In October, a group of Felicity students were able to check out Soul Harbour Ranch in Barrington, Illinois. In previous years, Felicity staff has been working on continuing to provide activities for students to interact with animals on field trips and special events. Felicity staff has found that interacting with animals can reduce anxiety overall, especially in students who have patterns of impulsive behavior.
The ranch included a variety of animals trained to be emotional support animals including: miniature therapeutic donkeys, miniature therapeutic horses and therapy dogs. Students pet the animals, learn how to walk with them around the farm and helped with grooming.
This was Felicity’s first time visiting and based on the student feedback, won’t be the last. Thank you to CAAEL for inviting Felicity to join in! Featured above is one of our Felicity clinicians, Ms. Swillum, enjoying some quality time with one of the miniature therapeutic donkeys.
