Dolphin Therapy


	Helping Children with Special Needs

Can Dolphins Heal?

We know that dolphins can't speak, therefore we use feelings to create relationships. The essence of life is more important than the meaning of it. Dolphins are beautiful and graceful creatures that have been on the earth a lot longer than us. Pan dolphin jpg

The ancient Greeks documented their importance. Killing dolphins was punishable by death. So what have they been doing with this immense brain of theirs all these years? Throughout the decades, stories of dolphins helping and saving humans are widely known. It is no wonder we are fascinated by them. What can they do for us? Well, they bring a lot of joy and happiness and that is therapy in itself. Dolphins offer unconditional love with nothing in return. Dolphins and Whales bring out an enormous emotional response from people - laughter, tears and moments of thought. They touch us deeply and some people say they are healed by their dolphin encounter. therapy gif

Dolphins have opened the door and bridged the gap between species, offering an entry into their world. It is easier to love a dolphin than ourselves. If I asked you to imagine a colour you have never seen before, you couldn't do it. The same is true with a dolphin encounter. The very splendour of their fulfilled love to you and your openness to accept, is part of the healing process.

We have found that some SPECIAL needs children respond well with the Dolphins.

Do you have a dolphin healing encounter you would like to tell us about, or have you been on a Dolphin Assisted Therapy program, if so what did you think of it? Please contact us.

Statement by Richard Conibear

When our son Alexander was born in 1996 with cerebral palsy (CP), we started fund-raising to try to get him into the Institute for Brain-Injured Children in Bridgwater. When we finally raised the cash and got him a place there, our hopes were dashed - Alexander did not respond well to the alternative therapies on offer. We began to look elsewhere. As time went on, we heard about dolphin therapy in Hawaii, at the ‘Dolphin and You’ centre and decided to give it a try. Alexander had therapy with captive and wild dolphins. It wasn't hands-on. Alexander wasn't put into the water, but while he was with the Dolphins, he became calm and seemed to listen to their soothing noises. Unfortunately this program has now closed down.

We realised the whole area of dolphin therapy could be a bit of a minefield. We did some research into different dolphin centres around the world and found enormous differences in price. A trip could cost a family thousands of pounds. We realised there was a need for parents to have access to information about the centres, before they committed themselves and their money. We also realised that the glossy brochures, which some of these centres produce, might encourage families to believe that dolphin therapy is a cure. It isn't!! Alexander definitely felt the benefit, but we knew it was relief rather than a remedy.

The Alexander Trust can help families plan a trip. The Trust has found out about dolphin centres all over the world and has visited some of them to see what they offer in terms of facilities and therapies and what they cost. We are determined to get accurate information for parents interested in dolphin therapy and are constantly updating our files with the help of some of the centres.

We have the experience to offer a free advice service for families who have severely disabled Cerebral Palsy children.

If you are interested in helping us, or have a fund-raising idea, or would like to make a donation, please contact us.

These fund-raising efforts and the fact that they will enable us to assist other families is surely therapy in itself.

For more information, contact The Alexander Trust & Richard Conibear.

THE ALEXANDER TRUST ON DAT

We believe that there is still a lot of research to do before DAT is recognised as an alternative therapy. There are still unanswered questions as to what DAT achieves and is it long lasting.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ALEXANDER TRUST IS CONCERNED ABOUT DOLPHINS IN CAPTIVITY AND THE PLIGHT OF THE WILD DOLPHIN.

DOLPHIN ASSISTED THERAPY

What are your thoughts on this kind of therapy is the child helped and is the dolphin looked after? Is it a case that a change in the environment i.e. warmer weather, new sounds, a change from the normal routine and the extra stimulation that the adventure gives is the major factors of a person feeling better, or are we looking at a major break through in assisted therapy? Children’s progress have been well documented in the press, but has it lasted? Some go back for more therapy for a period of time, others have to carry on at home doing a therapy session worked out by the centre before they leave (this happens at some centre’s ).
But if its helping, then its worth it, the child comes to no harm, the family has a well deserved holiday and the Centre gets the reward for helping. Everyone a winner! Or are they? What about the dolphins? Can we see any benefit for them, like we can see for the others? Is it therapy for them too? Lets consider that this is a very intelligent mammal, which is being housed in a pool and trained to integrate with humans. Are we happy with that? But some are born in captivity so they don’t know any better, and anyway they will surely die if we release them back into the wild. Yes, but if we were suddenly dropped in the desert to defend for ourselves we would surely die too. But if we were taught how to survive then we have a chance don’t we. The same can be said of the dolphin.

