Sunday, July 12, 2009

To the Ends of the Earth

A willingness to go to the ends of the earth for our kids is something that autism seems to inspire in many of us, but few have done so as literally as Rupert Isaacson and his wife, Kristin Neff, who took their autistic son Rowan to the steppes of Mongolia to seek the help of shaman healers. The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son is Isaacson's moving account of that journey and its many challenges, along with the healing and hope that the experience brought him and his family.

Over here at Autism's Edges, we have not quite gone to the ends of the earth to help Sweet M, but we have been going to the middle of Long Island for the past year— to the Melville home of HorseAbility — where Sweet M has been learning to ride.

More recently — because we're out in California for a couple of weeks — we sought out a corral in Chatsworth, California, where Sweet M road with the fine team at Ride On.




We found Ride On through the website of NARHA, the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association.

NARHA is a great resource for families with kids on the spectrum. And Isaacson's book makes a terrific case for keeping (or bringing) horses into our kids' lives.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

how great for sweet m! fluffy took lessons (therapeutic) a couple of years ago but had to stop when we moved. hmmm, i'm going to see what i can find near us...

3blessedangels said...

Thank you for the information. My 9 year old Autistic absolutely loves horses and it would be great therapy for her.


Kitty
autismandliving.blogspot.com

bs said...

Am curious about your experience with Chari Florence's program. Do you think it worked? Any feedback would be great, as I can find almost nothing on the web. Thanks. sschriber@surewest.net (Not sure how to contact you other than leaving my email - sorry - feel free to delete whatever you want!)