4th Edition
NAPHS Certification
By Brianna Lucciano
The following interview was conducted with FTA Director, Dr. Chung.
What is NAPHS?
NAPHS is a national accrediting organization that promotes and develops network(s) among private andhome schoolsto build a solid system of academic success. They Are a service organization designed to provide professional support to administrators, teachers, students and parents of private schools and home schools. Our purpose is to maximize on the talents of our affiliated members by arming them with the necessary tools, information and activities which will enhance the quality and success rate of the educational programs they provide. ()
How are you personally affiliated with NAPHS?
I am not personally affiliated with them. However, Forest Trail Academy is accredited by them.
Does it benefit FTA, if yes: how?
They are one of our accrediting bodies. They ensure that we are meeting high academic standards and performances so that our students will be able to apply and attend colleges and universities of their choice when and if they qualify.
What does being accredited by NAPHS mean?
Being accredited by NAPHS means that FTA is held fully accountable by educational regulations and standards.
What are some key points that NAPHS requires for certification?
Must be a small private school, must have enrolled students, must provide procedures and processes of accountability measures, must provide data of academic proficiencies and gains.
Lastly, did FTA meet or exceed NAPHS standards?
FTA always tries to meet and exceed all the standards of its accrediting bodies. Sometimes, rules and regulations are changed and or modified by our accrediting bodies. However, when implementing the new regulations and or modifications of the new rules to the students, sometimes parents, students, staff, and faculties are not happy. But, if we stay focus on that the fact that these new regulations are to make us perform better as a school, then it is all worth it. We are currently going through the renewal accrediting phases of NAPHS. Our FTA accrediting committee plans on exceeding NAPHS standards.
Animals & Why They Need Us
By Kennedy Williams
There are thousands of animals in the world. Even some we don’t know about. Animals go extinct every day, although most of these are insects. Nine out of every ten species are endangered, and three out of five species are extinct. For example the Panda there are an estimated 1,100 pandas left in the wild. Not only the wild animals need our help, but so do the domestic animals for example the dog. Dogs are tortured by the thousands and often killed. Cats are the same. There are many ways you can help; you can donate to a local charity. Another way to help is if you volunteer at your local animal shelter. If you can’t do any of this there are many other ways you can help. Look online for volunteering at your local zoo or shelter. There are a lot of things you can do to help.
Works Cited
Hippo Therapy: What is it? What’s the Difference between this and Clinic Therapy?
By Katie Jahns
I did an interview with JeanniBonine from Heightened Potential about Hippo Therapy and her experiences as a therapist.
Hippo Therapy is a treatment tool that Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapists use which utilizes the movement of the horse. It is oriented to address motor skills, sensory, and perceptual deficits. It is very important to note that Hippo Therapy is NOT therapy for hippos. It is Occupational, Physical, and Speech Therapists using a horse as a tool for people with disabilities.
When the different types of therapists use Hippo Therapy, different things result from it. These are some examples of what the different therapist use Hippo Therapy for.
Physical Therapists address the motor skills of the client and try to promote the gross motor skills such as sitting, standing, and walking. Occupational Therapists combine the effects of the horses’ movements with other strategies using other things for fine motor skills, sensory integration, feeding skills, attention skills, and daily living skills. Speech Therapists are able to use the horses’ movement to stimulate the physiological systems which support speech and language.
I have been working with Jeanni since August of 2012, and there’s never been a dull moment. It has been so fun working with her, learning about horses and how to ride. I started side-walking for her about two weeks after I started working for her.
She was kind enough to take a few minutes out of her day to answer some questions I had for her about Hippo Therapy.
What is Hippo Therapy?
It’s a Physical, Occupational or Speech therapists using the horse as a movement tool towards their off horse, land based goals. So it’s the movement of the horse that facilitates different responses in the rider.
How did you get into it?
