M i c a h  R u b e n s t e i n
The Healing Touch of Gentle Giants

"THE HEALING THAT TAKES PLACE HERE IS NO MIRACLE..." emphatically states David E. Nathanson, Founder and President of Dolphin Human Therapy (DHT). Dr. Nathanson founded DHT in 1989. Since that time, this private company has conducted over 30,000 individualized, dolphin-assisted therapy sessions with over 2,300 clients, primarily children, representing families from 39 states and 54 countries. The most common diagnoses are cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and autism, although DHT treats all disabilities, including the severely and profoundly disabled. By 1994 DHT’s waiting list was seven years long.

DHT’s effectiveness is due to a simple principle—children interact with the dolphins as a reward only after they have correctly completed their work.

Dr. Nathanson believes that children are really attentive to, and have a love for, animals, music, and water. "So I'm using what they love to increase their attention; to try and reach those areas of the brain that are affected, which is to say I'm using their strength to reach their weaknesses."

DHT operates out of Key Largo, Florida, in the United States. GrailWorld Editor Micah D. Rubenstein traveled to Key Largo to meet Dr. Nathanson and observe therapy sessions at DHT’s facility.

Dolphin Cove is located off a 4-lane road traversing the center of an area known as the Florida Keys. Flags of many nations are flown outside the facility’s gates, testifying to its international clientele. This private, for-profit facility is home to six Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins: Genie, Alfonz, Spunky, Duke, Dreamer and Nikki. Each dolphin has a full-time trainer assigned to it. During the week Dolphin Cove—and its dolphins and trainers—are leased to Dolphin Human Therapy. On the weekends, Dolphin Cove is open to the public and provides opportunities for people to swim with the dolphins. According to Becca, Dolphin Cove’s Head Trainer, “The dolphins love people, and they especially love the children. During the week they get to play gently with little people, and on the weekends they get to let loose, work their muscles a bit more, and romp with big people.”

I was fortunate to be at Dolphin Cove for one and a half days, on a Thursday and Friday, and at the end of a week of therapy sessions. The cove is a very large fenced-in area with a dock system completely surrounding it. There are six platforms (“classrooms”) on the edge of the water, so up to six therapy sessions can be given simultaneously.

When asked why there were six dolphins and platforms, yet only five concurrent therapy sessions, Becca responded, “Dolphins, like humans, sometimes have bad days. We always make sure to have an extra dolphin on hand, just in case one of them doesn’t feel particularly social.”

The temperature in Key Largo is a consistent, sunny 85 degrees F, and coming from the Northern U.S., I was not properly attired. I walked out onto the dock in black clothes, long pants and shoes, holding my camera. All six dolphins came to the edge of the dock, looked up at me and stared. I asked my guide, Christina Collins, DHT’s Director of Media and Public Relations, if the dolphins wanted their picture taken… She replied that they had never seen a man in long pants before!

Shortly afterwards, the first round of therapy sessions began. The first client I observed was Scarlett, a beautiful, autistic child from Essen, Germany. Her lack of ability to communicate her needs caused her to develop terrible temper tantrums, and these were, understandably, a source of great distress and hopelessness to her mother.

Scarlett’s mother first heard of DHT in 1998, but didn’t have the several thousand dollars necessary to bring her child to the United States for a two-week therapy session. But in 2002, Scarlett was awarded financial assistance from Dolphin Aid, a non-profit organization founded by Kristen Kuhnert to help children from around the world receive therapy from DHT. The therapy was so successful that Scarlett and her mother hope to return to Dolphin Human Therapy next year.

According to Scarlett’s mother, “Water is not Scarlett’s element. But here [in Key Largo, Florida] the water is warm, the temperature is warm, and the atmosphere is so friendly.”

Scarlett for the most part is wheelchair bound, and cannot walk without assistance. She was greeted by her therapist, Jennifer Reuschlein, a speech pathologist, and also by an intern who would assist with the therapy session. Each session is attended by a minimum of four people: the client, the therapist, the assistant and the dolphin trainer. Sometimes there is a 2nd assistant or a co-treating therapist.

