We participated with the exceptional rider’s group at a local horse show today. Tall Pines Horse Show in not-too-far-away Reevesville, SC provides a slot for Enchanted Acres’ group to show their stuff. Ben on Spot, along with the rest of the group, rode around the ring a couple times, then lined up in the middle of the arena for the ribbon presentation. Each exceptional rider received a “champion” ribbon for participating. You can see how much Ben loved this. The next show won’t be until the Fall. We can’t wait to see how much more Ben can do by then. Yaaahoooo!
I have no photos from this therapuetic horseback riding lesson lesson, but it needs to be documented. It has been just 3 hours in as many weeks since Ben’s first initial freak-out over getting up on a horse. He has progressed much faster than any of us ever anticipated. After riding around the ring several times. Ben decided he’d like to try going a little bit faster. The next fastest gait after walking is called the trot. It’s like a fast walk or jog that can be pretty bouncy for a brand new rider during his THIRD time up on a horse. Ben LOVED trotting. The bouncing one-two pattern of the gait made him giggle uncontrollably. It was infectious and we were all laughing together chanting “trot trot trot trot…”. How amazing is that??
Here’s Ben at his THIRD therapeutic horse back riding lesson, riding atop Spot BY HIMSELF. Ben continues to surprise us all with his ever-expanding comfort with Spot. This is Ben tacking his horse. He is pulling the girth strap tight here, using upper body strength and minimal support.
Here is a little RDI moment of co-regulation between Ben and his brother as they carry the bowl of sweet feed together. And here is Ben after turning Spot out into the pasture after his lesson. Now that’s one confident cowboy!
And ON the horse! Ben surprised us all again. After countless reminders that he did NOT want to ride Spot and that he did NOT want to sit in the saddle, with enough support and the absence of pressure, he changed his mind.
Ben’s lesson started with grooming again. He remembered which brushes to use and warmed up enough to rub Spot with his hand. He helped carry the saddle pad and saddle over from the Tack Room and then helped Shelli pull the girth tight. Using the blue lead rope, Ben then led Spot into the indoor arena. He learned to stay to the left of Spot, near his head while leading. We could see Ben’s confidence growing as Spot reliably stopped and started whenever Ben did and followed wherever Ben led.
Next, Kelly and Shelli gave Ben an opportunity to play a ring toss game that is quite difficult to do when not in the saddle atop your horse. Ben declined to get on Spot, but wanted to play the game anyway. So, they did.
Although he was sure he did not want to ride Spot today, Ben was agreeable to having *me* ride Spot. So, I fastened my safety helmet, and mounted Spot behind the child-size saddle. We expected another refusal when I invited Ben to sit with me, but for whatever reason, he didn’t hesitate in saying “yes” this time. And other than making sure my hands were on his hips, Ben didn’t panic or get upset in any way when Spot began to move. Kelly and Shelli taught Ben how to make Spot stop (say ‘whoah!’) and go (say ‘walk on, Spot!’). He loved this and enjoyed practicing with Spot. After some time riding, Ben said “let’s go back in the barn so we can brush Spot,” which is just what we did.
But not before Little Brother Will had a turn.
Ella Rose was also offered a turn. She did not surprise us and predictably declined. And that’s just fine. Two cowboys is enough for now. We’ll see what happens next week…
Ben’s first horseback riding lesson was today. Enchanted Acres Equestrian Center and the lovely Miss Kelly and Miss Shelli offer wonderful individually tailored lessons for “exceptional” riders on Sundays. This is a different center than the one Ben visited with Mark back in November. That experience was so positive for Ben that we thought regular lessons might be something he would enjoy. That, and the therapeutic benefit of riding, of course.
Our first visit was last Sunday, where we observed another child during her lesson. Ben really enjoyed watching the little girl ride the gentle appaloosa, Spot, but continually asked if he could have a turn to ride. When the opportunity arrived, Ben eagerly put on his helmet, listened to the directions, indicated he knew his left foot would be put in the stirrup first, smiled as he was hoisted up into the saddle…and promptly freaked out. “MAMA! I DO NOT LIKE THIS. STOP! I WANT TO GET OFF! GET ME OFF OF THIS HORSE! AHHHH! I DON’T LIKE SPOT!”
We guided Ben to dismount and he ceased yelling, but made sure we all knew that he did NOT like it when Spot moved. Spot, to his credit, continued standing in the same place he had been during Ben’s stationary “ride”, munching the new grass beneath him, unaffected by Ben’s panic.
Along with the ASD, Ben has sensory integration difficulties. He can be hyper-sensitive to certain sensations, especially those that affect his balance and motor coordination. Maintaining his balance on an unpredictable, albeit stationary, grass munching horse was too much for Ben’s vestibular system. It was obvious we were going to have to begin this endeavor at a much slower pace.
Or so I thought.
Ben’s first lesson consisted of initial grooming tasks, then using the lead rope to guide Spot into the arena. There, Miss Kelly and Ben used finger paints to paint right on Spot. This was a neat tactile exercise that encouraged familiarity and comfort with the horse, while using all kinds of language, too. Next, Ben offered different foods for Spot to taste, including a can of Dr. Pepper which the horse snarfed and asked for more. (evil high fructose corn syrup!) Here Ben talked directly to Spot telling him “C’mon Spot, here’s your sweet feed. Do you like it? Eat some more.” So cute.
