Making Great Progress For the Kids
Hands On Therapy!
Cambria led a workshop for our staff on how to recognize physical challenges students face and provide solutions. For example Alex is legally blind but can just barely see. He can’t recognize the end of a page so Cambria provides special tactile paper with a physical border at the bottom of the paper to signal to Alex, through a change in page texture, that he’s reached the bottom of the page.
Another challenge for kids with limited finger dexterity is holding a pencil. Cambria attaches a large, yellow foam pads over the pencil so that Alonsa can successfully grasp it.
One of Cambria’s occupational therapy specialties is working with kids with sensory processing challenges. The adaptive playground at the ranch is key for both kids with neurodevelopmental issues needing proprioceptive input like bouncing on the trampoline and those in wheelchairs needing to spin on the merry-go-round or feel the sensation of a swing.
It is truly a gift to have a safe place that both special needs kids groups can use as well as the rest of the kids who come to the ranch for school and therapy. This is the only safe playground able to accommodate these children in the Maneadero area.
Agustin Grows Our School
His Wings has three main classrooms for special needs kids, many of whom are of primary school age. Their siblings as well as other kids in the area also need instruction. Agustin’s classroom is for middle school age kids that have either fallen behind or have never gone to school.
Agustin has taken on the challenge of instructing these students as well as nearly a dozen more kids whose academic progress got derailed. Some kids are products of our primary school while many kids in the areas find themselves far behind grade level as they’ve been unable to attend school at all. Agustin is tasked with catching them up so they can pass their primary and middle school proficiency exams.
He and Josefina transformed our community room into a middle school classroom.
He’s also expanded after school offerings to include a chess league where the kids work on their strategy and build camaraderie.
His program includes physical activity for the middle schoolers.
Nothing like some friendly competition to recharge the kids between academic sessions.
This one room school house for middle and high school age students also has the only bocchi ball team in Maneadero. It’s a great sport for kids at various levels of physical mobility because it can be played in wheelchairs on our new basketball court outside the community room.
As our our full time instructor hired this past fall, Agustin has taken it upon himself to start a high school program starting with 8 local kids working on their high school proficiency exam.
Michelle Estrella Provides Workshop
Ms Estrella came out to the ranch to talk with the moms who have autistic children. She provided very informative information on how they can better communicate with their children and comprehend what their children are trying to express.
She shared simple visual communication tools such as picture boards as well as other creative ways to communicate with autistic children and techniques to help the children regulate their behavior.
We are blessed to have her expertise at the ranch. Thank you Michelle!
Inspired by what we do?
You are invited to partner with us whether that be financially or by coming down to build and repair, or perhaps work with the horses or offer services to the kids. We always have a need for educators, therapists and medical providers.
