Alex, age six, was diagnosed with autism at four years old and has been participating in adaptive riding at The Shea Center for six months. Alex was referred to adaptive riding by his neurologist because he has anxiety - the movement of the horse and the focus it...
Joel’s big smile shows how much he loves riding at The Shea Center! In transitional kindergarten, he is an active five-year-old who also has fun doing karate and swimming. He has been a client in occupational therapy utilizing hippotherapy for a year. During this...
Gabriella, age 4, doesn’t stop smiling while riding Huckleberry. When she arrived at The Shea Center two years ago, she was timid and had weakness in her right side. Once Gabriella started participating in occupational therapy utilizing hippotherapy, her core strength...
Leo, age 5, was diagnosed with autism at three. He has been through all the clinical therapies, but his favorite is occupational therapy utilizing hippotherapy at The Shea Center. Leo is motivated to play and engage in activities on the horse that help him build his...
Luca was born with a bright light inside of him and a contagious excitement for life. He was very expressive and used gestures to communicate what he wanted or needed during the first two years of his life. When he was two and not saying any words, the pediatrician...
Seven-year-old second-grade twins Ellie and Liz have been Shea Center clients for a year. With the onset of the pandemic, the girls began to be anxious about their surroundings by not feeling safe, not wanting to play outside, or being afraid of bugs and so forth. For...
Lana is six years old and loves coming to her occupational therapy treatments using equine movement at The Shea Center! A client for just four months, she is making great progress. Lana was reaching all her milestones until at age 1, she began to regress. She...
Ryan is a cute 6-year-old girl diagnosed with right side hip dysplasia; her hip socket is shallow and the ball at the top of her femur slips out. Ryan’s hip dysplasia was not diagnosed until age three and a half. She then underwent three hip surgeries to make...
Ryden, diagnosed with autism and cerebral palsy, was born at 26 weeks, weighing 1.5 lbs. He is nonverbal, but when his mother, Brittany, talks about going to The Shea Center, Ryden quickly runs to the door. Ryden has some sensory issues and when he first came to Shea...
“The Shea Center is life changing.” Those were the words of Nadia the mother of six-year-old Everett. Diagnosed with autism at two years of age, Everett has been riding at Shea receiving occupational and speech therapies utilizing hippotherapy for a little over a...