scene featuring this 15-year-old with autism takes place in a therapy center in São Paulo, where patients with this type of disorder or with anxiety receive an unusual reptilian treatment that helps them relax and improve certain skills, such as communication.
“It’s called Golden, it’s cold, it eats mice,” David says when therapist Andrea Ribeiro asked him to describe the boa constrictor that crawls up his camouflage jacket.
David is “working on speech development and memory development,” Andrea, an animal therapist and speech therapist, explains, sitting at the table with a patient.
Helping reptiles heal
This original therapy has been developed over ten years at this center in São Paulo, where about 160 people have already been treated. This takes place in an open area next to a paddock where others are séances with horses.
Next to it are more than a dozen plastic containers with different types of reptiles, such as snakes, lizards, turtles and even an alligator. Depending on the needs and interests of the patient, one or another animal is used, the therapist explains.
“It has been medically proven that when we come into contact with an animal, we release neurotransmitters, serotonin, beta-endorphin, which give a feeling of pleasure and well-being,” explains Andrea.
According to the therapist, animals open channels of communication with patients, which allows for greater efficiency and faster results compared to working in an office. However, this therapy has no scientific confirmation.
In addition, according to Andrea, patients with autism arrive “without prejudice”, knowledgeable about boas, alligators and other reptiles, which usually cause fear in most people.
Another advantage of these species, according to Andrea Ribeiro, is that they are “more like themselves.” “The reptile will arouse the interest of the child.”
“He’s not the one to come” to the patient, as dogs do, for example, who “beg for interaction all the time.”
alligator music
Gabriel Pinheiro, 10, tries to imitate a therapist by stroking the back of a small specimen of an animal: “Ha-ka-re, opening his mouth three times.”
“It’s his favorite thing to do,” says the therapist, who uses the boy’s curiosity to get him to focus his attention and practice his communication.
After describing the “hard” scales and the “soft” belly, using the different skin textures of the reptile to emphasize opposites, they sing a song about the alligator, Gabriel’s auditory memory test.
“Wet,” Gabriel says, walking up to the animal and watching it without taking his eyes off his glasses.
According to his mother, Cristina de Oliveira Pinheiro, during four years of therapy, monitoring helped Gabriel improve “understanding, communication and motor skills.” “Come in happy and leave here in a good mood.”
Stress control in animals
Paulo Palacio Santos, 34, has a different case. He was unable to communicate and walk after suffering a severe head injury from the accident.
Andrea surrounds her face with a thick snake, which, when pressed, activates the swallowing reflex. Your neck goes cold, like the skin of an animal. He then runs a thin boa across Santos’ face to activate the muscles around his mouth.
Beatriz Araujo, a 24-year-old biologist, is always by Andrea’s side to minimize the risks.
She is responsible for the care and stress assessment of animals whose ownership is regulated by Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources).
“Dangers are dangerous for any animal. They were built from scratch, so they are quiet. We do not use poisonous snakes, they are boas [que matam por pressão]. However, I always stay together because this is an animal, and we don’t know what the reaction might be, ”says Beatrice.
According to Andrea Ribeiro, since the work began ten years ago, not a single accident has been recorded.
Source: Ndmais