When I was fourteen I was in 4H, and I went to a youth leader’s conference. They were doing a presentation on Hippo Therapy and therapeutic riding, and I was just there because I was the secretary of my 4H club. It was in Springfield, and this farm from Peoria’s lady was doing it and I just realized that’s what I wanted to do. Because I was a horse person, I’ve always ridden since I was like six or seven years old, taking lessons and stuff. That allowed me to combine my love for working with kids with special needs and my interest in that area as well as with the horses, so I kind of knew right away. So, I spoke with my advisor/counselor from school, and they helped me set up my high school curriculum to support working in the area of child development. I did extra courses in like child development, business management, and some other things. I started shadowing OT’s in high school because I had to decide if I wanted to do PT, OT, or Speech. So, I really felt like OT was more towards just how I think and how my mind works versus PT or Speech. From there I just had decided on OT and I went to community college my first year, but I had already sort of decided where I wanted to go to school and I was communicating prior to starting ACC with western Michigan, to just make sure my credits would transfer there. Then it was an easy transition into that program.
How does it help people?
The movement of the horse is 3 dimensional; actually it is the same as human movement. It allows for clients with sensory or integration issues or coordination problems to be able to feel what typical movement patterns feel like and there are several theories that support the thought that when you can experience and move through certain patterns with enough repetitions, your brain latches on to that and you might be able to integrate those patterns into your regular daily life and activities. The other thing is that the dynamic movement of the horse stimulates postural responses, which means your trunk strength; there is a lot of research in general in therapy that supports when you have postural stability. And you area able to maintain an upright sitting position in your chair, you don’t fatigue really quickly, that you can better development of visual skills, fine motor skills, etc.. It is sort of a foundation. Hippo Therapy really addresses a lot of needs from the bottom up, those foundation skills that you need in order to get other skills. The other thing that I think is really unique about it, that I really like, being both a clinic therapist and a therapist incorporating Hippo Therapy, is that a lot of clients that would otherwise not be as motivated because the work is very difficult, it doesn’t feel like work when you are riding a horse. It is very meaningful and motivating and so you can have a lot of kids who will do a lot of difficult things for them when you incorporate the horse.
What connection does the horse have with the clients?
There is a big connection, I have one currently, and I have worked with many clients in the past who potentially have autism spectrum disorder, and with that particular diagnosis the relationship with the horse is really important because a lot of times with that diagnosis you have a hard time with engaging with others and imitating others and you may miss a lot of social cues and that sort of thing, and sometimes they have a hard time working with our face because our face has a lot of movement and a lot of things to process and is constantly moving and dynamic which can be overwhelming for some clients. Working with a horse they are much simpler with how they communicate and since they are primarily nonverbal communicators that can open up that client’s connection. I feel that the job of the therapist is to facilitate the environment and the situation and just let it happen. With other clients, I feel like the connection to the horse is really important because just riding in general, even though we are not working on riding skills, the act of being on a horse sort of gives them something unique to be able to go back and tell their peers, so it is not that they have to go to therapy but that I get to go ride my horse. It is just a different feel and role that the client has, even if it is therapy and we are working on that it gives them something unique that is empowering.
What is the most fulfilling aspect of working in this field?
You know what’s really funny, I used to work ten hour days, 3 ten hour days doing Hippo all day. I can’t do that anymore because my neck, and my shoulder, and its tiring. But, there was a big difference in how I felt at the end of a ten hour day doing therapy incorporating Hippo Therapy, versus in the clinic. I would say that I feel like I don’t get burnt out quite as quickly, I’m more motivated, and the clients are too. Because, you’re breathing natural air, you’re outside; the horse adds this really interesting dynamic to it. So the time goes a lot faster, and I feel like it’s more enjoyable. I really do still enjoy clinic based therapy, there are a lot of other things to incorporate, but there’s a whole other level of this natural feeling to it when you’re in that environment. I also really enjoy the training, I like the behind the scenes training of the horse, to use for Hippo. I think that’s another piece that’s interesting.
What is your favorite memory from your career as a Hippo Therapist?
