Student Stories: A Session Recap With Lauren
Note from Hallie: In this article, April describes in detail what happens in a lesson week by week with her daughter Lauren. Lauren participated in groundwork lessons due to the fact that we did not have a horse that she could ride. You may think that the successes we celebrate seem small, but in reality these are huge for our participants with disabilities. We have learned to celebrate the small successes, which lead to greater things over time! As you can see, each lesson is tailored to the individual student's goals.
From the desk of April McKinnon
I serve multiple roles in my affiliation with Blue Sky Acres. I am the parent of one of our participants, I volunteer in my daughter’s lessons, and I am the volunteer coordinator. My daughter Lauren will be going into a program this next school year that promotes total independence while learning job skills and responsibilities.
This past session Lauren has shown tremendous growth while becoming more independent in her lessons. I want you to take a journey with me as I walk through our spring session week by week, starting at the beginning.
Before a session starts parents are asked what goals they would like to see their child work towards. Lauren’s past goals have been using her nondominant (right) hand more in lessons to complete various tasks and following multi-step directions. An additional goal she has this session was working to become fully independent throughout the lessons.
Week 1
Lauren likes grooming her horse and is very talkative during this time. She used her right hand with instructor prompting to clean out grooming tools and while grooming. When asked to get a brush out of the grooming tray Lauren knelt on one leg to get the brush.
Lauren's instructor, Mrs. Jackie asked her to squat instead of kneeling down then demonstrated what she was asking Lauren to do. What she didn’t know was this was a difficult position for Lauren to get into. We both helped Lauren get down in a squatting position. Learning this skill would be good for her balance and strength.
Little did I know this would become a new goal!
Note: Instructors have to be very flexible in lessons and take note of things that seem challenging for students. We will often take note of these challenges and add them to the students' goals.
Week 2
Lauren was able to get into a squatting position today by herself and maintain that position this week!
She tried to be more independent with tasks in her lesson such as getting brushes with straps on her left hand. Lauren got in some good arm stretching while grooming and tried using her right hand more.
Week 3
Mrs. Jackie got right to it by having Lauren try to complete all lesson tasks independently!
Lauren connected the halter to the lead rope by pushing the clasp down with her thumb on top of mine. She put Vinny's halter on with instructors help and clipped the clip to the O-ring with some help (BIG WIN). Lauren put grooming brushes on her left hand with minimal to no help (another big win).
She tried cleaning out a brush with her right hand but switched to holding the brush in her right hand and cleaning it with left hand. This may seem like a small thing, but it required excellent problem solving skills. Lauren also tried to unclip her helmet by herself only needing help to press the clips.
This was the first week that Lauren really began showing progress towards her goal of independence throughout her lesson. Both Jackie and I were amazed at all she accomplished on this day!
Note: Celebrating the little wins is a big part of what we do at Blue Sky Acres! Learning these skills will benefit Lauren in her daily life with hand-eye coordination. What is a small thing for most of us is a really big deal for Lauren!
Week 4
Lauren tried extra hard at pushing the lead rope clasp down by herself. She did push it down a tad by herself and kept on trying to do so by herself. BIG WIN!! She got Vinny's halter on in the field with a little help from Mrs. Jackie. Mrs. Jackie showed her how to fasten the clip on the halter by herself while simultaneously trying to hold it. She struggled a little at first then she did manage to clip the halter closed. She used her right hand to hold a brush and clean out old hair.
Lauren did some excellent stretching with her right hand while grooming. She worked on getting her helmet unclipped by herself. I pushed her fingers down on the helmet clip to unfasten it.
Note: One thing that can happen with someone who has a disability is that people want to do things for them, thinking it is faster or easier. The problem with this is that it creates a tendency to give up or depend too much on people for everything. One thing Jackie saw in Lauren was the confidence that was built up in her as she learned to do things herself and learned to attempt a task multiple times or ask for help rather than giving up!
Week 5
Lauren remembered thumb placement on the lead rope clasp and tried very hard to push it down by herself. We heard the clasp click a time or two, it just did not go down all the way. When it came time to unclip the lead rope from the halter Lauren started trying to do so by herself and was successful.
