My DD has Down Syndrome and also has apraxia. Hippotherapy has definitely helped her across the board, and also with her apraxia. The motion of the horse really helps organize her whole system and makes it easier for her brain and her mouth to "connect" up. It serves both as a tool to organize her motor planning AND as a distraction to keep her from focusing too hard on how hard it is for her to speak. The end result is that she talks a TON while on the horse. 
Hippotherapy is also a great speech/communication motivator for most kids, b/c it is intrinsically very enjoyable to ride and to interact with animals and kids want to talk about that/give commands to the horse, etc.
It would also be great for any physical delays she has b/c it helps to strengthen the trunk/core muscles, which are needed for everything we do.
Guin
Oh, and I wanted to add that not speaking at all is defined as mutism or selective mutism (not speaking in certain settings/situations). Children with apraxia are often verbal, but they are not always intelligible. There's a fairly broad range of behaviors, from children who will say a word once for a while and then never say it again, seeming only able to keep a small handful of words available, to others who talk a lot, but pronounce words totally incorrectly while thinking they are saying the word correctly (my DD does this, says "baaaa" for "mama" or really for any word she can't pronounce, which are most words.) Many of these children also have poor articulation caused by low oral tone, but mostly it's about a deficit in motor planning that keeps what they're trying to say from coming out right.
My DD is just turning 3 and also thankfully has a ton of signs (ASL) to help her communicate, but my BFF's son is 5 with apraxia and I can see how incredibly frustrated he gets when no one understands him. It's heartbreaking.
Hippotherapy is also a great speech/communication motivator for most kids, b/c it is intrinsically very enjoyable to ride and to interact with animals and kids want to talk about that/give commands to the horse, etc.It would also be great for any physical delays she has b/c it helps to strengthen the trunk/core muscles, which are needed for everything we do.
Guin
Oh, and I wanted to add that not speaking at all is defined as mutism or selective mutism (not speaking in certain settings/situations). Children with apraxia are often verbal, but they are not always intelligible. There's a fairly broad range of behaviors, from children who will say a word once for a while and then never say it again, seeming only able to keep a small handful of words available, to others who talk a lot, but pronounce words totally incorrectly while thinking they are saying the word correctly (my DD does this, says "baaaa" for "mama" or really for any word she can't pronounce, which are most words.) Many of these children also have poor articulation caused by low oral tone, but mostly it's about a deficit in motor planning that keeps what they're trying to say from coming out right.
My DD is just turning 3 and also thankfully has a ton of signs (ASL) to help her communicate, but my BFF's son is 5 with apraxia and I can see how incredibly frustrated he gets when no one understands him. It's heartbreaking. 
:
Its only $25 a session! I was pretty shocked, I was expecting it to be closer to $50.
.
