horseot

2012-01-24T05:17:00.000-08:00

I love how this video compares progress after 6 months

American Hippotherapy Association Article

2012-01-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

A Focus On Developing Hand Skills in Hippotherapy

2011-12-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

This two year old did great following directions and repeating words. I figured out that she wouldn't repeat words unless I moved the holder out of her range, so that she had to repeat the color before I brought it closer for her to insert the pin inside. She seemed interested in naming colors, so that's what I worked on to evoke speech. When finished she did great putting the pins inside the storage container.

2011-12-20T11:09:00.001-08:00

I am a hippotherapy/therapeutic riding book junkie, so am delighted to add this resource to my collection. This book is a compilation of yoga like poses with clear directions on how to assume and hold them, breath, how many times to repeat movements and what the benefits are.
I work with very young children who would probably not understand the photographs, but therapists can use this book with older children to assist in explaining the poses and make a copy to practice a special pose at home. I envision children with motor planning impairments and decreased strength using these activities to increase motor skills and body awareness.Certainly, riders seeking to reduce pain will find this book helpful and the instructor can tailor these poses according to the individual's diagnosis or goals. My back feels better, just from looking at the photos!

Vibrating ring Stack

2011-12-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

I made this vibrating ring stack by push the motorized pen into a swimming noodle (throwing away the pen point). I knit a holder that the noodle is inside of out of trash bags but one can come up with an easier way to rig this up so that its attached to the tack. Maybe just tie something around it and attach a clip.

The kids all loved this, it really holds their attention and quite a few said "more". It tends to require using both hands, one stabilizing while the other places the ring. One girl stood on top of the horse reaching high to grasp the ring and then squatting to place it over the noodle.

Promoting Speech with Recorder

2011-11-30T13:17:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful sunny day, pretty warm for November in Massachusetts and sunny enough so that I needed my sun glasses. This 2 year old independently opened and closed the zipper to take my glasses out and put back in the case.

The most fun thing I did today was have a 3 year old (who has down syndrome) repeat what she did into the tape recorder which I played back for her mom later. She mostly repeated one word at a time but did string the phrase "I did it". Her mom heard a recording of her saying " five sit ups" and "I went up hill" and "I was kneeling". I am going to do this regularly. These phrases will become more familiar and with practice hopefully she will repeat an entire phrase rather than one word at a time.

Thanksgiving Week Hippotherapy

2011-11-25T07:52:00.000-08:00

I am always looking for ways to promote bearing weight on hands . This little girl avoids this and often curls up her fingers to avoid touch to her palms. But she tolerated when I pushed her hands down on the sqeaky toys I sewed inside a felt bag.

It was great to hear this litle girl vocalize. I know that this doesn't exactly look like a turkey but I think it passed the sensory fun test. She used both hands together nicely and pulling the clips strengthens hands. Quite a few kids liked using this "remove the turkey feathers toy" this week.....vibration and shiny lights usually work well......

Pig Picture

2011-11-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

This little girl loved attaching the baby animal pictures to the back of the large mommy animal pictures. In the process she got to work on postural control as she reached for the smaller picture on the croup and the bigger one that I held up on the mane (requiring her to post).

Holder attached to pole

2011-10-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

I attached a pole inside a coffee can filled with cement to stabilize it and can now use it in various activities. This video shows how I use it for a reacgubg abd insertion activity while on the horse. I cut away the bottom of a gallon water jug and slipped it onto the pole through the spout. The yellow swimming noodle covering the pole below it helps to keep it in place.

This girl in the video is facing backwards. I can vary the challenge by placing the pole/bottle in different locations or have her face sideways reaching to the sides or behind her (great for trunk rotation). Varying the pole's height also allows the therapist to individualize the activity. I can require her to post to reach for the balls while facing forwards or even use the activity while kneeling or dropping them in the holder while standing on top of the horse.

I think that therapists may find this activity useful working with children while on a trampoline or other land based movement apparati. Present the balls to the child's right hand to place in the holder positioned left of the trampoline and then reverse to move left to right. After some success have the child jump ( I like having them count to ten or recite the alphabet so that there is an end) and then stop to do the ball placement activity again. Of course, you can do this same activity tossing balls into large boxes-working on different skills.

Whoopee Cushion Fun

2011-10-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

I guess I get excited when my kids do well with my activities !

2011-10-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

Some interesting movements near the end of this video where they help the little girl perform kicks while grasping the vaulting circingle. I have never had a child face backwards while standing during the walk. Good idea.

Gret rotation

2011-10-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

There are so many opportunities during hippotherapy to work on rotation, visual fixation and tracking, cause and effect, reaching and balance. Turning around to touch the ball and then hearing the squeak (staff squeezes and squeaks the ball) works on all of these skills..........

