{"id":578577,"date":"2023-06-14T11:47:09","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T08:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/reptiles-help-heal-in-brazil\/"},"modified":"2023-06-14T11:47:09","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T08:47:09","slug":"reptiles-help-heal-in-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/reptiles-help-heal-in-brazil\/","title":{"rendered":"#Reptiles help heal in Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29916e00daa\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29916e00daa\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/reptiles-help-heal-in-brazil\/#Step_aside_dogs\" >Step aside, dogs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/reptiles-help-heal-in-brazil\/#Reptilian_massage\" >Reptilian massage<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2023\/boa-constrictor.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2023\/boa-constrictor.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2023\/boa-constrictor.jpg\" alt=\"boa constrictor\" title=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\" width=\"800\" height=\"483\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A yellow-and-brown boa constrictor wraps itself around David de Oliveira Gomes&#8217;s neck like a scarf, but the 15-year-old Brazilian with autism is fascinated, not afraid.<\/p>\n<section class=\"article-banner first-banner ads-336x280\"><!-- \/4988204\/Phys_Story_InText_Box --><br \/>\n      <\/section>\n<p>For him, this is therapy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;His name is Gold. He&#8217;s cold. He eats mice,&#8221; Gomes tells his therapist at a treatment center in Sao Paulo, gently holding the large snake as it slithers around him.<\/p>\n<p>That is exactly the kind of sentence his therapist, Andrea Ribeiro, is trying to elicit.<\/p>\n<p>She specializes in treating people with disabilities, autism or anxiety, using an unusual method: reptile therapy, which she says helps patients relax and improve their communication, motor skills and other abilities.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s working on speech and memory formation,&#8221; the 51-year-old language-speech therapist says of Gomes, sitting at a table with him and the large snake.<\/p>\n<p>Ribeiro has pioneered this method over the past decade at the treatment center, which features an open-air space where patients interact with lizards, turtles and a &#8220;jacare&#8221;\u2014a kind of alligator native to Latin America that is common in Brazil, including in the Amazon rainforest.<\/p>\n<p>The treatment is not scientifically proven.<\/p>\n<p>But &#8220;it&#8217;s been medically demonstrated that when people come in contact with animals, it releases neurotransmitters such as serotonin and beta-endorphins that give a sense of pleasure and well-being,&#8221; says Ribeiro.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That makes (patients) feel good and want to learn.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The reptiles &#8220;enable us to achieve better, faster results,&#8221; she told AFP.\n<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_aside_dogs\"><\/span>Step aside, dogs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Ribeiro used to use dogs in her treatment sessions.<\/p>\n<p>But she found their constant attempts to play and interact made some patients uneasy, especially those with autism.<\/p>\n<p>So she turned to reptiles.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a class of animals that makes many people squirm.<\/p>\n<p>But people with autism tend to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach them &#8220;without prejudice,&#8221; she says, The animals spark their curiosity without making them uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>The reptiles, for their part, &#8220;are indifferent,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They don&#8217;t seek attention the way some mammals do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ten-year-old Gabriel Pinheiro is petting a small alligator, trying to imitate Ribeiro&#8217;s syllables by opening his mouth wide three times: &#8220;Ja-ca-re.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s wet,&#8221; he says, his eyes fixated on the creature from behind his glasses.<\/p>\n<p>The alligator&#8217;s scales are &#8220;hard,&#8221; its belly &#8220;soft,&#8221; he says, as the therapist helps him work on opposites.<\/p>\n<p>He and Ribeiro then sing a song about the jacare to practice auditory memory skills.<\/p>\n<p>Pinheiro&#8217;s mother, Cristina, credits four years of this therapy with helping improve his listening, communication and motor skills.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s always happy when we come,&#8221; she says.\n<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Reptilian_massage\"><\/span>Reptilian massage<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Another patient, 34-year-old Paulo Palacio Santos, suffered severe brain damage in an accident that left him paralyzed and speechless.<\/p>\n<p>Ribeiro wraps his face with a thick snake, whose weight and cold temperature help reactivate Santos&#8217;s swallowing reflex, she says.<\/p>\n<p>She then uses a smaller boa constrictor to work the muscles around his mouth.<\/p>\n<p>The handling of these species is regulated by Brazil&#8217;s environmental authority, IBAMA.<\/p>\n<p>Ribeiro works side-by-side with biologist Beatriz Araujo, whose job is to monitor the animals&#8217; stress levels and ensure patients remain safe.<\/p>\n<p>There has never been an accident in 10 years of treatment, the center says.<\/p>\n<p>The reptiles, which are raised on site, are accustomed to human contact. No poisonous snakes are used.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m always here, just in case (an animal) reacts unexpectedly,&#8221; says Araujo.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The dangers are the same as for close contact with any animal.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                  \u00a9 2023 AFP<\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                Snakes as therapy animals: Reptiles help heal in Brazil (2023, June 14)<br \/>\n                                                retrieved 14 June 2023<br \/>\n                                                from https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2023-06-snakes-therapy-animals-reptiles-brazil.html<\/p>\n<p>                                             This document is subject to copyright. 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For him, this is therapy. &#8220;His name is Gold. He&#8217;s cold. He eats mice,&#8221; Gomes tells his therapist at a treatment center in Sao Paulo, gently&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":578578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2023\/boa-constrictor.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-578577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}