SRU recreation therapy researchers win ATRA poster award

Oct. 10, 2018

Faculty and current and former students from Slippery Rock University's recreational therapy program won the Best Research Poster Award for the Recreational Therapy Institute at the American Therapeutic Recreation Association's annual conference last month in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The research team won for their study that compared the effectiveness of therapeutic horseback riding with traditional stress management techniques, based on the heart rate variability and salivary cortisol levels in adolescents on the autism spectrum.

Researchers from SRU included:

• Betsy Kemeny, assistant professor of parks, conservation and recreational therapy.

• Deborah Hutchins, associate professor of parks, conservation and recreational therapy.

• Courtney Gramlich, manager of the Storm Harbor Equestrian Center.

• Kristen Laird, a 2018 SRU graduate with a degree in interdisciplinary studies.

• Emily Jones, a junior recreational therapy major from Warren, Ohio.

• Allison Kronyak, a senior recreational therapy major from Wood Ridge, New Jersey.

• Jessica Dietrich, a senior recreational therapy major from Eastlake, Ohio.