Tactile Ball Basketball

2011-10-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

Tactile balls that feel good to squeeze or pull apart are fun to use during toss activities. They are often calming to squeeze helping kids to focus. Some kids may not like a particular texture but will tolerate it when using it in a basketball game. The girl in the video has a bit of gravitational insecurity so I love activities that promote reaching out of her base of support.

Bilateral pin removal activity

2011-10-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

I came across this battery operated toy in the discount bin. It has flashing lights on the top and when you grasp the base and raise your arm - it reminds me of the statue of liberty. (Its supposed to be a July 4th celebration novelty item). I found that the orange cone fit perfectly and I taped it in place. Next I clipped on the clothespins for the kids to remove and drop into the basket attached to the tack. some kids did this as the horse walked. One girl did this while squatting on top of the horse. Another faced backwards and had nice trunk rotation as she reached behind to drop the pins in the basket.

2011-09-29T04:30:00.001-07:00

http://www.pediastaff.com/blog/ot-corner-choosing-a-therapist-for-hippotherapy-4889

2011-09-27T06:14:00.001-07:00

http://recyclingot.blogspot.com/2011/09/manipulating-buckles.html

Rotating Ball to develop motor planning

2011-09-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

This ball rewards children who manipulate it by making a squeak. One boy enjoyed doing this repeatedly laughing while I counted 30 squeaks. This little girl is working on using her hands together and motor planning.

Connecting Rings to Toss

2011-09-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

I was pleased to find that this client was able to easily fasten the ends of the rings. She enjoyed tossing them and placing them on our heads ! and then

Color Matching Activity

2011-09-07T13:36:00.000-07:00

You'll hear me yapping away throughout this short video, trying to get my client to speak. He was actually too busy thinking about how to color match and manipulate the cord.
Sometimes I think that I talk too much and therefore, the child doesn't have an opportunity to talk, but when I want them to do a motor activity, I find that the kids who avoid using their hands by talking- become better focused on the task if I talk nonstop -then they can't talk and they end up doing the activity. Hope this makes sense.....

Opening Up Cloth Rings

2011-08-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

What a great day at Divinity Farm! Farm owner and riding instructor Maria Hurley had made a beautiful obstacle course with flowers in the cones. I was pleased to find a mailbox attached to the fence, so I will think up some fun activities to use with it.

I made these sock rings by filling them with plastic bags and stitching the ends. I made sure that they were not to stuffed, so that I could attach them into a chain as shown in the video. This reminds me of the daisy chains made to decorate walls at parties. I thought that it would be a great motor planning skill to open each up before placing on the pole or a ring stack. This client actually did a few by himself, not captured on video but you can see how he was interested in doing this.

2011-08-16T03:48:00.000-07:00

A cute activity to motivate client to kneel. I like doing lots of transitions from sit to kneeling, kneeling to standing, squat to stand etc.

Lacing shapes during walk

2011-08-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

I usually stop the horse to do a fine motor activity but this little guy was able to do it while we continued walking. I was very pleased with how focused and motivated he was and how his coordination had improved since he struggled to do this six months ago when the horse was just standing still. I cut the donut shapes out of detergent bottles and the cord is tied to the bottom of a bag I knit.

Strenghtening legs-Using Whoopee cushion

2011-08-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

This 2 year old must have posted (standing with feet in stirrups) about a hundred times. He did it while the horse walked up and down hills. I only stopped the horse while catching it on film. This is a great activity to strengthen legs, motor planning and having fun so that you can convince your client to do even more challenging movements. My volunteers had a great time and I am happy when they are-since I want to keep them working with me for a long time....../

2011-08-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

The client who was resistant to prone positioning last week, asked to do so today! It was a challenge to teach her how to extend her head and arms like superman while I counted to 10, but she understood what I wanted and held the position briefly independently. Maybe next time we can add leg extension to fly!

I printed these vehicle pictures off the internet and covered them with contact paper to make them sturdy. I had a 7 year old boy with autism in mind when making these, knowing that he likes trucks, tractors, airplanes, wagons etc. But actually these were great in getting the little girl to articulate some S and F sounds when inserting the fire truck and snow shovel pictures. I am also working on teaching them to fold them in half in order to make them fit through the opening.

It was a very good day for a client who gets easily agitated. I am working on gentle pats and rubs rather than slapping the pony and time spent squeezing a puff ball seemed to help too him to be nice to the pony, too. He enjoys being on his belly and when finished and sitting up again he followed directions to ask "give me the ball please".....one of the longest sentences I can recall hearing him use.

2011-08-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

I usually put the clips on the mane so that children need to poast to reach them, but this little girl doesn't have the strength to do that, so instead she enjoyed removing them from the reins and inserting them into the blue and yellow bags that I made and clipped onto the tack.

Poles with noodles on them

2011-08-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

The kids loved the poles my husband made by sinking pcv pipe into cement in coffee cans. I provided orange, green and blue rings to place over the same color poles. For one little girl it was a challenge to hold all six rings while placing one on the pole since she tends to avoid stabilizing objects.