Probably my favorite one that I always tell people, because I do a lot of presentations on this topic, is:
One time I had a little girl that I saw through a school district, so her school was bussing her and several other clients out to be able to get OT, and also using Hippo Therapy at a farm in Maple Park. This client had a lot of tantrums, she is non-verbal, she has autism, and she was four years old. She had very little motivation to engage, and she would just lie on a mat and totally ignore you. If you would make a face she would not acknowledge or imitate anything. Given that she had no imitation, I thought one of the most powerful experiences I had with her, is after using the horse’s movement for about twenty-five minutes, to get her ready to be able to do things, get her body ready, we got off the horse. It was this really sweet horse named Grace, who was a mom that had a foal; she put her head right down in this little girls face. The little girl would hug the horses face, and pet her, and this little girl was not affectionate, and didn’t engage at all with others. Then the horse licked her on the neck, and the little girl turned around and licked the horse back. There was seriously not a dry eye in the entire team; because that was the first time any of us had ever seen her actually copy something. She perceived what happened, and then did it back. It was huge because mothers and babies usually do that all the time, they make sounds: baby makes a sound, mom makes a sound back. Mom makes a face, baby makes a face back. Some of these kids don’t ever have that skill early on, so they can’t do that as adults. So they can’t learn language, and stuff like that. I would say the other thing in that, my favorite part is, many times in clinic based therapy it’s me, the parent, and the client, or just me and the client. When you’re working in Hippo, you have this whole team that’s cheering when a child does something which is really cool. The horse leaders excited, the side-walkers excited, the therapists excited, the mom and dad see them from the side saying “Aw my gosh I can’t believe they did that!” and that’s really the neatest thing. I’ve heard first words on a horse, I’ve seen first steps after riding, that kind of stuff doesn’t happen every day, but when happens, it’s really pretty amazing.
Watching what happens during a Hippo Therapy session is really amazing. I get to see the clients connect with the horse in ways I didn’t think possible, ways that I don’t even connect with the horse. It’s incredible to see how much the clients enjoy therapy with the horse, and how much they look forward to it. Even the horse gets excited when it sees the clients, because they have a special connection.
Works Cited
“What is Hippo Therapy?” stablepossibilites.com N.p. N.d. Web February 3, 2013.
“Hippo Therapy as a treatment strategy” americanhippotherapyassociation.org WordPress 2010 Web February 3, 2013.
Valentine’s Day
By Katie Jahns
Editor’s Note: The following article was intended for publication in February. Due to technical issues, there was no Talk of the Trails issue in February. However, we have included the article for your enjoyment even though Valentine’s Day has passed.
It’s Valentine’s Day again! Time once again to bring out the candy and tell that special someone how you feel about them. It’s time to make crafts, cookies, cakes, sweets, and send flowers to all of your friends.
One Valentine’s Day tradition is sending poems to your loved ones, whether you make them up, they're in a card, or you find them online, the point is the same. From deep connections to just saying “I’m glad you’re my friend”, a poem is a great way to express how you feel towards someone.
Special Connection
Valentine’s Day is for expressing affection;
Fond thoughts are coming your way;
We’ve always had a special connection,
So Happy Valentine’s Day!
Valentine Smile
On Valentine's Day we think of those
Who make our lives worthwhile,
Those gracious, friendly people who
We think of with a smile.
I am fortunate to know you,
That's why I want to say,
To a rare and special person:
Happy Valentine's Day!
Cookies and baked goods are also a really great way to express your feelings for that special someone on Valentine’s Day. Go ahead and make some cookies or a cake. Give them some candy or a whole box of chocolates! Some great Valentine’s Day recipes are:
This one is for sour cream sugar cookie from my great grandma Eloise on my dad’s side;
Cream 2 cups sugar 1 cup oleo (margarine)Add3 beaten eggs2 tsp vanilla
Prepare1: 3 ¾ cups flour 2 tsp baking powder
2: 1 cup sour cream1 tsp baking soda
Add alternately 1 and 2 to creamed sugar and oleo mixture.
Refrigerate (at least) overnight.
Roll on floured board (keep remainder cold). Cut, sugar, and bake on greased sheets at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.
Can also be dropped by spoonfuls.
Italian Love Cake
1 (18.25 ounce) box chocolate cake mix1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
4 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (3 1/2 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix
8 ounces nondairy whipped topping, thawed
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare the cake pan as directed on the cake box.
Prepare chocolate cake batter according to package instructions and pour into the prepared pan.
In a bowl combine ricotta cheese, sugar and vanilla extract; mix until thoroughly combined. Pour over the cake batter. Swirl through the batter with a knife. Bake for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, combine instant chocolate pudding mix and nondairy whipped topping. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Chill until the cake has cooled then frost.
Valentine’s Day is really a fun and special holiday; you should celebrate it to its fullest. Spend it with the people you love, and don’t forget your special Valentine ;)