“For a family with special needs, this past year stretched our capacity to endure difficult circumstances. Covid outbreaks, quarantines, homeschooling, and severed connections with relatives, teachers, and therapists made life for our family incredibly challenging. For our sons, therapy time is critical, and working with our boys is not easy. It takes resilience, creativity, patience, and a high level of skill.”
Marci continued, “Our two sons possess a rare genetic syndrome called Smith, Lemli, Opitz that manifests in low muscle tone, behavior control concerns, sensory issues, and limited fine and gross motor coordination.” One of Bill and Marci’s sons, Andrew, now 15 years old, has received physical and speech-language therapies at Little Bit over the past 12 years. Andrew is nonverbal, expressing his needs through signs, body language, and an augmentative communication device—he works hard to communicate his favorite riding activities during his therapy. Marci describes the last few years for Andrew as “his most significant physical and mental growth all amidst his angsty middle school phase.”
Kelsie, his physical therapist for the last three years, recognized his constant and sometimes unpredictable movement meant it was time for new challenges. As sidewalkers during Andrew’s sessions, parents Marci and Bill are very much a part of helping Andrew meet these challenges. Marci shared, “The first day he moved into a kneeling position on Ronan, I experienced something between complete terror and overwhelming excitement.” The trust between Andrew’s team members, and according to Marci, Kelsie’s “knowledge of her craft and unwavering belief in my son,” led him to complete several vaulting poses while riding, transitioning independently after verbal cues—the same poses he was unwilling to do in the therapy room. Today, after hard work and patience from every team member, Andrew successfully completes tall kneel, airplane, donkey kick, and crab poses! Marci continued, “Vaulting produced a level of confidence in my son that has extended into every aspect of his life.”
Ronan is intuitive and spicy, and the perfect match for Andrew. Their bond leads Ronan to know when Andrew needs him to stand still or move. Sometimes they both need a calm day where they walk together and just explore the property, and other days they need more movement like trotting laps around the arena and a lot of position changes. After dismounting at the end of a session, Ronan always looks to Andrew for recognition and a carrot.
Andrew’s treatments can also include walking with Ronan, carrying tack, and learning to ride a scooter to improve his posture, core strength, and coordination. Marci has “seen numerous people succumb to Andrew’s meltdowns, but Kelsie remains an immovable presence; she waits, redirects, guides, and waits some more. Without fail, Andrew eventually gets up, returns to work, and finishes his job. Her masterful skill and grace-filled patience are the perfect match for him, and for this, I am eternally grateful.”
“I know my son will face incredible hardships in his future, but Little Bit is equipping him with the resilience to overcome these challenges. We continue to be blessed each week Andrew rides and proceeds to make the impossible possible.”
Thank you, Marci, Bill, and Andrew for sharing your story.
