Neighing Bingo, yesterday Mr. Draper cancelled our session with our latest group of girls because Mr. Draper hurt his leg and couldn't run with me. Mr. Draper thinks he is good to go for “A’s” session today. I’ll try to go slow in my canter. Anyway, “A” is starting to make huge progress and any temporary setback that occurs will be minimal. Neighing by for now!

Grandma's journal:

“A" had a wonderful session, she was talkative and smiling, she was so happy! The difference in this little girl is amazing! She gaining more balance and strength as well as lots of self confidence and she is trusting more.

She did have her first fall off of Bingo, no big deal, she landed on her feet! She scared Bingo and he shied away, while she was on his back, her feet went out over the top of Bingo and she held on and landed on her feet. Mr. Draper was so proud of "A", she got right back on Bingo and went on her way.

"A" has been really working on wearing better clothing, this week she has worn jeans for extended time, getting her nervous system used to how it feels, she is doing great, we hope to have her in jeans at her next session. dchastymom

Neighing Bingo here, sorry about missing my blog time - Mr. Draper and I, along with some of my other stable mates, have a new group of girls. However, I want to keep you informed about “A’s” progress. The attachment disorder diagnose is no longer a factor. Hey for “A”!! However, Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID) is still an issue. Although we are making progress – (certainly more flexible, less explosiveness, able to cope with transitions, very cooperative, willingness to communicate and express her emotions verbally) – yet, still working on developing an intact vestibular system. In light of the problems that developed due to SID it is no wonder “A” lacked emotional stability and social skills. The good news is Mr. Draper and I are going to change everything. Keep checking on “A’s” progress. Neighing by for now. Bingo

Grandma's Journal:

Every single time we are with Mr. Draper we learn something. He is a very good teacher! There are no words to describe what Bingo and Mr. Draper are doing for "A" and for us! She is so much happier! Still working on getting a more intact vestibular system. We are learning that "A" has excessive amounts of Cortisol in her system, which puts her body and mind in an overstimulated state all the time. This in turn affects everything she does. The brain is an amazing complex organ that does not feel itself, but controls everything we feel.

I am learning about all the different chemicals that our brain produces and how they affect our body and brain function. One of them is Cortisol, it is good in small doses, but for kids like "A," that produce too much Cortisol, it is really bad. Her "fight/flight response" is always on, so she is in high, extreme sensory mode all the time. Her touch and feel nerves are on high alert which makes it hard for her to have anything close to her body, thus the clothing problems. As Mr. Draper and Bingo work with her they are helping her body to calm down the Cortisol input to her brain and bringing the good chemicals, like Serotonin and Dopamine to her brain. Both of these chemicals controls the flow of information in the brain and help "A's" brain to function on a more normal level.

The more "A" works with Mr. Draper and Bingo, the more I am learning. dchastymom

Bingo's excerpt: (Chronic over-secretion of the stress hormone cortisol adversely affects brain function. Cortisol interferes with the function of neurotransmitters, the chemicals that brain cells use to communicate with each other. ie: Excessive cortisol makes it difficult to think!!)

Neighing Bingo again, because of the interest and excitement shown by my blog followers I have decided to share another ongoing story about another little friend I have named Danielle. As the weekly blogs follow I will explain from a scientific perspective my exact role in changing Danielle’s life. For now I would like my blog followers to understand all of my little friends have spent years of traditional therapy with little or no results and because of HBM’s methodology – miracles happen and it is all science based. There is nothing mythical about what Mr. Draper and I do!! The following is from a mother's perspective.

Rebecca's journal:

Hi, my name is Rebecca and I want to tell you a little bit about how Mr. Draper and a horse named Bingo have made an incredible impact on my daughter. You might wonder how a horse could help my little girl who has had to fight cancer through surgery, radiation and chemo recover. Danielle’s cancer was in the form of a tumor on her pancreas. As her body tried to fight the tumor, it also attacked her ganglia nerves and affected her balance and coordination. She has been off treatment for almost 7 years now even though the tumor still remains. The side effects from the chemo and radiation range from hearing loss to cognitive and problem solving issues. When she first started learning from Mr. Draper and Bingo, she was VERY afraid to do the drills standing still. She would shake and almost cry but Mr. Draper was very patient and so was Bingo. They helped her get comfortable and after a few lessons she was finally able to stand up on Bingo without shaking. It is amazing to see that after just a few times she had already made such a huge improvement with her balance. I could tell that this was going to be very exciting and that this was exactly what we needed to help Danielle since nothing else had seemed to make a difference. I will tell you more later about how Bingo has helped Danielle with her Math skills, he really is a very smart horse!

