08-29-2006, 10:17 PM
Nothing can really prepare you for having your first child, especially if it's a child with special needs. But one Utah family caring for a boy with autism is getting help from an unlikely place–a horse. Peter Rosen explains.
Horses have taught Niki Wilde a lot. They’ve taught her how to help her son.
“He didn't show a lot of eye contact,” Niki said. “At 6 months he wasn't saying anything.”
After her son Braden was born, he was diagnosed with autism.
“He didn't want clothes on, he didn’t want to wear a diaper, he didn't want you touch him,” she said.
She found a connection between things like desensitizing her son to a hug and getting a horse used to a saddle.
“Well, I'll touch you a little bit and then I'll back off and then I'll touch you a little bit and I'll back off,” she explains.
Branden’s mom learned progress happens in very small steps.
“If you can get him to where he'll want to be touched then he'll wear a shirt. He'll keep his clothes on, he'll wear his shoes, then you can start to add little pieces to that,” she said.
She applied her horsemanship to her son. After four years of trying to tell him how to tie his shoes she gave him written directions.
“As soon as he read it and he could tie his shoes, just like that, just like that,” she said.
The boy who couldn't talk learned to read. Then he learned to talk.
“They told he was low functioning that he'd probably live in a group home, that he may or may not ever be able to speak,” Niki said.
“Within six weeks he was at a sixth grade reading level and he wasn't even five yet,” she said.
Now he's a mainstreamed middle-schooler, a sports fanatic and a faculty game play-by-play announcer. He’s a youngster with a unique ability to memorize things like the chronology of Lagoon rides.
“He's started to act like a regular 12, 13 year old boy, he's actually started to turn into a smart Alec,” said Niki.
Branden’s mom says patience and understanding can produce unexpected results. They’ve helped make Brandon Wilde just a regular 13-year-old boy.
Horses have taught Niki Wilde a lot. They’ve taught her how to help her son.
“He didn't show a lot of eye contact,” Niki said. “At 6 months he wasn't saying anything.”
After her son Braden was born, he was diagnosed with autism.
“He didn't want clothes on, he didn’t want to wear a diaper, he didn't want you touch him,” she said.
She found a connection between things like desensitizing her son to a hug and getting a horse used to a saddle.
“Well, I'll touch you a little bit and then I'll back off and then I'll touch you a little bit and I'll back off,” she explains.
Branden’s mom learned progress happens in very small steps.
“If you can get him to where he'll want to be touched then he'll wear a shirt. He'll keep his clothes on, he'll wear his shoes, then you can start to add little pieces to that,” she said.
She applied her horsemanship to her son. After four years of trying to tell him how to tie his shoes she gave him written directions.
“As soon as he read it and he could tie his shoes, just like that, just like that,” she said.
The boy who couldn't talk learned to read. Then he learned to talk.
“They told he was low functioning that he'd probably live in a group home, that he may or may not ever be able to speak,” Niki said.
“Within six weeks he was at a sixth grade reading level and he wasn't even five yet,” she said.
Now he's a mainstreamed middle-schooler, a sports fanatic and a faculty game play-by-play announcer. He’s a youngster with a unique ability to memorize things like the chronology of Lagoon rides.
“He's started to act like a regular 12, 13 year old boy, he's actually started to turn into a smart Alec,” said Niki.
Branden’s mom says patience and understanding can produce unexpected results. They’ve helped make Brandon Wilde just a regular 13-year-old boy.