“It Is More than Horse Riding”: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Therapeutic Horseback Riding (THR) has been utilised for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, parents’ experiences of accessing the intervention have not yet been explored in the local context. This study aimed to describe parents’ experiences of sending their children with ASD for THR in Malaysia. We conducted face-to-face, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with eleven parents from Riding for Disabled Associations in Malaysia and then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Four super-ordinate themes were constructed through interpretative analysis, namely “I noticed improvements in,” ‘I hope,” “The struggle that I faced,” and “My inner drivers.” Despite their challenges, parents of children with ASD had a positive attitude towards THR and noticed some improvements in their children. Reduction in ASD symptoms and improved adaptive behaviours gave some hope to the parents of children with ASD. This study highlights the parents’ experiences of getting THR for their children with ASD at one of the riding disabled associations in Malaysia, which will inform future management and research for children with ASD.