|
Happy Spring!!
What a great time of the year to be outside. For me, it is the opportunity
walk (free of snow & ice), bike, and ride horses. Well, I don't
really ride horses, but I am involved in a therapeutic riding program
that kicks its season off in April. Possibly you can obtain information
this month to excite your students about riding horses. Check your
local communities for a riding program near you!
'Walk on Cowboy!'
Sue Tarr,
Adapted Section Editor
|
| Hints
for Adapting and/or Modifying Holiday Activities |
|
Adapting activities, whether holiday or everyday, is all about knowing
the student's abilities, knowing the objectives of the activity, and
being creative.
|
| Check
Out These Pictures!!! |
|
 |
| Benefits
of Therapeutic Riding |
Physical
- increase in kinesthetic awareness & proprioception
- increase in muscular strength, stretching, & flexibility
- increase in range of motion
- increase in hand-eye coordination
- increase in motor planning
- increase in balance abilities
Psychological
- development of a sense of well being
- increase in problem-solving skills
- development of independence on a horse
- increase in responsibility (care & preparation of horse)
- personal challenge/risk taking behaviors
- development of self-confidence
Social
- development of friendships (horses & other riders)
- increase in communication (horses & other riders)
- development of respect, care, love for animals
- FUN!!!!
Check out these links of riding programs around the country!
The North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA)
is a great place to obtain information about locating a riding center
near you; reading articles the riders, the volunteers, and research
supporting the many benefits of riding programs for people with disabilities;
and information about starting a program in your community.
|
|
Quote of the Month
"At the end of the rainbow is the day when a person's disability will
no longer matter"
Author Unknown
|
| Questions
to Ask, or Thoughts to Share? |
Therapeutic riding trivia. Did you know:
- There are over 650 NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped
Association) centers in North America?
- Instructors in the NARHA centers are certified?
- Hippotherapy actually occurs on a horse and not a hippopotamus?
|
| If you have ideas, comments, letters to share, or
questions about particular topics, please email one of the following
Adapted PE Section Editors: |
|
|
|
At last, the text offering a noncategorical approach to adapted
physical activity is here. Seaman, DePauw, Morton, & Omoto have
joined together to write Making Connections: From Theory to Practice
in Adapted Physical Education. This text, based on the New Adapted
Physical Education (Seaman & DePauw), is quite useful for both
the regular and adapted physical educator.
The noncategorical approach and the developmental model presented
in the text are strategies in which educators can use to assist students
(regardless of the disability) in their development/ mastery of motor
skills. The case studies and real life interactions help bring the
'real world' to the reader. And, if you still need the comfort of
learning or knowing about specific disabilities, an appendix is provided
with movement attributes and etiology for the 13 disabling conditions
identified in federal legislation.
Just imagine, this could be one of your students!
|
|
In my little town (population 12,000) we are fortunate to have
Katy, Ken, and the Walk On Therapeutic Riding Program at Double
K Therapeutic Riding Center. In a matter of almost three years,
their program has grown tremendously! Calls are coming from area
agencies (youth and adult), hospitals, schools, and parents all
wanting to enroll riders.
I am especially excited for the upcoming April session to begin,
so once again I can bring my university adapted physical education
students to see what happens in the 'real world' of disability.
While volunteering at the Double K, my students receive hands-on
opportunities with riders with varying disabling conditions (e.g.,
autism, hemiplegia, traumatic brain injured, blind/visually impaired)
and also learn a bit about horses. Most importantly, they see and
assist with the activities each rider performs on his/her horse.
For example, sitting tall in the saddle, holding baskets (with weights
inside), reaching forward petting the horse's mane, reaching behind
touching the tail, or using the reins to lead the horse around the
arena.
In this program each rider has a minimum of three volunteers; a
horse leader, and two side walkers. The side walkers are responsible
for: (a) maintaining contact with the rider while on the horse,
(b) encouraging the rider to perform the tasks Ken asks of the rider,
(c) assisting in providing a comfortable riding atmosphere for the
rider, and (d) having fun! The horse leader is responsible for maneuvering
the horse around the arena and monitoring the lead rope when a rider
is using the reins.
As I finish up my first year of volunteering with this program,
I am always amazed by how quickly our one hour sessions finish.
The human and the horse, a remarkable connection!
|
|
