Animal-Assisted Therapy
My work with animal assisted therapy began the year I became a practitioner.
Working with animals and patients is one of my greatest joys. At my first job at NYU, I ran the ‘animal assisted’ dysarthria group on the traumatic brain injury unit with the Good Dog Foundation bringing therapy dogs to the group for the patients.
In 2003 I became certified in Hippotherapy. I completed my Level II Certification through the Hippotherapy Association, in New Jersey at Somerset Farm. After that I mentored through The Horse Connection at Southland’s Farms in Rhinebeck. This is how I ended up moving to my home outside of Hudson! Animal assisted therapy is utilizing animals to help clients reach their speech language goals.
Animals provide us with motivation, especially children, because they want to touch them and communicate with them.
Often children feel a horse, dog or cat, hamster, guinea pig, even a pet fish, understands them better.
I currently work in season with a farm upstate offering Hippotherapy to my clients, It is only an hour and a half from NYC. Insurance covers Hippotherapy as it is still speech therapy and can be billed as such.