Nonverbal Autism and Equine Assisted Therapy: Sometimes the Smallest Steps Matter Most

A nonverbal young person wouldn't get out of the car.

He moved his hands a lot, unsettled in the back seat.

This was clearly out of his comfort zone. Out of his normal routine.

His support team and I set up chairs.

We put his favorite snack on one of them.

I washed Dexter with a sponge near the fence so he could hear the water.

He went quiet.

He watched.

He smiled.

He never got out of the car. He never touched the horse.

By most measures, nothing happened.

His support team counted it as one of the best sessions they'd had with him in months.

That's the kind of work we do here.

No pressure, no predetermined outcome. We meet each person where they are, whether that's at the fence, at the gate, or in the car with the window down.

Not every person is right for this.

But some of the ones who seem least likely are exactly who this is for.