Published: Friday,
May 25, 2012
Updated: Friday,
May 25, 2012 18:05
Kay Walker/ The Quad News
While horseback
riding is often considered simply a recreational activity to many, occupational therapy students at
The trail will open
on May 29 at Hidden Acres Farm, in Prospect, Conn. Modeled after a similar trail
at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding in Old Lyme, Conn., the trail contains
different stations that are targeted toward the development of different senses
or occupational issues that patients might have.
According to the Hidden
Acres website, the farm “ provides therapeutic
horseback riding and equine assisted activities to children and adults with
physical, developmental and emotional challenges in a supportive
environment.”
The new trail was made
possible with a grant from the Petit
Family Foundation. The foundation was created by Dr. William Petit
after losing his wife and two daughters to a violent home invasion in their
The mission of the
foundation states that it is designed “to foster the education of young people,
especially women in the sciences; to improve the lives of those affected by
chronic illnesses; and to support efforts to protect and help those affected by
violence.”
The foundation’s partnership and funding of the
creation of the sensory trail at Hidden Acres directly connects to its mission
statement by helping those affected by illness and disability, as well as
furthering the educational opportunities of Quinnipiac’s occupational therapy students.
“The foundation was
able to respond to the grant for trails material and activity equipment because
it is a program for children and young adults with chronic illness and
disabilities including physical, developmental and emotional challenges,” said
Rolande Petit.
According to Professor of Occupational Therapy Donna
Latella, creating the trail was a very intricate and detailed
process.
“It is not just something that you create for the sake of having
a trail. Each station must have a purpose to meet the needs of the
riders,” Latella said.
While each station holds the potential to
aid occupational therapy patients in their recovery, the trail is also capable
of creating new opportunities for Quinnipiac students.
“The students have
helped to create and build this trail,” Latella
said. “It is our hope in the future that they may volunteer in the
program at Hidden Acres and assess the effectiveness of the
trail.”
Elizabeth Smith is a graduate occupational therapy student who
had a hand in the planning and development of the sensory trail. She began work
with the trail as a part of her senior capstone project.
“I was very
excited to work on this project because I have seen other sensory trails, and I
am very interested in using animals in the therapy process,” Smith
said.
The capstone students acted as an important part of the
design of the trail from the very beginning stages. Students, like Smith,
assisted in planning the different stations to meet a variety of needs, obtained
funding, purchased the materials and helped construct the stations on the
trail.
Smith said she became an occupational therapy major because she
wanted to work in a job that was creative, but also challenging. The sensory
trail is an outlet which allowed her to do just that.
It is her hope that
future occupational therapy capstone students will expand on the project by
creating new stations and perfecting the ones that already exist to help the
trail grow in the coming years.
http://www.quadnews.net/occupational-therapy-program-partners-with-petit-family-foundation-1.2742057