Observations...again

Avalon lessons again - just a few today.

11 Am: Jessica, an adult cp patient
I led the horse, while Don and Greg sidewalked with Jessica. Having worked with her before, I was expecting a painful lesson, full of refusals to cooperate and panic. I was pleasently surprised. Jessica completed her stretches at Don's instruction, steered and followed Don's directions, trotted, and worked on language skills a bit. I gave her a word to spell (Mountain), and she steered to each letter and stopped. At each letter, she named three words that started with that letter. I spoke with Sarah afterward, she said that it was one of her better lessons. Since Jessica is an adult, however, I couldn't really compare with her attitude in school.

12 Am: The D'mico girls (a family of kids, one normal, two with cp - one mild and one severe, and one with severe dwarfism, and a mom with a missing leg that she lost during childbirth after a coma)
the D'micos are one of the most inspirational families I've ever worked with, and I've been doing their lesson for 4 years now. Today I just wandered from girl to girl and observed. Each girl had three people working with her, mostly adults. They did their stretches (physical therapy exercises on horseback), and worked on steering. (All direction following excercises.) The girls then had an "easter egg hunt" on horseback, again, an exercise in steering. Each girl works on something different.
Hannah: is a quiet, timid girl. We work on opening her up (she's the normal child), and gaining confidence. She works on steering and general riding skills, as well as spelling and math.
Angela: is mild cp. She works entirely on riding now - she is a confident, independent rider, and has come a long way. She is strenthening her legs, and trying to avoid the stiffening that often occurs with cp. She also does spelling and math with the other girls.
Toni: severe cp. She mostly sits up on the horse and uses the movement to work her muslces.
Sally: the dwarfism client. Sally works on steering, and spelling, ect. Same as the other girl...

Just a general note - story of the family. The mother got pregnant with Toni and Angela first, but went into a coma during delivery. She lost her leg, and the girls wound up with cp. They then got pregnant again, with Sally, and then with Hannah. They are the most incredible family - always upbeat and supportive.

1 pm: Janna - an 18 year old, severe cp client
Janna is a long-time client out at Avalon. This was her first lesson back after a 3 month break, so we kept it short. We walked quite a few laps to allow her legs to loosen up. We also trotted down one side and played basketball. Janna also did steering for a few minutes. After a half an hour, she was too tired to continue, so we dismounted and fed Fritz treats.