As told by her mother: "She's a different child on a horse.” “Briana, 6, is autistic. She uses
signs to communicate. She has seen several occupational and speech therapists since the age of 2, and each time she meets
with a new therapist, she has major meltdowns, that is, until she came to NCTRC last fall. So many things have happened there
that have blown me away. On her first day in class, for example, Briana touched her horse's nose. This astonished me. It may
not seem like a major victory. But it was very significant. She was connecting, for the first time, to an animal. She has never done this with other animals
even the two dogs we have at home. By the third class, Briana signed AND said the word “go” to her horse. I couldn’t
believe it. She was talking! She just glowed and giggled with pride. The movement of the horse seems to regulate her in a
way that she can focus on talking to her horse. She is doing the tasks required of her by Margie Muenzer, her physical therapist,
and she is doing them without any temper tantrums. She is not experiencing any behavioral issues she ordinarily would in a
traditional therapeutic setting. She is a different child on a horse.” — Tricia Wildman
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CLICK HERE, TO READ SUMMER 2010 ISSUE OF MANE IMPACT E-NEWSLETTER
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NCTRC IN THE NEWS, AGAIN!
Chauncey Perry
Colwell retired to Chapel Hill 18 years ago and planned to ride motorcycles and drive sports cars. Instead he has retired
to an active volunteer career as an advisor through Executive Service Corps to NCTRC, the Triangle Community Foundation and
other nonprofit organizations in the community. Read more about him, and then some about NCTRC:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/04/11/431876/in-retirement-a-new-way-of-working.html -------------------------
NCTRC IS A RESTING PLACE FOR HORSES, NOT! -------------------------
SEE
NCTRC ON NBC17! Watch the video "Physical Therapy on Horses." -------------------------
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