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 time, his mother, Amy, has noticed a marked increase in Joel’s core strength and improvement in his motor skills. His therapist states, “Joel becomes more focused and calmer when riding due to the increased sensory input from the horse’s movement. This allows him to communicate and interact more with activities and people.” Amy says he is more communicative as he becomes more in control and aware of himself.

Joel is happy and intelligent and learned all his letters and sounds by age two but is not yet conversational when talking. However, he does ask for his favorite music when riding in the car.