This client loved opening bags to remove toy animals. I made the bags out of the pockets of old pants. She really did not want to be on her belly, but tolerated it while doing one of her favorite activities.

2011-07-29T07:00:00.001-07:00

From Rattles to Writing: A Parent's Guide to Hand Skills

2011-07-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

I like how they have a variety of pole activities. My husband just made some for me. Now I need to add cones, rings, and containers to catch bean bags. How else can they be used??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkpA4srcNJg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkpA4srcNJg

Happy and Sad Faces

2011-07-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

I have to say that these are the worst pictures I have ever seen of myself. But the kids loved pointing to the happy face when I asked them if they were happy, or if the toy animals were happy or if the horse they were on was happy. Some verbalized "happy" and others pointed to the happy photo. but they all thought the pictures were funny.

Raggedy Annie gets Therapy

2011-07-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

I brought in a raggedy annie doll to role model position changes and help my clients let go of the handle during movement. The girls did a good job of holding the doll in front of them while the horse walked so that they could work on postural control without grasping the handle. The little girl shown here is usually unwilling to let go of the handle during the walk but after having her move the glitter wand up and down stationary she did it during the walk.
My other client tolerated (after much coaxing) the prone over barrel position. She got a kick out of my doing therapy with the doll , having the doll in prone position, too. I think that the doll is going to be quite useful in many different ways.

Hipoptherapy helps children with Hemiplegia

2011-07-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

An adorable 2 year old with right hemiplegia was on my case load today. He is pretty good at using the right hand even though its in a splint (given some encouragement). He especially liked grasping the glitter wand and used both hands to raise it up and down. He did nice reaching using only his right to touch a squeaky ball (a dog toy). The game consists of me making the ball squeak when he touches it and then I move it all over the place so that he works on range of motion. I also used the ball to provide some support while weight bearing while facing sideways. This works even better when walking uphill so that more weight goes on that hemiplegic side. I have to add that he posts quite well.

Hippotherapy Research

2011-07-15T05:13:00.001-07:00

Always good to read some research on benefits of hippotherapy....
http://yourtherapysource.blogspot.com/2011/07/hippotherapy-and-cerebral-palsy.html

Fun Fidget Toy

2011-07-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

I pulled out one of my many fidget toys to use during hippotherapy but this can easily be used off horse as well. It can be used to teach concepts of big and little, open and closed, in and out while at the same time working on motor planning skills. All of my 2 year olds found it fun to manipulate while facing sideways and backwards, allowing me to work on postural control as they let go of the handle in order to play.

2011-07-13T04:46:00.000-07:00

Vision, Movement and Learning: Activities that Promote Reading Readiness
http://www.brighthub.com/education/special/articles/121233.aspx

Matching blue and yellow pins to bags

2011-07-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

I like activities that involve teaching cognitive concepts- in this case matching yellow and blue pins to the same color bag and motor skills. I knit these small bags out of the red bags my newspaper comes in and yellow store bags. This little girl has the color matching skills and is willing to stretch further (challenging her balance) when reaching to grasp the pins.

The bag is attached to the tack with a carabiner clip.

Fishing Game

2011-07-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

This is always a nice summer time sequencing activity to promote using hands together, reaching, following directions and balance. I made the fish out of yellow detergent bottles and used a bingo magnetic wand. The folding basket is from a dollar store and I clipped it onto the tack with a shower ring.

A Good Tactile Day

2011-06-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

It was a very good day for weight bearing and touching the tactile toy shown in the photo below (he usually does not like this texture). I can usually get the most resistant child to weight bear on hands while facing backwards as the horse walks uphill. The glitter wand was also a big hit since it is so visually stimulating. One little girl was willing to let go of the handle in order to play with it. Another child held it while he was kneeling and the horse was stationary.

Reaching for pins on mane and color matching

2011-06-27T15:20:00.000-07:00

I like activities that involve reaching and balance and also work on cognitive skills such as matching colors as shown in this hippotherapy video.

Removing Toys from Sand

2011-06-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

I always have a few planned activities up my sleeve but it was nice to do something spontaneously. A 2 year old has been saying "leaf" and trees" and getting all excited about the vegetation. So I made an activity that involved reaching for a leaf and inserting into a basket attached to the tack. He loved it and imitated some numbers as I counted them. As planned I asked clients to remove small toys inside the shown container filled with sand. Nobody was willing to feel around inside to remove them but tolerated (with exressions that said "this is yucky") placing them in the basket. I can certainly tell who is tactile defensive while doing this activity. I recall my son (who is now 23 years) spending many happy hours with his hands shifting sand. He was the opposite extreme and loved feeling different textures. He found it relaxing and he still does, but now he whittles wood and other repetitive crafts :)