That amazed us all! High fives all around! While grooming on Vinny’s right side we switched hands to brush his chest with her right hand.
We used a mirror at the beginning and end of the lesson to assist with getting helmet on/off independently. Lauren worked on unfastening the helmet straps by herself. She pushed the clips on the helmet by herself to take it off.
There were a few times today that I squealed with excitement over Lauren’s continued successes. Working towards total independence will serve her well in life.
Week 6
Lauren used her legs to hold the lead rope while pulling the clasp end up to hold in her hand. Mrs. Jackie held the halter while Lauren clipped the lead rope on. She remembered and successfully pushed the clasp down on the rope to connect it to the halter.
We were all shocked and surprised. Lauren used her right hand to get the lead rope over Vinny's neck and had a little assistance to get the halter on. She clipped the halter to the correct O-ring with little assistance so she would not smush her fingers.
Lauren pushed the clasp down on the lead rope to unhook from the halter before grooming!! Mrs. Jackie asked her how she could groom Vinny's chest while on the right side. She figured out to switch the curry comb from her left hand to her right hand. I helped hold the curry comb in her right hand since she does not have a good grip with that hand.
Week 7
Lauren was able to clip the lead rope to the halter again today! She is getting better with pushing the clasp down. Mrs. Jackie wanted Lauren to get the halter over Vinny's ears by using one hand to start then using both hands. She was able to clip the halter closed with some help. She unclipped the lead rope from the halter on her own as well!
Lauren tried to groom using her right hand while on Vinny's left side and was asked what she normally does to start. She corrected herself to use her left hand. When on the right side she was trying to hold a brush differently when grooming. Again, she was asked to think about what she normally does. She did try to switch hands with the brush.
Lauren led Vinny back out to the field out the end of her lesson. She got the lead rope and fastened it back to the halter then unclipped the lead rope and took Vinny's halter off. Vinny gets rewarded with treats each week for being such a good boy. Today Lauren worked on holding the treat bowl just right with her right hand, she opened the treat bucket with her left hand to get treats out, then used her leg to close the treat bucket latch back.
Lauren's problem-solving skills are getting better and better! Lauren creatively hangs ropes back onto pegs in the tack room her way. She starts by putting the end of the rope up first, then she put the clasp end on the peg or vice versa and loops rope up nicely.
Lauren needed to clean old hair out of a brush before grooming Vinny. She was trying to hold the brush with left hand and clean with right hand. She struggled a bit to hold the brush. She then put brush in her right hand and turned it around until she got a good hold on it and cleaned out hair with left hand. The way she used her legs to help get to the clasp of the lead rope and the way she used her leg to close the treat bucket shows she's thinking outside of the box.
Note: Sometimes we have to look beyond the surface of what is happening in the moment. An outside observer might see these things and just take them at face value, but the fact that Lauren is learning problem solving skills will be a huge benefit for her when she is in a situation where she may not have someone around to help her and needs to figure things out on her own.
Week 8
Lauren got Vinny’s tack to get him from his field. Lauren got the lead rope over Vinny's neck. She got his halter on and moved his ears to clear the halter. She remembered which O-ring the halter clipped to to close it. We worked on getting lead rope secured in her hands with help. We showed her how to slide the lead rope in her hand to pull it up.
She unclipped lead rope from halter after a few tries of pushing clasp down all the way. She got the grooming tray and remembered to put it on the ledge of the wall instead of on the floor for easier access. She picked up the grooming tray with left hand and Mrs. Jackie told her to use the right hand to help lift it off the ledge. She got the lead rope reconnected to the halter and led Vinny out to the field.
Lauren participated in a six-week spring session and an eight-week fall session last year with Blue
Sky Acres. Out of these three sessions, she has shown the most progress in this past spring session.
Seeing just how far she has come and how hard she has worked to master new skills makes my
heart burst with joy and happiness. Never let anyone say your differently-abled child cannot do
something or limit what they can do. It is just like we say all the time here at Blue Sky Acres, "The Sky is the Limit" and when we dream big, it is so incredible to watch those dreams come true!