DHT’s philosophy is that children will progress better with proper motivation. And the opportunity to interact with dolphins in the wonderful environment of Dolphin Cove is clearly a powerful motivator.

While some clients are carried or wheeled out to their platforms, Scarlett was eager to walk the long distance to her classroom with the assistance of her therapist and assistant. As she reached her destination, she waved across the cove at her mother (parents are asked to remain at some distance from the sessions so as not to distract their child), and then waved at Genie, her dolphin, who was eagerly waiting for the session to begin.

“The dolphins are very much like the children,” said Becca. “They have a lot of energy and love to play. That’s why their handler needs to be there: to keep them occupied and interested during the client’s therapy sessions, and then ready when it’s their turn to participate.”

Scarlett wanted immediately to play with Genie, but first had to work with the therapist on her communication skills. The therapist had several teaching tools on hand: waterproof pages with color pictures, plastic rings of different sizes and colors, etc. The therapist would say something like, “Show me a picture of a ball,” and then Scarlett would point to the correct picture. Positive reinforcement was given at every step, and the levels of communication and understanding became more challenging as Scarlett progressed: “Which is the picture of the blue ball?,” or when shown a picture of a sled and a car, “Which one can go faster?.”

While Scarlett was doing her work, Genie was getting restless. So Genie’s trainer played with her quietly in the background.

After several minutes of work, Jennifer jumped into the water, and Scarlett was allowed off her chair in order to sit on the edge of the platform with her feet dangling in the water. She was now one step closer to what she really wanted: to be in the water with Genie. But Scarlett still had some more work to do, so the therapist continued the lesson.

Five minutes later, Scarlett got her reward: she was allowed in the water, and Genie came over to shake her hand and say, “Hello!” Then Scarlett and Jennifer grabbed hold of Genie’s dorsal fin, and went for a ride around the cove.

Upon their return, the trainer again occupied Genie and the lesson continued, this time, since Scarlett had done so well, in the water. If Scarlett had not been so responsive, she would have been taken out of the water, and the lesson would have continued on the platform.

And so the therapy continued for its 40-minute duration. Scarlett got to interact with Genie 5 or 6 times throughout the session, each time in a different way: playing catch with a ball or fetch with a ring; holding a large plastic ring for Genie to jump through; going for rides around the cove, etc.

At the end of the session, Scarlett and Genie waved goodbye to each other, and then Genie jumped straight up into the air to signal a final farewell. Then Scarlett, the therapist and the assistant made the long trek back to the reception area.

“I’m so proud of the progress Scarlett has made,” said Jennifer. “This was a girl who came to us without the ability to communicate; and now she has some basic tools necessary for making her needs known. She doesn’t have to throw tantrums any more.”

“DHT has given me new hope,” said Scarlett’s mother. “On the first day, Scarlett cried before, during and after the session. Then on the second day, she cried for the entire session. On day 3, she didn’t cry, but didn’t have much fun, either. Today [day 4] is a good day.”

And the next day [day 5] was even better.

In spite of not having slept well (it had been a full moon), Scarlett arrived at Dolphin Cove all smiles, and even gave a friendly greeting to me, a stranger to her.

When the session started, the therapist could barely get the questions out of her mouth, and Scarlett was answering correctly. She even, for the first time, said a word (“red.”) With Scarlett doing so well, most of the session was spent in the water.

Genie was also frisky and sensed Scarlett’s enthusiasm. The trainer had quite a time keeping her occupied, and at one point, when the therapist asked Scarlett, “Show me a picture of a dolphin,” Genie darted up to the platform and pointed at the correct picture with her nose. Then she started waving her nose in the air, as if to say, “Okay, okay. She’s answered the question. Now let’s play!”

Children like Scarlett progress by staying focused on the task at hand. At one level, the dolphins are only there as incentive for the children to do their work. But there is a wonderful connection between dolphins and humans that works at a completely different level.

“A dolphin’s sonar system is incredibly sophisticated,” said Becca. “Many of these children have had various operations and the dolphins map the children’s bodies before they approach them. They can tell, for instance, where there is scar tissue, and which areas may still be tender. Then they avoid touching these areas.”

Some even say that dolphin sonar can actually cause human cells to heal.