Lastly, Kelly and Shelli introduced us to the iGallop. It’s an electronic horse riding simulator that really does help you feel like you are in the saddle. There are 3 speeds on the iGallop, of which I anticipated Ben to vehemently protest. He was not eager to climb up, even after watching both Will and I take a happy turn. After encouragement, Ben agreed to get on with Mark and seemed to trepeditiously enjoy it. Once he realized that he could start, stop, or speed up the iGallop on his own, Ben gradually lost all inhibitions. We were actually a bit worried at the end that we’d have a hard time getting him off of it.
Hopefully we can transfer this success to riding the real thing. We can’t wait for next Sunday!
We saw T.J. and he came over. And he was on the swing. T.J. ran in the house. He is my friend. T.J.’s racecar has a broken wheel. We played soccer.
The End.
by Ben
**notice the actual figures in Ben’s drawing. This is a FIRST!
The Bunny
We saw a bunny next to our house. Mama put a blanket in a basket. We still have it. And he runs away. And he run away to the pond to find his mama. His mama is a bunny.
The End.
by Will
**Will drew a rainbow and a bunny figure after watching his brother make his figure-filled illustration.
Casey
Casey is our new dog. She is happy. She’s not sad anymore. She makes a smile and licks people. She eats food and she drinks water. She barks. Casey has a tail. She misses her owner. She sniffs people and the baby, Ella Rose. And me. And me, too. We love her and we hug her.
We’re over the moon about Casey, the Wonder Dog. She really is just a fantastic addition to our family. We always knew we’d have a family dog, but we were waiting for the ‘right time’. When Mark was serving in Iraq, I was overwhelmingly pregnant with Will, Ben was a toddler not walking or even close, and we had just moved from our big yard house to a teeny yard house–that time–was *not* the right time. Thank God for Aunt Patty and Uncle Jim who adopted our first pet, Max. Here they all are visiting us on their spring break last week:
Having Max stay with us confirmed how ready we were for another pet. There’s so much to be gained in the way of learning and enrichment for the kids–taking care of another being, responsibility, respect, loyalty. Max was a puppy when we adopted him from the shelter. Training him was a lot of work. We knew we didn’t have the kind of time needed to train a puppy this time around. We had agreed to get an older dog, but not too old. We wanted an active dog that would run and play, but would not have to pee every 10 minutes nor chew things that would make us unhappy.
I had also been doing some research on therapy dogs for children with autism. It’s probably not much of a surprise to dog lovers, but early “research” is showing that there are more than physical needs fulfilled through interaction with a trained therapy pet. This study is looking specifically at development of social interaction with the help of animals.
Solomon hypothesizes that interactions with well-trained therapy dogs—which are simple, predictable and very rewarding social partners—help autistic children practice social interaction and fill gaps in social behaviors that didn’t develop earlier in childhood. In the future, she hopes to study the results of adding animal therapy to existing clinical programs for people with autism.
“Dogs could be like a catalyst in a chemical reaction,” she said.
I liked that the article spoke in terms of remediation, a la RDI. Going back for a ‘do-over’ is a simple way to think about it. Could a dog help in our RDI efforts with Ben? Who couldn’t use a catalyst?
Enter Casey. The craisglist post proclaimed her “the poster child for the perfect family pet”. After 3 days with her, we really cannot argue that claim. We’ve witnessed great affection and “private” moments between both boys and Casey that are worth any cost of having her. Already. How cool is that?
Here are some photos of the boys doing some training work with Casey.
“Casey, come!”“Sit.”“Lie down.”
And then there’s Will’s technique…
“Casey, come and eat this yummy treat.”
“Lie down like me.”“Have another yummy treat. Good girl. She likes me!”
We welcomed a new furry family member to our household this week. Casey is our new dog. She’s a four year old yellow lab who came to us via craigslist. Her owner was reluctantly looking for a new home for her. He is newly married and poor Casey does not get along with the new wife’s toy poodle. We’re thrilled to have her, though. She’s an awesome dog so far–well mannered, affectionate, playful, and gentle. She has responded very well to learning the ‘house rules’ and is loved to bits by the boys. Ella Rose is taking her time warming up to Casey’s wet nose and generous “kisses”. She enjoys her mostly from a distance right now.
These photos were taken yesterday. We seem to have caught a spring cold and all the kids had a fever. Will was pretty warm when these were taken.
And, yes, that’s her *on* the bed. With Will being sick and so snuggly with her, I didn’t have the heart to make her get off. I may regret this decision later. So be it. Sick kid trumps dog hair-ed quilt.
If I think about it too much, it has the smell of misogyny about it, in that icky backhanded 1940’s slang sort of way. You know where “dame” and “broad” , “toots”, and “doll” were used in a patriarchal pat-on-the-head “you’re so dumb, but cute” fashion. That is, when they weren’t being used outright as derogatory terms.
