A Silent Thank You

Jeffrey Caso

13 years ago

Once a week I take one of my sons for horseback riding lessons at a local ranch. The lesson that takes place before his is an equine therapy session. Equine therapy has been shown to be helpful for a variety of problems, and has been used in rehabilitation of juvenile offenders, recovering substance abusers, as well as those in need of certain forms of physical therapy. This lesson, however, is even more special than that.

This particular lesson involves a group of autistic teenagers. After having watched their progress of several weeks it is truly an amazing sight to see. These teens who have considerable deficits and trouble with the spoken word, flourish when dealing non-verbally with horses. Their ability to control these animals and keep them walking and cantering is amazing. In addition, they are also able to run barrels in different patterns and stop, turn and totally command their horses. The thrill and sense of accomplishment must be great for them, though due to the autism it is hard if not impossible to see.

Without exchanging any words about it, my son and I have started to leave for his lesson early in order to be a part of this weekly event. We don't do much and probably our presence there is more for us than for them, but we do what we can and what we are asked. We offer words of encouragement, which seem to go unnoticed. That lack of affect is what must be the most difficult thing for the parents of autistic children. I have noticed, however, that these parents are truly special people themselves.

Yesterday, after the session, I was holding the gate open for a young girl. Now this girl is so great, she rides well and to the very end. I offer her words of encouragement each time she passes. After she passed through the gate and I closed it, I was standing with my hands in my pocket. She came up to me and started to grab my wrist. I was unsure about what to do but the gesture was not malicious in any way so I let her control my arm. She pulled my hand out of my pocket and gave me a firm, very nice handshake. Then she turned and left. It brought a tear to my eye.

Experiences like that need to be revered. Daily, we deal with people who have all kinds of issues, maybe something significant, maybe just fear. Taking a minute to try and figure out where their issue comes from and what we can do about it, can really make a difference in a person's life. Selfishly, the level of personal satisfaction we get from trying to be helpful and encouraging is staggering. Go for it!