 |
|
Rocking Horse Rehab
A Pediatric Rehab and Family Wellness Center
|
|
Read on to find out what's happening at Rocking Horse Rehab!
|
|
It's Autism Awareness Month
I
t's Autism Awareness Month and therefore, it's an appropriate time tell the story of how RHR was born! Twenty-three years ago I received a phone call from a mother whose 3 year-old son had just received a diagnosis of autism. Non-verbal and unable to communicate his wants and needs, he had frequent tantrums to express himself. As his speech pathologist I saw him twice weekly and implemented a treatment plan which included behavioral programming. After several months of minimal progress his mom and I were feeling frustrated. Then one weekend, he attended a birthday party where he had his first pony ride! To his mom's surprise, he vocalized speech sounds she had never heard him produce! His mom later suggested I find a pony to use during our speech therapy!
Having never heard of Hippotherapy, I thought this was a bit of a
crazy
idea! However, in 1993, there were only about 20 therapists across the US who were trained and offering Hippotherapy, and only one was a speech pathologist! After doing our research, we found a therapeutic riding center that would allow us to do our speech therapy. Unfortunately, this little guy fell asleep during his first two sessions! Convinced this wasn't going to work, I broke the news to his hopeful mom. She asked if I could "please just try one more time!" And with that, I set out to figure out why he was falling asleep and what I needed to do to increase his level of alertness so that we can implement his therapy goals. The answer was simply to change my horse selection to a pony with a shorter, choppier gate to stimulate the arousal mechanism of the central nervous system! The next session, on a different pony, this little guy produced sounds that we had tried for months to stimulate! We continued doing Hippotherapy for the next two years. It was a beautiful process to help facilitate his speech and language development with the help of a horse! In a short time, we had sounds to work with and were able to shape words and eventually short sentences. Convinced this was the most effective therapy tool I had ever used, I expanded my practice to offer Hippotherapy to more children on the autism spectrum and in 2001
Rocking Horse Rehab opened its doors at the Essex Equestrian Center!
This little guy is now a grown man! He is a successful 25 year old who I had the privilege to watch grow! When he turned five, his family was transferred to London, England for business. Having minimal services for children with ASD and no specialized schools, I began traveling to London to work with the family and the American School where he was mainstreamed for lack of a better option. Through regular trainings with the school staff and the addition of a home program, we made the placement work for the next 13 years! In 2009 I had the honor of attending his high school graduation in London. And in 2010, my career as an SLP felt as if it had come full circle as I accompanied this young man and his mom to the University of Colorado, Denver campus where he would attend a community college program! Two years later and with an associates degree, he applied and was accepted to the Denver Film School where he is studying film production! I am so proud of this guy and honored to have been a part of his life. Most of all, I am thankful to his family for encouraging me to "find a pony" to do speech therapy!
Dozens of horses later and hundreds of children treated, RHR continues to offer hope to those with ASD!
Sheri A. Marino, MA, CCC-SLP
Executive Director
Rocking Horse Rehab
|
|
|
We are hiring!
Rocking Horse Rehab is looking for staff to join our team! We are currently searching for speech, occupational, and physical therapists to take on some weekday hours. We are also looking for a program assistant to help on Sundays. For more information contact
|
|
|
|
Grant Money Available!
RHR is a recipient of a generous grant from the Italian Welfare League, an organization which assists children of Italian descent who are ill or have suffered an emotional trauma. Since 2001, they have raised and distributed over $1,600,000 to hundreds of children and organizations which provide services to children. Their grant helps us to provide services for children of Italian descent who otherwise would not be able to afford our services.
Their recipients have many different diagnoses, such as brain injuries, autism, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome. For more information on how to receive a grant for our services, please email us at:
carey@rockinghorserehab.com
|
|
|
|
Message of the Month:
Choosing Our Horses
At RHR, our equine partners are an essential part of our therapy team. To ensure that each horse in our program is safe and has beneficial movement qualities, each horse undergoes a comprehensive evaluation and must pass with flying colors to become part of our team. Every horse needs to be safe for use with children who may be very different from the able bodied lessons the horses are used to. Each horse is evaluated for general behavior and ground manners, conformation, biomechanics, movement qualities, and the horse's reaction to our various therapy tools and toys used in sessions. Additionally, they need to be comfortable surrounded by our therapy team!
Equally important is the horses happiness as a member of our therapy team. While some horse love their job, others decide this work is not for them! Ultimately, it is our responsibility to recognize what the horse is feeling so we can accommodate their needs too. Therefore, the evaluation process is ongoing to keep everyone safe and happy!
|
|
Horse of the Month
Jesse James "JJ"
Jesse James is owned by the Essex Equestrian Center. He is over 30 years old but has been an important part of our program for 15 years! JJ loves working with our littlest clients to help them succeed in therapy goals on horseback. He also loves being groomed! As one of the oldest members of our equine team, JJ is a popular choice among all of the therapists, especially for our smallest clients. JJ still loves his job and we hope he continues to work with us for many years!
|
|
Staff Member of the Month
Kimberly Abramsohn, MS, OTR/L
Kimmy has been an integral part of the Rocking Horse Rehab team since since 2002!
She is a New Jersey Licensed Occupational Therapist who is SIPT
certified (Sensory Integration and Praxis). Kimmy is also a registered therapist with the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) and is an AHA Level II therapist.
