Therapeutic...Tractors?

Saturday, May 1st was a gorgeous day to visit the farm with a couple of students who cannot normally make it out due to scheduling. Immediately upon his arrival, one student asked, "Where is Mr. Kirk?" Mr. Kirk is a volunteer that this student has really bonded with in the past. For children with Autism, social skills do not come as easily so the development of this bond is really quite amazing. A few minutes into being on the property, he exclaimed loudly,
"I think Mr. Kirk should live here!" During the lesson he even asked if Mr. Kirk lived in Greenville, remembering a conversation from nearly a year prior when he told the student he was visiting family there.

After his lesson, which consisted of grooming Vinny and leading Teddy, this student gave Teddy a treat and we began to wrap up the lesson...until he saw the tractor that is and immediately started walking over toward it! Tina, the owner of the property, was there and said it was fine for him to go look at it but his mom was hesitant so I made sure the key was safely in my possession as this student proceeded to get right up on the tractor. Once up there, he began to push every button and lever while naming off the parts of the tractor to himself such as the clutch and the gear shift. He even pretended to drive it, turning the steering wheel back and forth. His mom told me that at his grandparents he would ride the Kubota and help them mow the grass. It was fun to watch him get so much pleasure out of that big red tractor while we all enjoyed the gorgeous day. While on the tractor this student asked himself a couple of times, "I wonder if Mr. Kirk can drive a tractor?"

Finally, it was time to wrap things up, so we returned to the barn to say goodbye to Mr. Kirk. On the walk back over, this student asked me again if I thought Mr. Kirk could drive a tractor. I told him, "I think you should ask him that!" so he asked him loudly and then remarked that he thought that Mr. Kirk should get a tractor! Though Mr. Kirk did not have a tractor or any plans of getting one, the important part of this story was the bond that was present. This student was seeking connection through something that he took great pleasure in and wanted to share his joy with one of his favorite people. So although at Blue Sky Acres, we do equine-assisted activities, the real star of the show was not the horse or even the tractor, but Mr. Kirk. The key to the Hope and Healing that we seek at Blue Sky Acres comes through connections, with God through his beautiful creation and with others through relationships. And our God is so creative, He can even use a tractor!