2011-06-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

Understanding the Five Types of Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Squeeze Pins into Bottle

2011-06-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

Last week I hung these bottles on the trees and fence and asked the children to take out toy animals. This week I attached clips and asked them to pull them off and insert inside-working on counting and speech. Most of them seemed to enjoy this...Next time I may work on color matching putting red clips in a red bottle and blue clips in a blue bottle. My 2-3 year olds are a bit two young to expect them to squeeze and attach the clips but I work with one almost 3 year old who just might be able to do that :)

Feeding the Puppy

2011-06-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

This activity was a hit with the 2-3 year olds. One of the moms gave me a bag of play doh can lids figuring I would find something useful to use them for. Then I came across a packaging box with a picture of a dog on it. I adapted the box to make it a bit smaller and cut a slit where the dog's mouth was so that the play dough lids fit through.
I realize now that it would be more fun to cut plastic pieces in the shape of dog bones. This will be easy to cut out of the food container lids that come in all different colors, You will see in the video that I attached some cord for storing the "dog bones". The kids loved this so much- some did it while kneeling, standing on top of the horse and while prone over the horse's barrel-all while stationary.

Great Visual Attention

2011-06-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

I love seeing children on the autism spectrum visually attend as they look for toys or objects. This child is looking for the bottle that he knows has a toy turtle inside. I several of different colors around the arena.

I tried to engage him in the game of take the toy and put it in a different bottle- but he wasn't going to give up the turtle.....We still had fun and worked on following directions.

Putting toy Animals in and out of bottles on the Trail

2011-06-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

I attached bottles to branches along the trail and had children either remove the animal from the bottle to hold and then put in the bag or put the animal back inside the bottle. This worked on eye-hand coordination and spatial relationships since they had to position the animal to fit inside the bottle. This activity was fun and distracted some of the 2 year olds who were crying a bit today. A few of them were naming the animals and several said bye bye to the toy. My long term goal is to have them pull the reins and stop when they see the bottles. A couple of kids touched the reins when I asked them to stop. The bottles are easier to see than when I placed the animals to find on the ground and I love seeing them use their hands together to insert and remove toys.

Counting and Number Recognition

2011-05-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

An almost 3 year old didn't want to put his helmet on today (which was unusual) so we walked on the trail with me handing him toy animals to position along the route. His twin brother was able to then find the toys and put them in a bag as he rode his horse. After 15 minutes my little guy not only mounted and rode-he picked up the numbers that I named, out then in a container and then imitated me as I clapped the corresponding number of times (using only the 1,2,3,4, and 5). I was very impressed.

Summer Occupational Therapy Activity Ideas

2011-05-24T03:59:00.001-07:00

Buttoning Skills

2011-05-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Two of my 5-6 year old clients did great removing the fabric from the "buttoning board".
They naturally tried to pull the fabric rather than manipulate the button to slide out of the fabric slit. But I think that they both got the idea after I had the button shape partially removed.

I made this by sewing plastic pieces to fabric and then wrapping the fabric around cardboard and sewing it tightly in place. I put the blue tape around the fabric opening to prevent unravelling and create color contrast. This works pretty well when the child is facing backwards and using the horse's croup as a table. Then they are rewarded with movement.

2011-05-18T03:13:00.000-07:00

Squeezing clothespins is a great activity to strengthen fingers and develop coordination between the index and middle fingers and thumb. Pulling the pins off the mane is a fun way to engage in squeezing pins and it doesn't hurt the horse! Notice all the postural control my almost six year old client is demosntrating as he reaches for the pins.

Lots of arena designing this week at DivinityFarm as I attached my home made (knit out of trash bags) basket for tossing activities. I have a bag of weirdly textured balls (i.e. koosh, squishy etc) all ready to use.

I made this stop sign out of a red manilla folder. I figure the octagon red shape with the word STOP is pretty basic in terms of learning to read, learn about danger and follow directions to pull/reins and stop. It will be interesting to see if our work during hippotherapy helps one of my clients learn to recognize and respond to the word STOP.

Bearing weight on forearms while supine with knees bent

2011-05-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

I have never worked on this postion, but it looks great for weight bearing and at the same time the rider can work on head control while looking around.

Motor Planning to Rake

2011-05-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today was the first time I had an opportunity to involve a client in raking manure. I did the raking but had him place both hands on the pole and he did most of the lifting to reach the wheelbarrow. This 6 year old on the spectrum has low tone, postural control and body awareness. He started leaning on me while mounting the steps and when I moved away he collapsed onto the ground. So it would be fantastic for his body awareness to independently shovel and I think he understood why this needed to be done.

