Life Spirit Speech is committed to enhancing our patients’ communication skills to their fullest potential. We observe our patients’ strengths and utilize them, creating an uplifting, empowering approach to improving areas of difficulty. 

In 2006, Terri Hutchison M.A., CCC-SLP, established the practice and has been providing speech therapy at The Shea Center for over 18 years. When providing speech therapy treatments utilizing hippotherapy, the client experiences a purposeful manipulation of the horse’s movement to engage sensory, neuromotor, and cognitive systems to achieve functional outcomes.

The treatment with children involves play that incorporates specific speech and language targets. While the patient is mounted on the horse, they may play red light green light, throw balls, read books, and play games. In addition, going on a trail ride offers tremendous amounts of natural stimuli used to promote speech and language skills.  Overall, utilizing hippotherapy as a treatment tool is a highly motivating, powerful tool positively changing our patients’ lives.