Michael wrote the last two thoughtful, hilarious posts, including the one entitled "Hippotherapy" which got our highest ever readership--more than 1700 views and counting!
It was heartwarming and appropriately poignant, bringing light to a wonderful organization that does truly amazing things. The impact horseback riding has on children, with or without disabilities, is profound, and I am so excited to have Gabriel starting this journey.
Michael misspoke when he called it "hippotherapy"--what Camp Able does is actually termed "therapeutic riding"; others have referred to it as "adaptive riding".
Hippotherapy must have doctor's prescription and is performed by a team with a licensed, specially-trained therapist; the horse must also be certified as a therapy horse, much in the same way that a companion dog is certified as a therapy animal. It must be done in one-on-one sessions, with the therapist engaging the child consistently toward meeting their goal objectives. Depending on your insurance, you might get reimbursement for the sessions, but at the sacrifice of one of your other therapies--speech, occupational, or physical generally will get substituted out in favor of the hippotherapy.
Therapeutic or adaptive riding does not require a doctor's prescription, nor a licensed therapist--it is recreational horseback riding adapted to individuals with special needs. It is led by a horseback-riding instructor and the assistance of volunteers. The horses are often raised and broken by the instructor, ensuring a gentle, docile temperament appropriate for a therapy horse. Insurance will not cover it, so it can be in individual or group sessions to suit the needs of the child, though not every facility offers both options.
Knowing the basic ideas of both, I lean more towards therapeutic riding, specifically because when insurance pays a therapist to do thirty minutes or an hour of therapy, you have to work at it the entire time, which can kind of be intensive for the child. With therapeutic riding, it is highly influenced by the comfort level of the child. If Gabriel is done riding, he can be done, whether that is after five minutes or after twenty-five minutes. Also, if your insurance allows for visits outside the home (ECI for example was able to meet us where we were, be it park or wherever) and the facility providing the riding is agreeable to it, you can incorporate one of your therapies into your adaptive riding sessions.
Camp Able is a non-profit horse rescue that offers equine therapy to individuals with special needs. They have been around since 2014, so they are still really just getting their feet wet in this region.
A couple of members from their organization--Renee and Lota--were on the committee that planned the Big Country Walk for Autism. I got to know them over the five-ish months it took to plan the walk, and I just loved them. Lota is such a sunny person that has great ideas and is always happy to work and get stuff done; she is just a delight to be around. Renee is one of the warmest, most kind-hearted people I have ever met. She is quiet and calm in this reassuring, bolstering way that lets you know she is always going to be there. I really enjoyed working with both of them.
Renee actually also goes to the same church as my mother. They had talked on several occasions about Gabriel. and Renee was convinced that Gabe would benefit from the services they offered. I was...politely hesitant.
You have to realize: Autism is hot stuff right now.
That sounds awful, but it is true. Compared to twenty years ago when absolutely NOBODY was talking about it, now it feels like all anyone wants to talk about. There are 77 million results on google when you type in autism. With that many hits, you would expect that we would know so much more than we do; the sad fact is, there is still so much confusion and misinformation, so much that is unknown about this condition.
In that special place between popular but misunderstood, we are inundated with suggested treatments and cures. Have you tried!!....chelation, gluten-free/casein-free, electroconvulsive, therapy, ABA, pivotal response treatment, aversion therapy, patterning, packing, prescription drugs, OT, PT, craniosacral, stem cells?
On the one hand, you want to feel like you have tried everything you possibly can for your child. We all want to say we did our best. The idea that you might look back and think, "Oh! If only I had tried..." is a very motivating factor.
There is only so much we can physically do, though. There are only so many hours in the day. A lot of those treatments are not compatible. So the throw-everything-against-the-wall method really isn't practical or feasible here.
I have developed a pretty neutral approach to all these proposed treatments. I want to hear about them; it is important to me, both as a mother of an autistic child and as a board member of REACH, for me to be informed about all that which is offered for ASD. Plus, I am naturally curious and enjoy reading things that make me thing. To everything that I see, I go in with as little preconceived notions and opinions as I can manage so that I can interpret it unbiased. The majority, I deem not worth the time-investment, financially implausible, scientifically unbacked, or too risky.
So, this well-meaning woman that I respect and like is suggesting this therapeutic riding. She isn't pushing it. Just letting us know that it is available, and that Gabe might benefit from it.
First instincts, I didn't want to--we already have a rigid therapy schedule, I am highly burned out as it is. Medicaid would not cover it and we do not have it in our budget to cover it. It is all the way out in Buffalo Gap, which is a bit of a jaunt. Not today, not today.
