An Amazing Young Man

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

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

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

Vacation Time

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bells Season

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

check out this awesome dog-dolophin relationships!

Retts Sydrome

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