Physiotherapist Igor Simões Andrade, from Manaus, Brazil, has a unique approach to rehabilitating disabled kids and that involves enlisting the help of wild dolphins.
Calling the program ‘bototherapy,’ Igor started taking kids with physical and mental disabilities to the Amazon River and taught them to swim with wild pink dolphins in 2006. To date, he has helped more than 600 children with disabilities ranging from Down Syndrome to cerebral palsy and he does all this for free.
Watch the video of bototherapy below.
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Video credit: Rumble
Many of the children start out having difficulty moving but once they start swimming and moving with the dolphins, their movement on dry land incredibly improves.
Igor finances the whole project by himself and supports himself by teaching yoga in addition to his paid profession as a physiotherapist.
Wild pink dolphins are known as ‘botos’ in Brazil and the creatures have come to know Igor quite well. Using a trick to attract them, the dolphins always come close to Igor.
Igor said: “I have been swimming here with them for the past 15 years so the dolphins know me- I play with them and throw a ball for them to bring back, it’s a fun game for them and they are used to me now and always want to play.
“The kids’ parents are very grateful, They ask me a lot to go back.
“I teach the children about the dolphins and their environment so they learn to respect them.
“I say, ‘We are going into their environment and they have been here for 15 million years.
“They are such incredible creatures, you can see how they make the children’s eyes light up, it’s really amazing.
“There is a beautiful bond between the dolphins and the children, they are truly friends. Nobody forces the dolphins to be there, they are wild and play with the children on their own accord.”
The unconventional treatment is so effective that some children who have been confined to a wheelchair started to take steps unaided back on dry land. Part of this is because of the confidence instilled by being able to swim with the dolphins.
Igor offers this type of therapy to children whose parents cannot afford to have them rehabilitated under traditional physiotherapy.
Because of his background in veterinary science, Igor thought of the idea of using animal-assisted therapy for disabled children, bolstered by his time working with horses and dolphins.
He added: “My work is based on trust, confidence and therapeutic resources, which come from physiotherapy, Rolfing and animal-assisted therapy.
“When I came to the Amazon saw the potential to develop the project of pink dolphins therapy.”
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