Kimmy received a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Texas. She received a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Shenandoah University in Virginia. Kimberly has extensive experience in a number of areas including evaluation and treatment in adult and pediatric trauma, early intervention, interactive metronome as well as school and clinic based pediatrics. Kimmy has received training in manual therapies including craniosacral therapy and myofascial release, Therapeutic Listening, interactive metronome and NDT.
Kimmy is our longest standing therapist and we hope she will continue to be part of our team for many years to come. In her spare time, Kimmy enjoys riding her horse Belle and spending time with her son Seth.
|
|
Hero of the Month
The Kid's Wish Network
The Kid's Wish Network chose Jack as Hero of the Month in January 2014. We are so excited for Jack and his family. Here's a bit of Jack's story:
Jack is 13 yrs-old and has been attending Rocking Horse Rehab since the age of 5! A twin, Jack was born with many difficulties, which have been treated through occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy and social skills training. He has struggled with behavioral ch
allenges, testing the patience and perseverance of his parents and his twin brother. On top of all of his issues, he has also experienced seizures that cannot be explained. All of the work that Jack and his family have done is coming together. During our social skills sessions, Jack is now taking turns, sharing successfully and showing more empathy to his peers. His speech continues to improve, creating more positive peer interactions. He is more respectful of his parents and, to their delight, Jack was recently honored at his school for having the most improved behavior.
We nominated Jack for hero of the month to acknowledge his growth and support the accomplishments he and his family have worked so hard to achieve. It has been incredibly satisfying to be a part of Jack's growth and we will continue to work to enable Jack to reach his full potential. We hope you will join us in acknowledging Jack's efforts, as he is already a hero in the eyes of his family and the staff of Rocking Horse Rehab.
|
|
Volunteer of the Month
Rebecca
Rebecca first came to us in July 2012 as a client to work
with our social worker
on her PTSD and anxiety. Rebecca enjoyed working with the horses so much that once she turned 14, she decided to volunteer with RHR. Since then, Rebecca has become one of our most consistent volunteers.
Whenever we need a volunteer to lead horses, we know we can count on Rebecca and her solid horse handling skills! Rebecca is great to work with and is a very important part of our program. We are so grateful to her for her commitment to RHR!
To become a volunteer, email:
|
|
Check out our partner: The Autism Think Tank
The Autism Think Tank, NJ
is designed to provide a multidisciplinary team approach to the identification and treatment of the complicated medical comorbidities of autism. The Autism Think Tank is comprised of leading
experts in autism from renowned teaching hospitals including Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital and UCLA.
At the Autism Think Tank, the medical experts collaborate from around the U.S. in a video conference with local physicians and families to develop a cohesive plan of care for individuals with medically complex cases of autism. Medically stabilizing a child facilitates greater outcomes in behavioral, therapeutic and educational interventions. The Autism Think Tank has a global reach as we are serving families internationally with the use of telemedicine.
Like them on Facebook!
|
|
University Partners
Thank you to the following universities and colleges for providing us with wonderful student interns. We are honored to help influence their futures in the health professions as fieldwork educators.
County College of Morris
Delaware University
Eastwick College
Farleigh Dickinson University
Felician College
Ithaca College
Kean University
Montclair State University
New Jersey City University
Salus University
Seton Hall University
State College of Pennsylvania
St. Catherine's University
Stockton College
Tauro College
Thomas Jefferson University
University of Scranton
William Paterson University
To complete an internship at RHR, email:
|
|
School field trips and individual treatment times available!
Rocking Horse Rehab is open
Monday-Friday 10am-6pm
and Sundays from 9am-5pm.
We have immediate openings for speech therapy on Sunday and Thursday
afternoons and occupational therapy on Monday afternoons.
SCHOOLS: TO BOOK A SPRING FIELD TRIP, CALL US NOW!
To request a client registration packet, email:
|
NJ Family
Favorite Kids' Docs 2015
Congratulations to our RHR
therapists
who have been voted
NJ's Favorite Kids' Docs
Kathy Lutz, LCSW, CADC
Sheri Marino, MA, CCC-SLP
Kimberly Kones, MS, OT
Fiana Bezpalko, MS, CCC-SLP
Doreen Cruz, MS, CCC-SLP
Check out the December issue of NJ Family magazine for more details.
View the full list here!
|
|
Mission Statement
Rocking Horse Rehab is a pediatric rehabilitation and family wellness center located within the Essex Equestrian Center in West Orange, NJ. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life of individuals with special needs and their families by offering innovative opportunities for clinical, educational and social development. Our philosophy is to treat the "whole child" using equine assisted therapies with the expertise of our highly specialized staff.
Visit us on the web!
|
|
About our Founder
Sheri A. Marino, MA, CCC-SLP
Sheri founded Rocking Horse Rehab in September 2001. She is a pediatric speech-language pathologist who specializes in autism spectrum disorders. Sheri oversees program development and daily operations for RHR with the support of a dedicated, professional staff. She is the Executive Director of The Autism Think Tank, NJ, a non-profit, medical videoconferencing team for individuals with medically complex autism. Sheri
works directly with the Autism Think Tank medical experts and the families, and
manages fundraising, marketing and family events. In addition, she is the Strategic Planning Director for the Focus For Health Foundation which is dedicated to promoting advocacy, education and research to combat chronic health issues around the world.
|
Rocking Horse Rehab is a proud member of
|
|
|
12-22 Woodland Ave. West Orange, NJ 07052
|
|
|
|
|
|
