Parent of an 18 year old teen with ASD

I would like to express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity that was given to our son through the 6 weeks at the Second Wind Acres Horback Riding Program.  Our son now 18 years old, has been out of school for over 6 months.  Because he is on waiting lists for services and programs we didn't know what would be possible for him this fall.  A little voice told me to contact the farm and I did, and this gave my son an opportunity I would not have imagined possible for him otherwise.

What transpired over the following 6 weeks for our son was very heart warming.  During the 6 weekly sessions he was able to go from covering his ears most of the time he was there at the farm; to not paying a whole lot of attention to the animals at first; and being very unsure about grooming the horses; to being terrified of the cat; to having a lot of anxiety because this was a totally new environment for him (with all the sights, sounds and smells); these were chores that he had never done before so it was all new to him.

Christine and Anne set up a working schedule for him like he uses at home, this gave him some familiarity.  Using such a schedule and along with their expertise and knowledge, his comfort level went up quickly enough in such a short period of time, he trusted both ladies very much to help him be safe and as stress free as possible.  Within the 6 week sessions he was able to bring up his comfort level to where he would not have his hands on his ears a whole lot (except maybe when he knew the donkey would kick into gear with his noises); to being able to ask Christine and Anne to put the cat away which they would comply, but with time he was able to be within close proximity of the cat and not ask to have it removed.  Around the miniature horse as well as the big horse he quickly got comfortable enough to work with them outside their stalls, even inside the stall with the big horse he was able to take burrs out.  This horse weighs 1,100 lbs. and our son was very comfortable standing right beside him doing this job.  He weighed the food he needed to feed to the animals, he pushed the wheelbarrow outside and did his chores, he walked the miniature horse outside and even was able to direct this horse to 'walk on' when she would stop to eat grass.  He felt good that the horse had listened to him.

The last session at the farm he was even able to not cover his ears while working around the chickens.  This was huge for him.  As well as groom the big horse within a one-foot proximity, and led this horse around the padlock and through an obstacle asking the horse to stop.  It was amazing progress for him.

The first few visits at the farm our son would tell me before leaving that he didn't want to go to the farm, I gently persisted.  The following weeks he started looking forward to going, not a word was said.  I would observe during our half hour ride to the farm he would spot other animals on the way, he was being curious about them.

Our son was able to become familiar very quickly with the routine of the farm and understand what was expected of him while there.  He enjoyed very much the personal touch that Christine and Anne brought with his favourite music playing in the barn on the last day.  He was singing while he did his chores.  He was even able to come home with a wonderful souvenir, an album of pictures to help him remember his time there.

I sincerely thank Second Wind Acres Therapeutic Farm, Christine and Anne, as well as Autism Ontario-Cornwall and United Way Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry for making this wonderful opportunity possible for our son.  This has opened a new door for him by having had this experience.  The ladies at the farm have told us that our son is now ready for the next stage and that is to attend with a few other young people his age.  This would give him wonderful opportunities at developing greater social skills. ”