Meaningful Day News

Meaningful Day News

Family Gives Back to Dusty Dreams

James Ostrowski arrived a few minutes early for his therapeutic horseback riding session
at Dusty Dreams with a big smile on his face. He and his recreational therapist, Rheta
headed straight to the horse barn. On their way, James excitedly stated he wanted to ride
the horse; Lightening. Lightening is a beautiful 21-year old Quarter Horse mare with a
shiny black coat, mane and tail with a lightening-shaped white blaze on her face. James
and Rheta picked out a halter and went out to the pasture to get the horse. They put the
halter on and led her back to the barn for grooming.

James who is now 16 years old has been participating in therapeutic horseback riding at
Dusty Dreams with Rheta Conner, Recreational Therapist with Meaningful Day Services
since March of 2010. Dusty Dreams is a 23-acre horse farm just West of Avilla, IN. The
beautifully lush property is home to several horses and a wonderful haven for many
individuals to spend time with the horses and recreational therapists. James’ mother,
Theresa immediately spoke to the benefits of Therapeutic Horseback Riding they have
witnessed in their son. James is diagnosed with Autism, Epilepsy and Catatonia. The
effects of Catatonia for James include upper body weakness which is demonstrated by his
inability to stand up straight or even take deep breaths due to the lack of muscle tone.
Theresa stated that Therapeutic Horseback Riding with Rheta at Dusty Dreams has made
a huge difference in his strength, posture and endurance. While on a horse, he is able to
sit up straight with no visible curvature to his spine as is normally visible when he is
sitting in a chair or standing.

James wasted no time in getting the brushes and tools ready for the grooming process
with only a few reminders here and there from Rheta. They groomed Lightening while
Rheta counted the number of repetitions for each step. Then they moved to the middle of
the barn for warm-up exercises. James mirrored Rheta’s movements perfectly as they
completed stretches and other exercises to prepare for riding. The therapeutic relationship
he has with Rheta is visible as demonstrated by his smiles and attentiveness to every
word she says. It is also apparent that Lightening also had an effect on James as he
stayed focused on the tasks at hand while speaking to Lightening in a comfortable
manner. James spoke to Lightening as a friend. James quietly asked Ligtening to move
so he could have his hooves cleaned; however Lightening would not budge. Rheta
reminded James to try to ask in a more assertive manner. James then firmly stated
“Lightening, move!” James’ mother smiled and stated that he doesn’t usually like to be
assertive but his time at Dusty Dreams with Rheta has changed him for the better in
many ways.

James’ father Joe and his 13-year old brother Daniel also volunteer and clean out all eight
of the horse stalls every Saturday and Sunday while James is working with Rheta. Daniel
chose to volunteer for Dusty dreams to fulfill a school community service project and Joe
had been volunteering for some time before Daniel started as well. Joe, a busy Mechanical
Engineer for Steel Dynamics in Butler, makes time in his schedule for his family and
Dusty Dreams and is, along with Theresa able to see the benefits of this program
firsthand during the weekends spent at the farm.
- Heidi Shorter, MT-BC

Central Indiana ABA Camp 2011 off to a great start….

Eagle Creek 2011!

Summer is here and our Central Indiana ABA camp is off and Rockin’! We started out
our summer festivities with an excursion to the wild woods of Eagle Creek. Our campers
spent time hiking, picnicking and visiting some of the wildlife of this beautiful park
located just on the west side of Indianapolis. It was a beautiful day and our campers had
a wild time! Check out our pictures of our adventure in the Wild woods of Eagle Creek…..
Jennifer M. Jones, Director of Marketing