Achieving balance: healing in native art.

It has been my great fortune to have spent this past summer traveling across North America with my husband. We left our home state of New Hampshire in June and, in late July, arrived in the 49th state, Alaska, where we have settled in for the winter. From Manitoulin Island and the shores of Lake Huron to the Black Hills of South Dakota and on through the Canadian Rockies, we traveled through a number of North American Native communities. It is this experience and my recent introduction to Alaskan Native culture and peoples that are the impetus for this feature, where I will explore the historical and re-emerging use of art to promote health and healing in Native communities.

Clinicians' perceptions of the benefits of aquatic therapy for young children with autism: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE: This purpose of this study was to identify clinicians' perceptions of the benefits of aquatic therapy for young children with autism. METHODS: Eighteen aquatic occupational therapists treating young children with autism responded to a survey soliciting their opinions on changes in skill performance resulting from aquatic therapy. RESULTS: A majority of clinicians reported a substantial increase in swim skills, attention,muscle strength, balance, tolerating touch, initiating/maintaining eye contact, and water safety. CONCLUSION: The impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions seen in children with autism can be wide-ranging and outcomes can be difficult to operationally define and measure. In this preliminary study, clinicians identified the areas they perceived as improving as a result of aquatic therapy. This information could help narrow the field of likely outcomes as a first step toward studies of the effectiveness of aquatic therapy for children with autism.