Animal songs

2011-05-08T07:47:00.001-07:00

Here is a link to great animal songs to sing while working with kids on the horse.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0By-8pEe8O7e5OGM5NGNlY2QtYTcyNi00MGYxLTg0MjQtZmI4YzA4ZTgyOGE4&hl=en&authkey=CO330ZkN

Wind Up toys

2011-05-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

I came across this little wind up horse and thought- what a great fine motor skill to work on with the 3-4 year olds. I found that I could also work on using the hands together to hold the plate while the horse is dancing. This took some bilateral coordination and postural control while stitting on the stationary horse. but watching thehorse dance was very stiulating and motivational.

Pointing the Way

2011-05-03T06:05:00.000-07:00

Hippotherapy is a great treatment tool used to teach children how to point. I began working with a new six year old client this weak who has autism. He knows how to point but seems to not want to bother doing it. He is quickly learning that I stop the horse movement when he ignores my directions and that he gets rewarded with trots when he communicates. I stopped the horse in a position so that he had a choice of pointing to go up a hill (which he likes) or into a fence and I modelled pointing up the hill. He is able to clearly indicate what he wants by lifting his arm up high and pointing. At other times he tried to get away with a tiny index finger point while holding onto the handle. This was only his second lesson, so I think he will learn that if he wants the horse to move, I want a really clear cut arm in the air point. We will work on both pointing to go places and pointing to choose and remove pictures from a velcro board.

These same principles of demanding that the child work to the best of his ability is beautifully elaborated in the book The Verbal Behavior Approach. Mary Barbera explains that once the child demonstrates the ability to articulate words, we should never settle for sloppy approximations. I also strive to have the child increase the volume so that the horse can hear "go" and other directions.

2011-04-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

Reaching Out of Base of Support ROOBOS

2011-04-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

I worked with a 2 year old today who just loved my squeaky ball. I can't show his face because I didn't have permission, but you can just imagine how much fun he was having reaching to touch the ball and hearing the squeak. this is a great way to have fun, working on reach, balance, following directions and postural control and he even signed to keep going more.....

Hippotherapy diver

2011-04-18T05:31:00.000-07:00

I like this "diving" move that promotes biilateral integration and postural control.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHmP2YMKPSQ

Sword Activity to Develop Visual Motor Skills and Bilateral Coordination during Hippotherapy

2011-04-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

I bought this sword at the dollar store. They are sold in different lengths so you can purchase and adapt according to the child's needs. I cut rectangular pieces that fit over the sword tip so that it can be used like a ring stack. I try to have the children orient the shapes to fit easily over the sword with the longer sides matching, although as you will see in this video they mananged to get some shapes on even when not correctly positioned. (this can be fixed by having shapes with smaller openings....but then it would require greater motor control)

I placed the shapes inside the pocket that I sewed on top a towel so that they have to pull them out. First I introduce this activity with the towel in front of them, then to make it more challenging I place the towel behind the child so that he or she needs to reach behind to pull the shapes out of the pocket. Swords are fun toys since kids are familiar with them from watching movies and they seem to motivate more than the usual ring stack does-and they get to practice using both hands together.

Horses Like Vibration too!

2011-04-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

I use a lot of vibrating toys with my hippotherapy kids, especially the kids on the autism spectrum who seem to find vibration relaxing. The sound attracts their attention, helping them to focus and the input makes ordinary activities more exciting. Here is a video of Maria Hurley, my hipoptherapy partner giving her horse some vibration in preparation for hippotherapy work.

I use the Princess Wand which vibrates as a ring stack.

Jumping Cow

2011-04-08T12:31:00.001-07:00

I really appreciate having access to horses after seeing this cow!

Vibrating Ring Stack

2011-04-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

A beautiful spring day for riding on trails and doing some indoor activities when the wind was strong. I brought in a vibrating ring stack that I adapted by putting the vibrator from the wiggly squiggly writer inside a swimming noodle. A while ago I knit a holder for the noodle (out of trash bags) so that I could clip it onto the tack. I managed to get some video footage of the activity without showing faces. One mom said that vibrating calms her child (he has autism). I like how it helps them to focus and use both hands and of course placing rings works on eye hand coordination. These kids are two years old.

Stringing Shapes

2011-03-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

Stringing these flat plastic pieces with large holes and using thick cord teaches the stringing concepts that prepare children to string beads. The flat plastic won't roll away and its easy to grasp as you teach the child the motor planning sequence, I attached the bottom of the cord to a small bag I knit and clipped that onto the tack handle to use during the riding sessions. I like to stop on the trail especially on a beautiful sunny day like today and offer a fine-motor activity. This girl was about 20 minutes into the session, so had a lot of great sensory input that helped her to focus and persist on a challenging task.

Squeaky Toy to Promote Hand Use

2011-03-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

This is a pillow with two attached dog toys that squeak when pressed. First I put each toy inside a sock and then I sewed the sock onto the pillow. I created this to encourage weight bearing, especially with kids who don't want to touch anything. But today it came in very handy when working with a two year old blind little girl. She loved hearing the sounds while I helped her to press. She also loved the basketball hoop that makes sounds when pressed or a ball is inserted.This weight bearing toy is especially successful when going uphill with the child facing backwards since gravity then helps them to bear weight on hands. You can vary the textures for fun.

