The Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes, in partnership with the Disability Services Commission (DSC) has developed and implemented an innovative program aimed at helping people with disabilities, and their families, participate more actively in community life.
The Equine Facilitated Learning Program was the brainchild of Executive Manager Community Services, Elizabeth Denniss.
Ms Denniss travelled to Victoria in 2012 to undertake the Certificate 1 offered by Australian Equine Facilitated Learning Pty Ltd.
On her return she discovered the DSC was offering funding specifically for programs that helped people with disabilities, and their families, to actively participate in existing sporting or community clubs.
As the responsible officer for the Disability Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee, Ms Denniss was advised that clients with disabilities had been requesting an equine program.
Despite being told the project was unlikely to be successfully funded, she submitted a grant application and secured $45,000 funding over a two-year period.
“There have been some great outcomes from this program,” Ms Denniss said.
“The Pony Club member base has grown, they have been able to attract additional grant funding, we have had 25 clients in the program at the half way mark and the grant enabled 10 local residents to participate in the training. The program has grown so that we are now looking at additional grant funding to continue the service beyond the two-year DSC funded period and a nearby high school has started their own Equine Facilitated Learning Program.”
Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) is an interaction between horses and people designed to promote experiential learning for all participants.
EFL promotes strategies to attain healthier relationships, improve social and family dynamics, social behaviour and inclusion, enhance self esteem, improve awareness of actions and consequences, improve communication, co-ordination and motor skills and increase focus, observation, self control and self awareness. EFL also promotes the mindfulness of being truly present, in each moment, which can help reduce stress, anxiety and depression.
“It can often seem like nothing much is actually happening during an EFL session,” Ms Denniss said. “But when you do the post session evaluation with the client, you realize just how much has transpired.
“A young teenage client, the oldest of three girls, one of whom has disabilities, told us that she was starting to use what she had learned in the program about boundaries to ask for time and space to herself when she needed a break from the responsibilities at home.
“It is just amazing and a real privilege to be involved as the Program Co-ordinator”.