I am a “Free to Be You and Me” child of the 70’s. I am not supposed to take whatever is dished out as acceptable, ‘just’ because I am a girl (woman). I can do anything boys can do. I can do ANYTHING! Hear me roar! Etc. Etc. Etc.
But. If I don’t think about it, I can handle it. And. There’s not much I can do to change it at this point. It’s sticking. She responds to this other name as easily as she does her given name. And I have even found myself referring to her in this way. For what it’s worth, and I think a lot, the name only suits her in a contradictory manner. Ella Rose loves her baby doll, but drops it without a thought for a Hot Wheels car. She insists on wearing her brother’s old Lighting McQueen t-shirt, making loud car noises in church, and playing in the dirt.
She is a fairly competent wrestling partner for Will and offers up her fist for a bump with much more force than you might think possible in a sixteen-month-old.
Our Girlie’s eyes light up at the sight of a motorcycle and will shout out “boo-doz-ah” when we pass the bulldozer on a walk. She was a climber before she could walk, scaling the playground ramp up to the top platform without a spotter. ["has anyone seen the baby? Oh my God, how did you get up there?"]
Her spunk is matched only by her ‘art of persuasion’ which usually sounds a lot like Hollering to Raise the Dead, until you find what she wants and hand it over. To which she will grab, smile sweetly and say “tank yoo”. If she could wink, I think she would add one in there, as well.
So, “Girlie” it is. Used in the sassy, backhanded, car-vrooming, knuckle-bumping, eye-winking way that says “I am a child of a child of the 70’s. I am Grrrl–hear me holler!”
Posted by gigimama 
Posted by gigimama 
Here’s Ben at his THIRD therapeutic horse back riding lesson, riding atop Spot BY HIMSELF. Ben continues to surprise us all with his ever-expanding comfort with Spot. 
This is Ben tacking his horse. He is pulling the girth strap tight here, using upper body strength and minimal support.
Here is a little 
And here is Ben after turning Spot out into the pasture after his lesson. Now that’s one confident cowboy!
Posted by gigimama 
And ON the horse! Ben surprised us all again. After countless reminders that he did NOT want to ride Spot and that he did NOT want to sit in the saddle, with enough support and the absence of pressure, he changed his mind. 
Ben’s lesson started with grooming again. He remembered which brushes to use and warmed up enough to rub Spot with his hand. He helped carry the saddle pad and saddle over from the Tack Room and then helped Shelli pull the girth tight. Using the blue lead rope, Ben then led Spot into the indoor arena. He learned to stay to the left of Spot, near his head while leading. We could see Ben’s confidence growing as Spot reliably stopped and started whenever Ben did and followed wherever Ben led.
Kelly and Shelli taught Ben how to make Spot stop (say ‘whoah!’) and go (say ‘walk on, Spot!’). He loved this and enjoyed practicing with Spot. After some time riding, Ben said “let’s go back in the barn so we can brush Spot,” which is just what we did.
Ben’s first lesson consisted of initial grooming tasks, then using the lead rope to guide Spot into the arena. There, Miss Kelly and Ben 
used finger paints to paint right on Spot. This was a neat tactile exercise that encouraged familiarity and comfort with the horse, while using all kinds of language, too. Next, Ben offered different foods for Spot to taste, including a can of Dr. Pepper which the horse snarfed and asked for more. (evil high fructose corn syrup!) Here Ben talked directly to Spot telling him “C’mon Spot, here’s your sweet feed. Do you like it? Eat some more.” So cute.
My Friend T.J.
The Bunny
Casey
We’re over the moon about Casey, the Wonder Dog. She really is just a fantastic addition to our family. We always knew we’d have a family dog, but we were waiting for the ‘right time’. When Mark was serving in Iraq, I was overwhelmingly pregnant with Will, Ben was a toddler not walking or even close, and we had just moved from our big yard house to a teeny yard house–that time–was *not* the right time. Thank God for Aunt Patty and Uncle Jim who adopted our first pet, Max. Here they all are visiting us on their spring break last week: 
“Casey, come!”
“Sit.”
“Lie down.”
“Casey, come and eat this yummy treat.”
“Lie down like me.”
“Have another yummy treat. Good girl. She likes me!”
We welcomed a new furry family member to our household this week. Casey is our new dog. She’s a four year old yellow lab who came to us via craigslist. Her owner was reluctantly looking for a new home for her. He is newly married and poor Casey does not get along with the new wife’s toy poodle. We’re thrilled to have her, though. She’s an awesome dog so far–well mannered, affectionate, playful, and gentle. She has responded very well to learning the ‘house rules’ and is loved to bits by the boys. Ella Rose is taking her time warming up to Casey’s wet nose and generous “kisses”. She enjoys her mostly from a distance right now.
And, yes, that’s her *on* the bed. With Will being sick and so snuggly with her, I didn’t have the heart to make her get off. I may regret this decision later. So be it. Sick kid trumps dog hair-ed quilt.
For what it’s worth, and I think a lot, the name only suits her in a contradictory manner. Ella Rose loves her baby doll, but drops it without a thought for a Hot Wheels car. She insists on wearing her brother’s old Lighting McQueen t-shirt, making loud car noises in church, and playing in the dirt.