2011-03-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

1 comments:

Corn Fed in IA (Peter D.) said...

awesome idea! I have been looking for a way to adapt puzzles when seeing kiddos on horses! I love the change of visual focus aspect and makes it managable during the session and for storage! Bravo!!

Peter,
I am glad to hear that you like my idea!
Barbara
HorseOT.com

You might also enjoy ideas on my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Recycling-Occupational-Therapist/113805848640610?ref=ts

Puzzle Adaptation

2011-03-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

It was fun working with 2 year old twins with autism. One seems much higher functioning than the other. My client A can identify pictures and follow lots of directions. Another therapist was working with the brother B who is working on imitating and following simple directions. I put the electric toothbrush motor in a can and stood between the two horses. I took turns asking A and then B to remove a Lotto card picture attached to a board and insert it into a slot in a can. They were both quite focused, but A seemed to enjoy it more and was able to remove the pictures I named. The m otor and can vibration seemed to help with motivation and focus.

I also working on picture identification as children pulled the named puzzle animal from the vertical box cover to insert in the puzzle I attached inside the box bottom. Attaching the puzzle pieces in this way makes it easier to manage while working with a child sitting on a horse. but I also like teaching them how to change their visual attention back and forth between vertical and horizontal surfaces-a skill they will need in school eventually. This activity adaptation can be used in any setting and on other pieces of movement apparati such as a platform swing. After the child completes reward with movement.

2011-03-13T14:26:00.001-07:00

A good article on the healing power of pets:
http://occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/The-Healing-Power-of-Pets.aspx

A very good language day

2011-03-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Although I am an OT, I spend a lot of time working on speech, taking advantage of all the sensory stim. Today a little guy with autism who has never spoken to me (he uses a few words with his family) said "bye baby" when I had him velcro a small animal picture onto a large animal picture. He has finally figured out that when the horse stops and I ask him to say go, he needs to make some type of sound, any sound at all and he was pretty good at patting his hand on the mouth going wha wha wha.
A little girl with a neuromuscular disorder has increased her tolerance in only 3 weeks to sitting upright the full session. I realize that her head control is pretty good facing forwards and sideways but really a struggle while facing backwards, even with the pilllow to bear weight on. That gravity is really a challenge. I am going to avoid having her face backwards until I see her head control improve or maybe try stacking 2 boppy pillows in front of her.

Two types of Ring Stacks

2011-03-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

I make many different types of ring staqacks to use with young children to work on various objectives and make them more interesting. The candy cane shaped ring stack takes a bit more visual perceptual skills to orient the ring and the PCV pipe ring stack develops motor planning skills as the children manipulate plastic pieces to go down.

Feeding Horse Puppet

2011-02-23T14:33:00.000-08:00

This was a fun adaptation. A very nice volunteer gave me a horse puppet. I cut a hole inside his mouth and sewed a sock inside. I cut small plastic orange pieces that I call "carrots" and ask the children to feed the pony. The toys travel down the sock. This is a fun diversion to use with fussy kids. It is also good activity to promote language,especially if you make a variety of food items to feed the pony and then try to have them say "yum yum yum". Some children can also doing this game while on their belly (prone over the horse's barrel).

Button Stringing

2011-02-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite clients turns 3 this week and will be stopping hippotherapy. I made a video of him using my new button stringing activity. It works just like stringing beads or larger plastic shapes- but instead of inserting a string, the child inserts a "button" (I cut out of a detergent bottle). I sewed the end of the cord to the Home Depot apron I was wearing. I like starting out using rigid plastic and then moving onto using cloth pieces with button holes cut out of the centers.

Apples for Cheyenne

2011-02-10T03:07:00.000-08:00

I have discovered this sweet and beautifully illustrated children's book that demonstrates the experience of hippotherapy from the perspective of a girl with autism. Julie fidgets, is willing to look Cheyenne in the eye, is bothered by some sounds but not the sound of the ocean while riding, understands how to make her horse trot, focuses while riding, develops motor control, thinks about her horse's feelings, enjoys touching him and relaxes while riding.

Basketball while prone over Horse's Barrel

2011-02-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

The snow has been closing my hippotherapy facility on the day I work but today was rather nice-but still had to stay indoors due to all the ice. I had a good day evoking some speech from pretty much non-verbal kids. One two year old has figured out that when I stop the horse- I want a sound, any sound before we get moving again-thats a good start.

I cropped this photo to hide my client's identity, but perhaps you can make out her orange sleeve. She is on her belly bearing weight on her left hand since she just threw a ball into the basket. This toy (which I bought at a yard sale for a dollar) has been a hit because it makes funny sounds and it is small enough for me to hold in locations positions- like here with the child over the horse's barrel.