Renee mentions that we could receive sessions at no cost. Michael volunteers to drive him out there and back, said he is curious. I wouldn't have to do anything, except watch Emerald and Benjamin for a short while one night a week. (Added bonus: that would be a short while I would not be fighting Mike for the xbox). Yeah, alright. Let's try it.
Michael came home...in shock.
He immediately sits down and writes everything he can remember about the experience. Never before had he seen such a response out of Gabriel, and he wanted me to come out the next Monday to see for myself.
That next Monday was Fourth of July, so we were out at my parents house to celebrate. They actually do not live too far from the Camp, just maybe five or ten minutes. After a couple of hours swimming and a hot dog cookout, we leave Emerald and Benjamin with my family while Michael and I go out to the camp.
The first thing that struck me was how quiet it was. There were animals every direction you looked--miniature donkeys grazing, dogs running, a baby goat in his little enclosure. They were all so well mannered though. I was expecting a cacophony of animal noises, but they were all just relaxed and calm and quiet. There were two donkeys that screamed and ran toward me when I got out of the car, but thank goodness for that because I was really looking forward to hearing the happy donkey noises, and I was not disappointed.
The other thing you expect with all those animals is a significant amount of...ordure and the accompanying smells. This place was remarkably clean and well maintained, and the strongest smell was the impending rain.
Subdued is how I would probably describe it. All the colors were of the faded Texas country variety, nothing sharp or abrasive. It was like they turned down the sensory input in their quiet, secluded little world.
There is nothing I can tell you that Michael hasn't already done, and done better. There was something tranformative about the whole experience, for Gabriel but for me as well. The overwhelming peace that just washed over Gabe when he was placed on Lightening...
I think Michael put it best when he said to me, "It is rare to see Gabriel happy AND calm."
When we see Gabe laughing, smiling, in a good mood, there is usually this accompanying frenetic energy, this wildness that he cannot contain. He doesn't outwardly enjoy a ton of things, which is why entertaining him is difficult and buying a present is downright a pain.
This though...it reaches him in a way that so few things have been able to.
For me, it felt like I was getting a rare glimpse at what could be. I have grown accustomed to seeing Gabriel in this persistent state of unrest that sometimes I forget how tiring it must be for him. While he might be used to it, this world is an uncomfortable, never-ending assault on his senses and it is exhausting.
Sure, I can tell you the facts. The proven benefits of equine therapy on autistic children--the formation of emotional bonds, development of cognitive and language skills, how it affects balance and spatial orientation. The studies are out there, proving time and again that this method is successful.
Just look at that boy up there, though. The peace written on his face, the love he holds for that sweet pony.
Really, that's all I need to know.
--Andie
Notice from Camp Able:
Camp Able's goal is to not turn people away because of the ability to pay, but we do have program fees. While we are a nonprofit, we still have costs. Our program fees - while they don't cover all of our costs - do help in that regard. If you review our General Information on our Facebook Page (under "About"), you will find the following paragraph: "Our current program fees for individuals range from $35 to $65 per hour of riding time, depending upon the special needs of the rider. We also offer group rates. However, our goal is to never turn anyone away who needs our programs. We are currently 100-percent volunteer run and donor-funded so our ability to help depends entirely on our ability to raise donations." Camp Able's Board actively is seeking donations from large and small donors to help cover costs. And every little bit helps. For instance, if every one of the 1,700 people who read Michael's original blogpost donated $9 (which is the cost to care and feed one of Camp Able's horses for one day), they would collectively cover the current program costs for about 300 equine therapy sessions for children just like Gabe. Donating to Camp Able is easy. You can click on the "Donate Now" button on our websitewww.camp-able.org or send a check to our P.O.Box 695, Buffalo Gap, TX, 79508.
Notice from Camp Able:
Camp Able's goal is to not turn people away because of the ability to pay, but we do have program fees. While we are a nonprofit, we still have costs. Our program fees - while they don't cover all of our costs - do help in that regard. If you review our General Information on our Facebook Page (under "About"), you will find the following paragraph: "Our current program fees for individuals range from $35 to $65 per hour of riding time, depending upon the special needs of the rider. We also offer group rates. However, our goal is to never turn anyone away who needs our programs. We are currently 100-percent volunteer run and donor-funded so our ability to help depends entirely on our ability to raise donations." Camp Able's Board actively is seeking donations from large and small donors to help cover costs. And every little bit helps. For instance, if every one of the 1,700 people who read Michael's original blogpost donated $9 (which is the cost to care and feed one of Camp Able's horses for one day), they would collectively cover the current program costs for about 300 equine therapy sessions for children just like Gabe. Donating to Camp Able is easy. You can click on the "Donate Now" button on our websitewww.camp-able.org or send a check to our P.O.Box 695, Buffalo Gap, TX, 79508.
No comments:
Post a Comment