I need your help!
I have a 5 year old lesson student that has been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. Riding for him is Therapeutic, and he is a very sweet boy!
But I need ideas on how to teach him and keep his interest. Currently after a 30 minute lesson he is done.
TIA!!
I don’t have any suggestions, but I will say, 30 minutes for a 5 year old is about all they can handle attention wise. Ask the parent if you can talk to the person who diagnosed him or is treating him so that you understand the disorder and then design a lesson plan around that. (As an aside: I had a friend whose daughter was diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder when the child was about 11. She came to the barn and had a chat with her daughter’s riding instructor, telling her, “DD cannot follow a series of directions, you have to tell her one at a time or at most 2.” The instructor looked at my friend and responded, "I could have told you that. Exactly how much did you pay for that diagnosis? lol)
I agree that 30 minutes is plenty-- in fact, many of the better lessons I’ve seen for kids under 7-8 have been even a bit shorter. Like 15 minutes brushing/ tacking, maybe 20 minutes of actual riding, and then 5-10 minutes of untacking and cleaning up. I would work on walking over poles/ through jump standards in two point, and letting him “steer” to complete a course, stretch to touch his toes/ horse’s poll/ tail etc., and go on short trail rides/ walks-- if you have a suitable horse you could work up to ponying him instead of walking on foot which makes to more exciting.
As already suggested, that may be more due to age than to disorder. It’s the rare 5yo who can properly pay attention for a riding lesson longer than 30 minutes. So why not just limit the lesson to 30 minutes, or as the poster above recommended, break the full time up into segments.
I also would agree. For 5, 30 minutes sounds about right with respect to attention span.
He is doing great to get near a horse. I have a child with sensory issues and I can’t get him near the barn, and he doesn’t even have SPD. If a horse whinnies he can’t stand it. Just try to keep him where he is comfortable and having fun and then stop. Don’t push him too far or you can set him back. 30 min is a long ride for a 5 year old anyway.
It also matters what senses bother him. Mine is very sound and some texture/touch. Others have more touch issues and they may or may not be able to handle much brushing at first if the texture bothers them. Baby steps. But it might not bother him and if not, encourage him to do things that have different feelings, like brush, pick feet, etc. the more new experiences he has and likes, the better.
Best if luck finding something that works. Also keep in mind a lot of this is not in their control…they are literally terrified sometimes by things other people don’t notice.
Agree with fordtraktor - it very much depends on what sensory stimulus bothers the child. Utilizing different sensory objects in the arena can be good, it could also help by using a surcingle rather than a saddle. But all will depend on the child’s particular concerns. I also agree that 30min is a long time for a 5 year old and breaking it up into grooming/tacking, riding, untacking/cleanup is a good plan.
I should have clarified, 30 minutes is including tack up, brushing and generally loving on the horse. He seems to want to run around and not pay attention to the horse at all during this process, he’s just full of energy. Once he gets on he pony he becomes calm. So calm in fact I cannot telling if he’s enjoying it. He kinda dazes off into the distance for the about 20 minutes he’s on. This is why I was thinking maybe some horseback easy games would be good for him.
Sounds like a normal 5 year old. I find that 5 year olds, especially boys, do not have alot of patience for the grooming/tacking up. We still do it, and make it a part of the lesson, so they ride maybe 15-20 minutes, or however long their attention span is that day. If it is better, they’ll ride longer. If it isn’t, they’ll ride shorter. And if he is a young 5 (closer to 4) the less attention span he will have. Mix it up, do things in short bursts, at 5 he should be able to learn to walk, steer on his own, and should be able to learn to trot, both posting and sitting, and do it on his own if the pony is well behaved and appropriate. Doing things like setting up a trail course to ride his pony through, playing Simon Says, etc. can be a fun way for them to learn and keep their attention.
Agree with all of the above = short segments, don’t expect him to really thoroughly groom or tack the pony but do have clear expectations for what he should do (walk-not-run, quiet voice, soft touch, etc).
Another thing people don’t always think about: minimize stuff going on around you, as much as you reasonably can. Find a time of day when you’re the only one in the barn aisle and maybe even the only one in the arena; choose a small paddock or round pen rather than a big echoey indoor arena; if you go for a short trail walk at the end of the lesson, walk along a pasture of quiet horses, not through the parking lot along the busy road! You’re minimizing distractions, yes, but you’re also minimizing the external, unrelated sensory input.
My friend recently put it really well: we want these kids to learn to self-regulate, because until they’re self-regulated, they can’t work on anything else. The horse helps him do that when he’s mounted - you said he will sit quietly and almost check out when he’s riding - his body is saying “wow, this is awesome, this movement is meeting needs I didn’t even know I had.”
You can help by setting up the unmounted situations to help him keep it all together so he can get something out of the experience. When he’s buzzing around the barn and not engaging with the horse, he’s showing you he needs you to change something about the situation because he can’t handle it the way it is. You may have to puzzle out what that is – is mom nagging him to listen to you? are the birds too loud? flies bothering him? do his boots bother his feet?
Some kids will be avoiding some sensory input, and seeking different sensory input, at the same time - hopping and bouncing but unwilling to touch with open hands. Some will squirm on a smooth saddle, sit nicely on a smooth fabric bareback pad, but resist the feeling of a fleece bareback pad. Some will hold laced reins but not rubber rainbow reins. Some will put a closed fist through the strap on the back of a brush and brush happily, others will very carefully hold the plastic or wood back of the brush but not touch the bristles, some love the curry but hate the feeling of the dirt that comes off. The kids who hop and bounce and have happy feet may need to jump over some caviletti or carry a heavy grooming tote or saddle for some serious sensory input before they can come to work.
From what you’re saying, I’d probably structure the 30 minutes to include one small task related to getting the horse ready - maybe he holds the bareback pad or saddle pad with two hands and places it on the pony’s back, and you do the rest. Try to pick something that will happen immediately before mounting so he doesn’t have to wait around very long! Or have him do his task then walk over to the mounting area with mom while you quickly finish tacking and lead the pony yourself. Get him on, do something quiet for the first few minutes then move to the “meat” of your lesson, whatever that will be for the day. Give it about 10 minutes then go outside for a walk, engage him with the horse on a personal level and the farm if you can - “there’s John driving the tractor out to spread the manure on the field.” “Lindsay is putting out hay for Dobbin’s dinner. What else do you think Dobbin will eat for dinner tonight?” Wrap it up with giving the pony a treat from a bucket on the ground.
