Kellen's Story

So many of the riders at ROSL have come so far from their first days with us, and we seem to be able to celebrate accomplishments every week: first word, first sign, first time taking turns, first time accepting new sensations, first time keeping in position and on and on and on. It is these successes that give us inspiration to strive for more and better for our riders. This is what Rising Rider is all about - a celebration of success.

We celebrate the successes KELLEN has had while riding with ROSL for several years. This handsome young guy is on the autism spectrum with its many obstacles: physical lack of endurance and smooth movements, poor communication skills, attentiveness to an inner world but not our common environment, sensitivity to movement, noises, and/or touch sensations which are not controlled by the person on this spectrum. 20 minute rides used to wear him out, and now he rides for 45 without a rest. Where we used to guess what he wanted, now he has some sign language to tell us what he wants: walk on, more or finished, yes or no among others. Talking! We get a cheery-voiced hi when he comes through the gate and each sidewalker gets a polite hi greeting as he starts his ride. His parents report that he has figured out the whole idea of communication with his new-found ability to type out his profound thoughts. He accepts new experiences now with the latest being his ability to hold reins during his lesson. From that base, he is learning left turn/right turn, and this fall stop/start. Following directions is a big accomplishment for people on the autism spectrum and riding the horse is quite an incentive for all this learning. On his last day of summer session, our jaws dropped when he performed part of an around the world movement while the horse was walking he turned from a side sit position to a forward astride position without assistance at a walk. It is so cool to see Kellen gaining control over his body and over his environment. We celebrate the fun he has and all his accomplishments.