Neighing Bingo here, it was “A’s” tenth time of riding last Friday. Making progress – still working on developing a solid intact vestibular system, yet we are noticing a reduction in stress, and certainly demonstrating corporation and communication levels beyond previous experiences. Today, Mr. Draper and I are going to start changing her beliefs. “A’s” beliefs have become her thoughts – and her thoughts have been lying to her for many years! Got to go, here comes “A” and her grandma. I need to whinny for Mr. Draper. Neighing by for now, Bingo.

Grandma's Journal:

This last session was really good, "A" was actually laughing and smiling during the last 15 minutes or so. Cantering went great! Bingo and "A" were really in sync and "A" sat the horse really well, she was nice and tall, being pretty! The whining was not there, a few complaints, but nothing like last time. Mr. Draper talked to her about perception and how our perceptions, can make us think things that really aren't true. Mr. Draper had Bingo walk around in circles, while they talked to help her concentrate on only what they were talking about. I see how distractible she is, and how hard it is for her to keep her attention on one thing. She is getting much better about this, especially at school. I believe Mr. Draper is showing her how much more she can understand if she pays more attention to people when they talk to her and somehow walking in circles with "A" on Bingo, while they are talking, is helping her brain to make the right connection, so that she is able to concentrate with out so much interference. "A" is learning that her perception of things is mostly not as bad or as scary as she thinks they are. She is able to trust, by being able to make better connections with her perception.

"A" is trying on other clothes and making an honest attempt to wear other clothing and letting us brush her hair, she is doing better at it in the morning; her hair looks 2 inches longer now. "A" did have a pretty good meltdown, about clothing, (lasted about 30 minutes), when she felt she could talk I went and sat by her, she told me she was scared, but did not know why. I told her it was okay to be scared, that going through it and feeling those feelings would help her to be able to handle what she is feeling. I feel like she is expressing her fear of changing how she looks and feels, that by changing her clothing. That, it will somehow make her a different person. That is her perception, in reality she will only make herself feel even better when she can change her clothing and wear things that she likes, instead of wearing what she can tolerate on her body. We have sticker reward system for every time she wears something new and different, which she shows Mr. Draper, holding her accountable for working on this clothing issue. She does not want to disappoint Mr. Draper, so she is working hard. It is not coming as fast as we all would like, we know something that took about 6 years of her life will be hard for her to overcome, but this is the first real honest movement we have had in a long time. "A" is responding to this treatment in a way I thought I would never see. Every step forward is a step toward healing her. dchastymom

Neighing Bingo again, Friday was “A’s” 9th session and showing tremendous results. Keep in mind each session is only about half hour long in relationship to the last six years of traditional therapy that showed little success. My point is, we have answers for our children! Unfortunately, Mr. Draper and I have not been able to share this information with government authorities, who could really make a difference in our treatment approaches. If anyone has that type of connection – for an introduction, we can change these children’s lives. Mr. Draper is bringing my dinner, got to go for now – neighing bye bye. Bingo

Grandma’s Journal:

This last session with Bingo and Mr. Draper was the best one "A" has had so far! She was not as talkative, more inside her head. She had a small little tantrum about her boots, the Velcro in them is not working and keeping her boots tight, so she kicked the dirt and screamed about what was wrong, had a brief point of almost crying, then she got down to business, Mr. Draper told her, that how she handled it was perfect, "to tell us why she was mad, is the right thing to do." After that she was fine. Mr. Draper told me that from now until who knows when, "A" will come to a point where she will become very sad about the absence of her mom and that "it is very important that she tells us when she starts feeling that way and talks about it." Mr. Draper had "A" cantering backwards on Bingo more this time and told me that her sensory issues with her clothes will start to get better, with her riding this way. "A" told Mr. Draper that she is still scared to canter, both directions, but that it is getting easier for her. "A" is trusting more and in turn helping herself trust outside of the circle of Mr. Draper and Bingo. Mr. Draper is always positive, even when he is correcting behavior, whether it is the child or the horse. "A" has never refused to do anything for Mr. Draper, even when she is scared, he does not give them an opportunity to feel defeated, he gets them going and lets them feel the emotion they are experiencing, while they are doing what he asks anyway. They are too busy with the emotion, to realize they are doing what he asked already, until it is too late then all the I cant's turn into, you did! Mr. Draper always re-enforces that positive aspect of what they are doing, with high five's and positive words!

I want to let you know that although we are having wonderful results, there are still hard days and nights, "A" still has a long way to go, but we have not seen "this little girl" so happy for so long, it is amazing how quickly we are getting her to a better mental state of being. "A" has had only 1 meltdown in 4 weeks, it was this morning, it did not last long, about 3 minutes, and then she was fine. Before, the meltdown would have lasted anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. She is trying to wear socks, and trying shirts that are a little closer to her size. Moving forward....In the words of DORIE..."Just Keep Swimming!" dchastymom