Rider Julie who is Blind/Deaf

2011-02-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

According to the youtube description, this young woman is blind and deaf, but it seems to me that she is responding to speech. She does an excellent job helping to tack and seems to be really in her element.

Interview about Hippotherapy

2011-02-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

http://www.ourjourneythruautism.com/

Nice Training Video

2011-02-03T06:39:00.000-08:00

This video of a hippotherapy session explains how the therapists make decisions re: what horse to use, speed, positioning, adaptive equipment, direction of movement etc. The narrator also reports the progress seen from session to session (i.e. improved stretch to straddle horse) as well as improvement seen from beginning to end of one single session-i.e. postural control to sit up without arm supported on cushion.

TEACCH Programming

2011-02-02T03:41:00.001-08:00

New Article
http://www.brighthub.com/mental-health/autism-pdd/articles/105362.aspx

Definition of Rett Sydrome

2011-02-01T07:42:00.001-08:00

New article about Rett syndrome
http://www.brighthub.com/mental-health/autism-pdd/articles/105316.aspx

The Autism Matrix: A Book Review

2011-01-30T09:44:00.000-08:00

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2LW8CACI00V5F/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Removing Handle Shapes

2011-01-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

I'm always looking for easy manipulation tasks for my 2-4 year olds to do that require stabilizing a larger object. I cut these colorful plastic pieces-that snap on or off a ring or hoop- out of a dishwasher soap bottle handle (as shown below). I ask a little guy who has stood on top of the horse several times to pull them off and drop into a container I attached to the tack. this involved squatting and standing which he could do quite well. but pulling these off was quite the motor planning challenge and I needed to help him a bit while he performed the task sitting. I also helped him to turn 360 degrees while standing on top of the horse. This activity really promotes body awarerness in kids who struggle to know where their feet are. I thought he would be too afraid but he tolerated this quite well.

Putting Tack on and Off

2011-01-26T04:45:00.001-08:00

Learning to brush and help put the tack on and off seems like the perfect task for this little girl-giving her sensory input and working on motor skills,sequencing and following directions.

The fishing Game Activity

2011-01-24T11:39:00.000-08:00

Check out my new therapy idea share in today's American Hippotherapy Association's magazine.
http://www.barbarasmithoccupationaltherapist.com/ahafishgamearticle.html

Back to work!

2011-01-19T12:24:00.000-08:00

All of my kids did great today (which means no crying) even though I haven't seen them in 3 weeks, one child was brand new to hippotherapy and we had to stay indoors the whole day due to rain, sleet and other yucky weather phenomena. One 2 year old just started standing after the doctors realized that she had fluid in her ears and that was impacting her balance. So not only did I see her stand on the floor for the first time-she stood on top of the horse!
The new client had increased muscle tone and tight hips but she was able to straddle facing forwards and backwards and bear weight with assist on open palms (with help to keep them open). then she surprised me by doing the Velcro bottle activity all by herself-she seemed to know what to do without any help at all. For those of you who don't know- the Velcro bottle has little toys attached with Velcro that the children can pull off and insert inside. I actually used a smaller one today (the size of a drinking bottle) with a smaller handle that fits nicely into a 2 year old's hand. But the larger ones made of dish washer soap is great for older kids.

Ideal Sports for Kids with Autism

2011-01-11T06:28:00.001-08:00

Florida Vacation

2011-01-11T04:57:00.000-08:00

I'm back from my Florida vacation and bracing for a big Massachusetts storm tomorrow. Here's a shot of my husband mounting an old horse before we walked around the trails near Myakka River State Park where we stayed in a cabin. My son did well for his first experience on a horse other than an amusement park ride but said that once was enough. oh well.......

Enjoy the video of Frosty who was on the Ed Sullivan show during my youth. He is 74 years old.

An Amazing Young Man

2010-12-30T13:35:00.000-08:00

A young man with blindness due to Septic Optic Dysplagia SOD -named Anton Sviridenko, not only enjoys therapeutic horseback riding, he dances the Tango, skis and is an incredible musician.

I never heard of SOD before but here is the info page on Anton's web site.
http://sites.google.com/site/santonmusic/home/septo-optic-dysplasia-sod

Supine using boppy pillow

2010-12-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

I like looking through the youtube videos and getting ideas. I have had clients supine with knees flexed and feet flat on the withers, but I like the idea of using the boppy pilloow to help maintain that position.

The difference between therapeutic riding and hippotherapy

2010-12-30T12:40:00.000-08:00

The woman in this video does a nice job explaining the difference between therapeutic riding and hippotherapy.

Vacation Time

2010-12-30T06:15:00.000-08:00

I am on vacation for 2 weeks. No horses to work with but we are going back to Myakka state park in florida where I made this video last year. It was sooooooo cold there last January.