Neuroscientist David Cole teamed up with Dr. Nathanson and developed an experimental technology that studies the human brain before and after dolphin interaction. According to Cole, the goal is to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a physiological change that occurs when people interact with dolphins. "In the very first test we ran,” he said, “we worked with cancer patients. And several of them that had been through severe bouts of various disorders and various cancers realized a spontaneous, medically inexplicable remission."

While the accepted theory among researchers of why such remissions could happen is that relaxation helps stimulate the immune system (it is very relaxing to spend time with dolphins…), some scientists like veterinarian Gregory Bossart believe there's more to it. “I’m convinced that the dolphin's echolocation ability is a better answer. It utilizes a very interesting sound producing and receiving system that allows a dolphin to actually see with sound."

Dr. Cole agrees: “The Atlantic Bottlenose dolphin can produce an enormous amount of sound energy. It's enough energy to cause a phenomenon known as cavitation. The energy can actually rip holes in the molecular structure of fluids and soft tissues. So one hypothesis that's beginning to emerge from this is that the dolphin's echolocation can change cellular metabolism in the human body, which would happen at such a core level that it would explain all of the phenomena we're observing."

The real reason for success, however, makes little difference to most parents: what’s important is that DHT works. Interaction with the dolphins coupled with excellent therapy from highly competent health professionals has, in most cases, resulted in significant improvements in their child.

One of the early believers in DHT was Kirsten “Kikki” Kuhnert. Her son Timmy was a normal, healthy child until he fell into a small abandoned pool and remained submerged for several minutes. Although he was revived, he remained in a coma for fifteen months. Then suddenly during the second week of therapy with dolphins, he woke up. Ms. Kuhnert was so inspired by the progress her son made that she left her lucrative career to found a non-profit organization, Dolphin Aid, in order to help other children receive Dolphin-Human Therapy.

Timmy, now 10 years old, has been diagnosed with severe brain damage. But it’s clear from watching people interact with him that he is intelligent, understands what is being said to him, and even has a sense of humor.

Since Timmy is completely wheelchair bound, the beginning of his therapy session is spent massaging and gently stretching his atrophied muscles.

“Each session Timmy has a different issue to work through,” said LeAnne Ginglen, Timmy’s therapist and a licensed educational specialist. “I’m never sure exactly what we’ll be working through until I see him right before his session. Today’s task will be to get him to realize when he’s let his head fall forward or back, and then to get him to correct the problem himself.”

Not knowing what to prepare for means the therapist has to be very creative on the spot. LeAnne and Timmy were in the water, and she didn’t seem to have much success with him. But an inspiration suddenly came to her: knowing how much Timmy liked music, LeAnne asked him whether he would like her to sing Brittany Spears to him. Timmy managed to indicate a “Yes,” so LeAnne began to sing.

And every time Timmy let his head fall, she stopped singing, and only began again when he corrected the problem. Timmy picked up on this very quickly, and started to develop the realization himself of the position of his head, and how to control it. Dreamer, Timmy’s dolphin, stood by trying to cheer Timmy on. At one point, she even came over to him and helped to nudge his head back into position with her nose.

After the session, Timmy’s mother took off his wetsuit and dried him off. Then a professional massage therapist sat with Timmy and massaged his limbs. Finally, Timmy was placed back in his wheelchair.

“Since it’s not possible to meet with the same clients all year long, we make sure to chart a course of therapy for the families to take back home with them,” said LeAnne. We are also available to consult with each child’s local therapist.”

And although the child may be thousands of miles away, the experience with dolphins is still used as a motivational tool. Towards the end of the therapy sessions, DHT videotapes each child interacting with their dolphin. Then during the year, the tapes are played for the children as a reward for doing their work. In addition, DHT prepares a professional photo album for follow up and reinforcement.

“My vision is to see many more facilities at appropriate locations throughout the world,” said Dr. Nathanson. “I’d also like to explore more fully how to integrate music into the therapy, since music is such a powerful force with children.”

He became serious and reiterated, “The healing that takes place here is no miracle. Positive growth happens because of hard work and a superb, dedicated staff.” But then his face softened and his eyes twinkled as he added, “But that’s not to say that many people don’t find the results miraculous."