More On Therapy

Yes, I have been missing in my blogging. We just have been so busy with field trips, horse riding lessons, finishing up school for this year, and just enjoying ourselves with park days, family time and playing with friends. I mentioned before we chose to go with a not so conventional therapy with Selena, horse therapy. There are so many types of therapy that are suggested, more conventional therapies, from one on one counseling to ABA therapy. Every child responds differently to therapies, keeping that in mind we chose to keep with Selena’s interest and go with horse therapy.

The down side is that this is not covered under our insurance and costs us $180.00 a month. Still not a bad price. Selena is learning so much about horses, the changes that take place in a pregnant horse, to why horses mouths are the way they are. She is now learning to communicate with the horse, this involves leading a horse with no lead rope, but instead having a tail whip. No, you don’t whip the horse, it just represents the tail which is representative to the tail of the horse. Horses do talk, they do whisper, they do express themselves with their tails.

This is not the best picture but it is a picture of Selena leading Faye without any lead rope. The other aspect to the therapy is learning to be in total charge, relaxed, in charge of herself, confidence and in charge of the horse. This comes through riding. Let me say the first few times it was hard for Selena to mount the horse, the first time she had to learn to let go and become one with the horse, using her arms like the horses wings, flying through the air. She is swiftly moving from following a ball around the arena to riding independently.

The idea behind following the ball is that it gives the child something to focus on, the child or rider has to guide the horse to the ball so the horse will kick the ball, then no matter what direction the ball goes in the child or rider has to follow it. Sometimes the ball gets jammed against the wall, so now comes the problem solving skills as to how do I get the ball out of this situation while on the horse?

She has now moved on to riding through the obstacle course. Which consists of many obstacles, even a balance beam for the horse to cross.

What have we seen from this therapy? More confidence in Selena. She is willing to go play with friends without me. She is willing and even suggests field trips for the homeschool group. She has a sense of pride for her accomplishments. She is learning more about relationships and how to be a friend as well as how to receive a friend.

This might not work for every child because not all children like horses like Selena does, but for us it is working. My suggestion is to do your research and find what will work for your child.

Embarking On A New Adventure

 

 

I have always been drawn to the idea of using animals in therapy for Autism. I see so many people respond so beautifully with animals, I guess that is why we hear so much about service animals. I have watched Selena here at home, and know the calming affect that she gets from just going and spending time with the horses here. When she is just feeling out of sorts or anxious she retreats to the barn to visit Emma.

Selena and Emma have a certain bond that is unlike any bond I have ever seen. Even with the new pony here, Selena is still very drawn to Emma. She visits the new pony but always has to go love on Emma, feeling or recognizing that Emma is sad.

When an opportunity landed in our lap for Selena to work with a horse through 4-H and after getting to know the Leader and realizing she has worked with Autistic children and horse therapy, we were quickly sold on this new adventure. A very kind gentlemen has agreed to let Selena use his miniature horse, Star.

Why is horse therapy or just being around horses so beneficial to an autistic child? I think this article at ASDF really sums the benefits better then any article I have read. I will try to explain what we see personally through the benefits listed in this article.

Emotional Bond: We really see such an emotional bond between Selena and horses, it is as if she can read their mind. It is no big surprise that horses are able to read the emotions of the people around them. Sometimes children with autism just miss the cues of the emotions of those around them, but I have seen it time and time again where these cues are not missed when around the horse. This builds the ability to understand and learn how to read body or non expressive cues in people.

Cognitive and Language skills: Now I can only speak to a part in this area, since Selena has always been verbal. Though I know many times Selena could not express herself appropriately. Though to see her around a horse and listen to her talk and even give commands and take commands as to how to make the horse behave is wonderful. While we have watched her struggle with taking instructions from other adults, we observe this differently when around horses. It is like being around the horse just calms her mind. To see her and hear her give commands to the horse is like music to my ear, she is calm,  not bossy, and yet makes sure she is understood.

We look forward to this new adventure and the growth that will develop in Selena. At the same time she gets to benefit from learning all about her favorite animal, horses.