Dolphin assisted therapy centres are becoming very popular places now, and we can say that its not cheap to attend one. Prices vary from centre to centre depending on the length of stay and sessions they have, but which ever way you go you will need to do some serious saving. Are we happy with the pricing, do we care, as we will pay anything to help our child? The centres will know this of course. They too have their expenses, rent of pools and dolphins, rates, the costs of staff. Is there a regulator over seeing all of this, or can they charge what they like? How do you become a dolphin therapist, or are they jack-of-all-trades? We may be doing them a disservice, as there must be set guidelines here. But whichever way you look at this the dolphin comes off as the poor relation. It does seem to me that dolphins are being hit from all sides, not only in captivity but in the wild too. We all must look hard at what we are doing to the dolphin, there are more and more parks opening up for dolphin shows and more healing centres opening up too, at the end of the day the only place to see them is in their natural home, the sea and to view them at a reasonable distance and let them decide if they want to come and see us, not the other way around.

DAT claims to help most disorders It is claimed that it helps the immune system.
Dolphins offer love, which triggers humans to heal themselves
Captive Dolphins are used as a motivational tool
Quantifying the effectiveness of DAT is complex
Much publicity of people being helped
No scientific proof that it works
Many factors to consider, warms, water, sun, etc.
Many questions to answer too?
Is it a good therapy to do, for the Dolphins too?
Does it last?
Two kinds of DAT, captive and wild
Some say that Dolphins have qualities that we love and that this is part of the healing
Echolocation, is claimed affects the brain wave pattern & human tissue
No scientific proof that it can scan our bodies?
Ultra sound is used in hospitals for operations, and is more powerful than the Dolphins
But can Dolphins still help?
Working with Dolphins provides motivation
Dr Betsey Smith worked with Autistic children & Dolphins first
It is claimed that DAT captures the attention, & helps with concentration
But do Dolphins help with concentration?
Or does the Alpha & Theta (part of the natural relaxation & creativity in humans) help
Dobbs & depression, Bill Bowell over came depression with the help of the Dolphin
Dr Berne Graham is not convinced that Dolphins can help everyone with depression
Biophillia was first coined by Erich Fromm & developed by Edward Wilson
As I understand it, it is the inherent human affinity for life & nature
As humans evolved they developed a Biologically based attraction for nature & life
Dolphin can be aggressive?
Robin Williams was hit in the tummy by a Dolphin
Disease transmission from Humans to Dolphins & vice verse
Sensationalising DAT through the media
Raising the expectation of the venerable is wrong?
Dolphins at DAT centre’s are under pressure
They have a breaking point
Will more Dolphins be captured for DAT?
DAT is not at the reach of everyone
Is it a novelty?
It is an unregulated industry
If the family and the child are helped, does all this matter?

What do you think, please share your own views with me, and tell me of your experiences.

Dolphins and children with special needs

Serenity Program

We have designed a program where we introduce special-needs children and their families to wild dolphins as a motivating and bonding experience. The adventure of being face to face in the ocean with a large and wild air-breathing mammal is a powerful one that will not easily be forgotten and that many can live only in their dreams. We all carry this dream deep in our subconscious and its realization will often awaken some deep-seated emotions and cause important developmental shifts. Another aspect of our program is the sensory integration and the processing of the inner experience through various media like colors, shapes, textures, odors and sounds during the expressive art and music sessions.

Combined with hydrotherapy, massage and Watsu (Water Shiatsu), the experience facilitates relaxation and the letting go of conflicts and hang-ups. The program also helps families enjoy themselves and forget the burden of their daily routine and the stigma imposed on them by our society.

Contrarily to the regular Dolphin Assisted therapy sessions, we are implementing this program with free ranging dolphins because we do not believe in holding wild animals captive even for the benefit of disabled children. We believe in the healing power of nature and of its environment. We also believe that therapy with dolphins or dolphin therapy is just another form of animal therapy. In other circumstances, therapists have also obtained excellent results with autistic children, ADHD, Down Syndrome and other disabilities using horses or even cats and dogs. The fact that dolphins have a very sophisticated communication system and social organization make them all the more attractive to us humans.

In Panama City Beach, we have the incredible privilege to have a continuous relationship with a group of wild dolphins. This close contact has been going on for over 25 years. It is partly associated with hand feeding of these mammals by sports fishing boats and tourists. Dolphins are opportunistic feeders and they will take advantage of an easily earned source of extra food. Our organization is proud never to have fed them and we make a point to inform every participants to our programs of the hazards associated with feeding wild dolphins. It is illegal to do so since 1993.

We believe that the reason for this interaction is not limited to an interest in food but that it is also based on keen curiosity. The dolphins investigate us as much as we investigate them. They often interact with us through play. We have been getting in the water with them for six years and have built a special relationship with some individuals, who approach us on a regular basis. We are using this opportunity to study them underwater and also to introduce to them some mentally, emotionally and physically impaired children. This experience of wild life and of the natural environment is a strong motivation for challenged children and their families We have noticed a significant improvement in communication skills with children who have participated in our program.

This program is made available to families thanks to a team of professionals: psychologists, aquatic bodywork specialists, special education teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

We are pleased to announce this year's therapeutic dolphin swim program. This special "journey" is designed to provide an experience of therapy, fun, dolphin encounters, social time, and some RR to enjoy the beautiful beaches of Panama City Beach.

Water Planet will be conducting several specially coordinated sessions in the spring/summer of 2003.


	Back to top

New Contact Details