Stella is a happy little girl who at three years old was diagnosed with Lamb-Shaffer syndrome, a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by global developmental delay and poor expressive speech.

Over time, Stella has participated in numerous and varied therapies.  However, her mother, Jen, says Stella’s progress in speech therapy at The Shea Center has outpaced her results anywhere else.

Before starting her speech therapy program, Stella participated in physical therapy utilizing hippotherapy at The Shea Center.  She had limited verbal communication skills but was motivated by the horse, and after making attempts to express words and meeting her physical therapy goals, she transitioned to speech therapy.

Stella has trouble planning consistent motor movements required to make speech sounds. The horse’s rhythmic movement paired with the speech therapist’s visual, verbal, and tactile stimulation has positively improved Stella’s ability to express vowels and consonants together to form words and simple sentences.

As she speaks more words, Stella is gaining confidence, is expressive about what she likes, and is proud of her accomplishments.

Stella used to be afraid of animals, but an added benefit of being at Shea is that she has come to be comfortable around animals and over time has ridden Mini, Boog, Daisy, Auggie, Freckles, Alik, Remi, and Annie.

A last remark by Stella’s grandmother, Jan, was how much the family appreciates the dedication of the therapists and volunteers at Shea who do so much to help the clients achieve their goals.