Give The Gift Of Hope This Holiday Season

By giving today, you give hope for kiddos to reach new heights tomorrow. Thank you for your support of children with disabilities, and ensuring access to the transformational outcomes hippotherapy provides. 

  • Brenna's Story

    Written by Brenna's Mom, Megan

    Brenna is a joyful and funny 11-year-old who loves to laugh. Brenna ha20C_C3_2676095_35088355_5d a traditional and typical birth with all things going smoothly but then at one-week-old she had an unknown cause of stroke and seizures. We were told Brenna would likely never walk or be independent in life. Brenna’s brain was affected globally and experiences intellectual, gross, and fine motor delays as well as slow processing and visual field loss due to Cortical Visual Impairment. 

    Around 2018, after years of traditional therapy, we started looking for something new that supported Brenna’s likes. Our Physical Medicine and Rehab Doctor told us about TherAplay and thought it would be a good fit, especially with Brenna’s love for animals. She is fully obsessed with horses!

    It’s been five years now, and though she has been in PT and OT basically since birth, the PT at TherAplay has been so unique to us. What makes it seem so unique is how they foster independence and really allow Brenna to have a choice in what they do. I always loved that [the therapists] helped us meet Brenna where she is.
     
    F4_28E_2676095_2068383575_5 Just in the last year, Brenna has grown a lot in her own voice and ability to say  what she needs, and express herself. That self-advocacy for Brenna has been huge. [TherAplay] is a place where she feels comfortable sharing her big feelings.
     
    Brenna had a hard time even recognizing her therapist and even though she has been enthusiastic about TherAplay from day one it has truly become a community for her. The relationships, familiarity, and true comfort and joy she experiences is something she looks forward to all week long. She may not always be able to tell us about her days but she can identify every horse and details about them individually.

    “Brenna has a lot of uniqeness but she has really found a place [in TherAplay] where she not only fits in, but belongs. That true sense of belonging and community where her uniqueness and gifts are celebrated!”

    -Megan, Brenna's Mom

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