DS has been offered a place with RDA - what are the odds of him actually leaving the car!

[Ben10NeverAgain]

or actually even getting out of the car! I have until Saturday morning to convince him

He has ASD, dyspraxia and SPD. He has severe problems with smells. He was completely revolted by a visit to see the baby lambs at our local farming world.

Is there anyway to help with this sensory problem other than just going and trying to get over it?!

I'm excited by it anyway! Only £7 per lesson :)

I know this might sound random and slightly bonkers, buuuutttt, how about a doctor/dentist style mask with some lavender drops on it to hide the smells?!

Though obviously if he has issues with things on his face this would be impossible.

Just a thought, hope he enjoys it eventually though. xxx

just to give you some hope:

dd1 is animal phobic. specifically dogs, but then she generalised (oh, the irony!) to all animals.

she started RDA with he rlast school, and they mnaged to get her riding and enjoying it . it did take a while - the whole build up, approaching the horse, getting on it etc, but by the end of her time there, she was riding and trotting away and loving it.

she has recently started again with her new school, nad hile a bit apprehensive again, is doing well.

it is possible, but it might take some time. dd1 used to be petrified (literally) to be anywhere near any animal - she can now ride, stroke small pet animals (eg guinea pigs, rabbits), and occasionally walk past a dog without screaming and wetting herself - if the dog is looking in the other direction . no seriously, she manages really well, after a slow build up to all this - never taking her past her absolute fear point, but consistently pushing the boundary and getting her to deal with how she felt (a much nicer process than I have just made that sound!)

Ah, that's an idea. A bandana-type option "like a cowboy" might work.

That's great to hear thanks so much Silverfrog. DS also used to be petrified - he'd run away from dogs, cats, anything. We now have two cats and at least won't run away from dogs. They used to chase him in the park as they thought he was playing :) Sounds like DD1 has made absolutely huge strides in relation to animals!

I've explained to them that it will take lots of time for him to process the activity and if he gets out of the car and just watches then that will be a big step for him. They are very happy with this and will do whatever.

I really hope that he will manage it as it will be fantastic for his confidence and balance.

I'm going to try to sell it to him on "all the other children in your class would love to be able to go riding and only the lucky children are allowed to go". That sort of thing normally appeals to his competitive nature

sounds like a plan

we had a major breakthrough just recently with dd1 and dogs (still her nemesis) - she actually listened when I told her htat her making a loud noise and jumping about actually made her more interesting to the dogs, and so they would want to come and say hello all the more...

she (mostly) now manages to walk past (wide berth, someone in between her and the dog) repeating 'it's ok, it won't come near', and so on the whole, the dogs are not as interested as there is no appeal.

dd1 cannot cope with the fact that she can't control the animals - no control really freaks her out. so she will stroke small animals when held (eg in a pet shop), but cannot cope with any unpredictable movement ie a dog/cat walking towards her.

I made the mistake of saying that when dogs wag their tails they are happy. Unfortunately they don't always wag their tails....

I think that the Bichon Frise owner was a little surprised that anyone could be terrified at his lovely little balls of fluff .

One of our cats is tiny and has adopted DS. She lets him carry her around and she sleeps in his bed :) THe other one knows best and stays away!!

So far so good. He is agreeing to go and see :)

That's a good start!

OOOh! I hope he has a good time! £7 lesson is very good :)

Let us know how he gets on

Ben loads of luck on sat hope DS has a great time. I've got DS2 first session booked on tue. It's not RDA but have found a lady who has experience with SN children and gives 121 sessions for £6. She has a very good rep locally so I'm excited. I just want to find something DS2 'can do' and build strength/confidence and have some fun. Can't wait to hear how you get on :)

Oh lucky DS.

I was an RDA instructor for 8 years. They will be very, very used to people reacting in the same way as your DS, and are likely to be very patient with him.

I taught a child who came for weeks without actually managing to get on the horse. We got there in the end and he loved it!

Good luck

Thanks ladies. I will report back but this morning he asked me if he is going to do horse riding in the Olympics .

keeping everything crossed for miniBen10!

@ Olympics..hey, you never know (although i think he maye have missed the qualifying for this years )

sorry to jump in, and i hope ur ds enjoys himself, but i was wanting to know how do u apply to the RDA, cause my dd would totally love this- she has a sort ov quirk which erm how to put it- ah basically she has to pick up anything that moves dont matter what it is, one day we had gone to a local petting zoo and found her with a rabbit up her jumper and she kicked off cause she couldnt take it home. she has come home with mice, birds, cats, bugs, worms, hedgehogs, u name it. lol.

I did RDA for years as a volunteer and now have my own horse that several YP with various issues uncluding ASD visit ( just friends not paying).

Some great suggestions already made and it depends on your DS which will be the best one ... I second the vick under the nose one ( slightly less intrusive) but masks with aromatic oils can work too !

as said already staff will be used to this .... we had one adult who took a whole year to get from just sitting in the car outside the door to getting on and going once round the school ... no rush at all

Alison first you need to see if anyone does RDA in your area. Then approach them and ask to be put on the waiting list (if they have one). You'll also usually need a letter from your doctor stating that your DD qualifies (ie is disabled) and would benefit from RDA sessions.

Fill out the form at the RDA centre, produce your doctors note and wait for a free place to come up.

Good luck.

alison .. if you go to the link and put in your post code you could find a group

www.rda.org.uk/rda-groups/

and at least you know she cant get a pony up her jumper

Hi tackle (((0))) snigger

Thanks for the ideas.

My doctor charged 31 pounds to sign the form

Bloody nora, 31 quid!!??

I was expecting about £12 like a private sick note for work.

ROFLMAO Ben10 ...... was not gonna let on where we meet up regularily

Mustn't let that "fall" into the conversation

indeed ..... although it is quite an uplifting thread. But we must desist cause just look at what must be endured ( initiation) to get into our little enclave .

Success!

I didn't realise how much less stinky a riding centre would be than a farm. No problems with smells at all. We got there 30 minutes early so that he could look and be a bit scared before his lesson. Was trying to hide but then they called his name, he stood on the step and then sat on Cody no problem :) He wants to go every day and keep a horse in the back garden. Amazingly tired and hungry afterwards. One very happy boy

Thanks for your advice everyone

In terms of clothing he was just in his long sleeve tshirt and trackie bottoms with wellies. Is a gilet a good thign to have for riding? I saw a lot of them wearing them - or is it just fashion? They hire the hat for 50p. I guess you can buy them in some places for reasonable money?