Hippotherapy - Horse Therapy

Hippotherapy for those who don't know what it is:
Hippotherapy is a physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy treatment strategy that utilizes equine movement as part of an integrated intervention program to achieve functional outcomes.Equine movement provides multidimensional movement, which is variable, rhythmic and repetitive. The horse provides a dynamic base of support, making it an excellent tool for increasing trunk strength and control, balance, building overall postural strength and endurance, addressing weight bearing, and motor planning.  Equine movement offers well-modulated sensory input to vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile and visual channels. 

So...While at the Prader-Willi conference a couple of months ago, I met a physical therapist there who kept telling me I had to get Max into Hippotherapy and how amazing it is and how I will not believe the results. Steve and I have been thinking about it, but Max already has 6 therapies a week, was it too much, would insurance cover it etc...well, once we got Max's diagnosis with Scoliosis, I went to my Prader-Willi group online for advice and information since there is always a group of moms out there who have already been through what we are going through with older kids. They all said, Hippotherapy!! So, we are hoping that this will just seem like a fun activity we are doing, not therapy, I mean he will be riding a horse once a week! We don't yet know what insurance will do for us, but you do what you have to for your child :) So, here we are...Max has just started his first day of Hippotherapy this morning! He did amazing! Last week he had his evaluation, which was pretty traumatic. We met our therapist, had a meeting to discuss why we were there and then got Max on his first Pony, a miniature Pony, named Penny. I cannot say which is cuter, Max or the pony, but seeing him on there was just about the cutest thing you can imagine. Max has sensory issues with putting things on his head, so we put on his riding helmet and he went nuts, crying, crying, then they put on his safety belt and the crying went to a whole new level. I couldn't go into the arena with him, since there are other horses and riders doing there work, so when he was taken away from me, that was it. He got to meet his Pony and only managed about 5 minutes before full meltdown.

For a full week, we talked up Penny the Pony and how awesome the helmet was, so he was prepared when we got there. So, we all put on helmets this morning, so Max wasn't alone wearing one. He cried, but not as hard, then he cried for about 5 minutes once he got on Penny. Then, he stopped and started to participate. There is a window we can watch from as he goes around. The first loop, he called for me, while crying. The next time he came around, he was smiling and showing me the ball he was holding, just like, look at me!! He stayed on for a full half hour and did amazing! I was just hopeful it wasn't as bad as last week, but this was more than I hoped for and it will only get better once he really gets comfortable.

Max, you are truly amazing :)

Update to Enough is Enough!

So, I know my last post was a rant, so wanted to update...we saw the doctor and he was not happy with the x-rays since they had him in a sitting position, not sure why. We took one more standing and it went from 27 degrees curve down to 21 degrees curve. So...he does unfortunately have scoliosis, but it's not as bad at this point as we thought. So, we will be watching him, going in for X-rays in another 5 months and hoping it does not progress. If it does, then he will have to get casted or some sort of bracing to keep him straight, so it doesn't get worse. I am just hoping we can continue to work on his core strength and just hope for the best it does not get worse. We are looking in Hippotherapy (working with horses). We were told it can be so great for the kids in regards to strength, balance etc...So, we will just see how it goes. We are bummed, but it is what it is and we will do our best for our little man that we love so much. No matter what, he brings us so much joy and he takes everything in stride and is just such a happy boy, so we just have to take his lead. Take it in stride and just be happy :)