Candy Cane Ring Stack

2010-12-22T12:59:00.000-08:00

I hope that you can make out what this photo shows. (I cropped to hide her face and ID the facility). Attaching the rings to a candy cane shaped ring stack adds a nice motor planning challenge. I also attached a massager to the bottom so that the activity vibrates making her more aware that she needs to stabilize with one hand while working. A couple of kids did this today while standing on top of the horse.

We had a bit of a warm spell today so worked with no heat and were allowed to go on the trails, opening the indoor doors without costing a fortune in heat.It was exciting after being indoors for the past 2 weeks.

Reaching to Place Ornaments

2010-12-21T10:24:00.000-08:00

I like the activity on this OT's blog. She has the client reaching (working on balance) to place the ornaments. Very seasonal!
Hippotherapy with a christmas tree

Pediatric Seminar

2010-12-19T08:09:00.000-08:00

Check out my upcoming pediatric seminars in Aprilin Syracuse and Buffalo New York.

http://www.iedseminars.org/bro.cfm?seid=XOS1S1-SYR

http://www.iedseminars.org/bro.cfm?seid=XOS1S1-BUF

End of Year bonus

2010-12-18T08:53:00.001-08:00

An interesting observation-
My husband works for a business and I work for a nonprofit.
He gets an end of year bonus. I get a letter asking for a donation!!

Suspended toys

2010-12-16T08:04:00.001-08:00

This looks like a creative setting. I like the butterfly lady (or is she a fairy?) and love the suspended toys.

Bells Season

2010-12-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

I guess it's the season for bells which is great because I am always trying to get my little clients to make that B sound- bubbles, ball, Barbara and now bells.
The little boys are very motivated to pull the reins and stop in front of one of my vehicle pictures. (I have an airplane, motorcycle, train, fire truck, back hoe, pick up truck, train and airplane). Most kids are not eager to pull the reins and stop, but stopping to see one of the pictures is a big motivator and then I can working on having them say go. My higher functioning kids can follow directions such as "do around the world and stop in front of the train picture".

Dog and Dolphin Buddies

2010-12-12T15:08:00.000-08:00

check out this awesome dog-dolophin relationships!

Dressing rings

2010-12-08T11:56:00.000-08:00

Check out the "dressing rings" shown in this article;
http://www.brighthub.com/mental-health/autism-pdd/articles/98227.aspx

I used them today during hippotherapy. One 2 year old was able to pull them off after I placed them on his arm and one child was able to pull them off of my arm and then push them to go down a pole. A client who has always demonstrated gravitational insecurity and motor planning problems today did this and also stood on top of the horse while riding. He also was able to follow directions to do "around the world" turning 360 while standing on top of the stationary horse. He was very proud of himself.

The little girl shown placing the ring was a summer client (who I miss :)

Other news: a 2 year old made her first B sound to tell me she wanted bubbles and a nonverbal boy seemed to have learned that if he makes any kind of sound-the pony will go. That is the first step to learning about the power of saying "go". He signs "more" all the time, basically for anything, so I want to get him to communicate more specifically and get vocal.

Retts Sydrome

2010-12-04T07:25:00.001-08:00

I think that girls with retts can benefit from all the sensory input provided during hippotherapy.....
http://www.brighthub.com/mental-health/autism-pdd/articles/98098.aspx

Velcro Shape Sorter

2010-12-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

Velcro makes a lot of activities easier when the client is on the horse and since I only have 2 hands. I have have been using my Velcro Bottle activity for years where the child removes toys attached to the bottle with velcro and inserts them inside. This Velcro Shape Sorter is a bit more challenging since they now need to orient the square, circle and rectangular shapes to corresponding holes. It made a nice cognitive challenge for the younger kids. I also incorporated it into motor tasks with older kids. One almost 3 year old stood on top of the horse, reaching for the shape and then squatted to insert it inside the corresponding hole.
Two children were able to maintain a kneeling position with horse stationary while reaching for a ball to insert in a small basketball hoop positioned so that they had to get into high kneeling to use it. I also enjoyed a language milestone when a 2 year old with autism said "go" and "trot" for the first time today.

Horse Coloring Pictures

2010-11-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

I came across these horse themed coloring pictures to print out. enjoy :)

http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/horselovers/coloringpages.html

Basket ball posting

2010-11-24T12:32:00.000-08:00

I found this small basketball game at a yard sale. I find the sounds rather annoying but the kids like it. It gave us something fun to do while on the trail and some kids were motivated to pull the reins to stop as we approached the toy. This little guy did great posting to insert the ball.

Another little guy with mild hemiplegia demosntrated good postural control to string large shapes while standing on top of the horse.

2010-11-24T04:14:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting article about using horses as life coaches
http://www.newburyportnews.com/lifestyle/x970729172/Listening-to-the-relationship-experts