Here are some great tips and teaching techniques for working with riders with language delays! These come from the book “Play to Talk” by James MacDonald Ph.D. & Pam Stoika Ph.D. Their perspective focuses on the social communication skills side of language development and using responsive communication strategies to engage the child. These posts summarize the basic and most … Continue reading
Language Delays Part 1 – The Stages of Communication
Recently I have been reading the book “Play to Talk” by James MacDonald Ph.D. & Pam Stoika Ph.D. about working with children with language delays. It is so good and a great compliment to what I’ve learned and posted about Speech Disabilities in Therapeutic Riding and Communication Techniques for Low/Nonverbal Riders. Their perspective focuses on the social communication skills side of … Continue reading
When to Use Games (and When Not To)
The Riding Instructor just came out with this excellent post about “When to Teach Games & When Not To”! She states it so simply and clearly, I wish I had made a post like it long ago, since half of this blog is about games. I have blogged notes about the difference between Practice, Progression, … Continue reading
Extra Large Helmets
Do any of your riders have a head so large it doesn’t your normal helmets? It’s not an uncommon problem. I’ve read about it in multiple forums, and recently had a reader ask for helmet recommendations for this. I didn’t have a good answer off the top of my head, so I thought it would make a … Continue reading
About Asking Questions
I have been reading the book “Play to Talk: A Practical Guide to Help Your Late-Talking Child Join the Conversation” by James MacDonald Ph.D. & Pam Stoika Ph.D. I’m impressed! I bought it 3 years ago to help me with riders with speech disabilities and wish I’d read it sooner! I will be blogging more ideas … Continue reading
Equine Assisted Activities for Peace and Reflection
Well, the first PATH Intl Virtual Conference ran a tight ship! Sessions started and ended at random times, such as 12:39 – 1:36, and they stuck to it. The schedule was so tightly packed and the presentations so filled with information that yesterday I didn’t have enough time between sessions to organize and post anything … Continue reading
Program Sustainability Concepts
We’re back with day 2 of the 2017 PATH Intl Virtual Conference! The first session was “Program Sustainability at Year 70: Practical Advice and Choices from Green Chimneys” by Michael Kaufmann of Green Chimneys, and it was really good. In case you thought, like me, what can this chimney guy teach us about the therapeutic riding business, know … Continue reading
Teaching Tips: Social Skills
The next two presentations at the 2017 PATH Intl Virtual Conference had to do with social skills. Here are some take home points. From “A Task Analysis Approach to Social Skills Teaching” by Melissa Abbey Elements of Social Skills Acquisition From various sources, all of these can be seen in therapeutic riding and interacting with horses! Self awareness … Continue reading
Riders with Autism Part 8 – Medical Info and More Ideas
The second presentation at the PATH Intl Virtual Conference was “Autism Spectrum Disorder” given by Sandra Friedman. It was a great in depth presentation about the medical side of Autism. There are a few key things I want to share from it! (P.S. I titled this as a follow up to my post series about Riders with … Continue reading
Advance Your Skills
The first session of the PATH Intl Virtual Conference was “Advancing Our Skills” by Joelle Devlin. I thought it was really great! I had no huge technical difficulties, though many had trouble with the audio. I like that the conference is starting off with the focus on self-improvement. During this brief break between sessions I’m going to … Continue reading