Local children with special needs will soon have the opportunity to spend some of the summer learning social, sensory-processing and motor skills—with horses.
Rise & Shine, a therapeutic riding program at Camp Morrow, is for children between 4 and 12 with special needs, particularly those on the autism spectrum or with sensory-processing challenges. During the three-day camp, kids learn to ride if they feel comfortable and partake in games and crafts that help them develop motor and social skills.
The first session, running July 21-23, is geared towards kids ages 4-7 and the second session, July 25-27, is for kids ages 8-12. Attendance is $355 per child, which covers the required attendance of a parent or caregiver for each child. Scholarships are available to help cover the cost.
To raise money for scholarships and for the camp to buy accommodating equipment, the program will host a St. Patrick’s Day Buffet, 8 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 17, at Beachwood Eatery, 504 W. Ninth Street.
The buffet will include Green Eggs and Ham, pancakes, Potatoes O’Brien, corned beef hash, and ham and cheese omelets. Cost is $9.50 for adults, $5 for kids under the age of 10 and $25 for a family of four.
Rise & Shine is the passion-project of pediatric occupational therapist Elena Durham. She specializes in therapeutic riding and hippotherapy, a type of therapy that uses the movements of a horse to provide controlled sensory and motor input.
“They’re feeling the warmth of the horse, they’re feeling the hair, the movement—which is also a sense,” she said.
Therapeutic riding also helps with speech, balance and coordination, she said. “I have seen a child who has never spoken before say his first words while talking to his horse.”
Durham became an occupational therapist because she wanted to work with both kids and horses. “I have always, always, always loved working with kids,” she added, “I’ve always had a passion for using horses to help [kids with special needs].”
She partnered with family friend Teddy Franke, the manager of Camp Morrow’s Ranch Camp Facility, to get the program up and running.
“I think animals in general, kids seem to connect with really well,” said Franke. He is father of a young son with special needs and has seen firsthand how much of a positive impact horses can have.
“It’s really fun to see him do things that he’s terrified of because he wants to,” he said.
Franke and Durham attend the same church, and after visiting one day, they decided to pursue Durham’s idea together, which turned out to be a perfect fit.
Franke is a certified horsemanship Instructor, certified instructor for riders with disabilities and master instructor.
Durham has a level-one certification with the American Hippotherapy Association and is a registered therapeutic riding instructor with the professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship.
Their shared faith will be a large part of Rise & Shine. Camp Morrow identifies as an evangelical ministry and hosts a variety of “Christ-centered” programs and activities at their two facilities in Wamic. “Our hope is to just show the love of Jesus to anyone who comes through,” Franke said, reiterating that, though the camp is very open about its religious focus, Camp Morrow’s programs are open to everyone regardless of religious orientation.
“We just want to show [the kids] there’s a God that loves them,” Durham said.
Camp Morrow is making every effort to give the kids and parents a safe and positive experience by equipping themselves with tools to accommodate special needs, such as adaptive riding equipment and a ramp to assist in mounting and dismounting the horses, as well as additional riding helmets and therapy equipment.
There will also be sensory space available to regulate and calm down kids who get overwhelmed by the exciting environment.
The funds raised during events such as the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast will go towards the purchase of these accommodating tools. Money left over will go towards scholarships to help parents cover the cost of the program fee.
“Eventually, hopefully, it’ll become bigger and better and free of charge [for the kids], but we’re not there yet,” said Janelle Wyatt, a retired physical therapist who will be volunteering with the program once it starts up. “I will do everything except ride the horses,” Wyatt said.
Though she loves the animals, she likes them better at a distance.
Durham and Franke will rely almost entirely on volunteer help to run Rise & Shine and are currently seeking volunteers. They are primarily looking for those with experience handling horses or assisting kids with sensory-processing disorders, but encourage anyone interested to reach out.
“We’ll for sure find a place for them,” Franke said.
To register for the program, sign up to volunteer or find more information, visit campmorrow.org or @riseandshine.campmorrow on Facebook.
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