Ebony Cox Equine Services

02/02/2025

4 Reasons why Animal Facilitated Learning is beneficial for young Children & Teens 🐴🦆🐓🐑🐏🐄🐛🪱🐝🐞🐌🦋
1✨ Emotional Regulation and Reducing Stress
Animals offer significant opportunities for connection, attunement, and co-regulation, which are essential components for cultivating a healthy nervous system. Co-regulation refers to the phenomenon in which one individual aids another in stabilizing their emotional state. For example the calming presence of horses can alleviate emotions such as anxiety, fear, or anger. Interacting with horses can empower young individuals to recognise and handle their emotions in a nurturing, non-judgmental setting, thereby enhancing emotional well-being and resilience.
2✨ Improves Social and Communication Skills
Animals depend on nonverbal signals, which instruct young individuals to pay attention to body language and emotional expressions. This practice fosters empathy, promotes active listening, and develops interpersonal skills, particularly benefiting children who face social difficulties.
3✨ Support Recovery and Emotional Healing
Animals offer a supportive and tranquil environment, fostering a sense of safety for young individuals to cultivate trust and navigate their emotions. This support can be especially advantageous for those who are healing from trauma or confronting mental health issues.
4✨ Life Skill Building & Development
The environment in which animals live and belong, allows facilitators to role model everyday living skills, encouraging our young people to communicate effectively with others, use fine and gross motor skills, develop empathy and care for others needs and requirements, practice self care, regulation strategies and awareness.

Interested in learning more about our programs? please email [email protected]

19/01/2025

Happy New Year and welcome to 2025!

The team and I hope you enjoyed a relaxing break, and we are excited to work together for another successful term.

Ebony has officially entered admin week, so please keep an eye out on your emails for the update for the upcoming term.

We will begin again week starting the 3rd February 2025.

For those interested in adding a therapeutic skills development program where animals, horses and the farm environment enrich your learning feel free to contact us.

A free meet and greet is the best place to start 🙂

☎️ 0437 113 513 (text only)
🛜 [email protected]
🏡 951 Glastonbury Road,Gympie
💻 www.ebonycoxequineservices.com.au

18/12/2024

🎉 Thank You for an Incredible 2024! 🎉

We would like to say a huge thank you to all our participants, volunteers, staff, facilitators, and sponsors for an amazing year! 🙏 Your dedication and support made this year truly special.

We're taking a well deserved break for the Christmas/New Year holidays 🎄✨
06th January - administration and office open 03rd February - session return

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🎅🎆 We look forward to seeing you in 2025. Stay safe and enjoy the holidays! 🎉🎉

See you soon! ✨
Cheers Ebony, Shona, Sharon, Tylah & Flora

13/12/2024

What's the difference between Animal-Assisted Therapy and Animal Therapy?
The answer is nothing, according to the Animal Assisted Services sector (AAS) here in Australia as well as globally - but according to NDIA, DSS and Bill Shorten there is a difference!

Therapy should only ever be delivered by a registered health professional.

This use of terminology is out of context with industry definitions and is representing a significant risk to participants, service providers and plan managers alike. As ATL continues it's advocacy journey to have "Animal Therapy" removed off section 10 of the transitional rules. Please help us by completing our surveys!

If you are a service provider, please complete this survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FZ7SL97

If you are a participant or carers of a particpants, please compete this survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MH3L937

05/12/2024

03/12/2024

✨Happy International Day of People with Disabilities✨

On this day, I want to give a special shout out to all our incredible participants, friends and family with disabilities. Your strength, resilience and contributions inspire me every day.

Today we celebrate the incredible achievements, unique perspectives and talents of people with disabilities, while acknowledging the work still needed to create a truly inclusive and barrier free world.

Disability is not a limitation. Supporting accessible workplaces, advocating for equal opportunities and removing physical and social barriers are just some of the ways we can create a better future for everyone.

“It’s not our differences that divide us. It’s our inability to recognise, accept and celebrate those differences." - Audre Lorde

Let’s use this moment to reflect on how we can build a society that values accessibility, understanding and equity for all. Together we can break down barriers and build a better future.

14/11/2024

Many equine-assisted learning programs teach participants how to adjust their breathing and posture with the goal of engaging with a horse. This forms the basis of helping people regulate in a very experiential way.

People that are calm, breathe slow and deep will create a better connection with a horse.

Horses can feel and sense our breath and our muscle tension even when you are not on their backs. Breathing and posture directly affect each other, which in turn, directly affects a rider's stability in the saddle or their connection to a horse on the ground.

While equine-assisted learning practitioners should never suggest they are qualified to work with psychiatric conditions, they can facilitate a pathway to better mental health through equine assisted learning programs.

10/11/2024

We will remember them

05/11/2024

ATL has Australia’s largest register of insured professionals who work alongside animals.

The animal-assisted services sector is made up of a range of fully insured professionals who work within the scope of their practice alongside animals. There are people in a variety of roles that have undertaken the relevant training to work alongside selected animals as part of their service delivery.

This includes OT’s, Teachers, Developmental Educators, Speech Therapists, Psychotherapists, Physiotherapists, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Counsellors, Support Workers, Social Workers, Early Childhood Teachers, Learning and Development Facilitators, Therapy Assistants, Paramedics, Mental health first aiders, Nurses, Mental Health Workers, Disability Workers, Assistance Animal Trainers and Other Professions..

04/11/2024

update. ATL is still in communication with NDIA and remains committed to having fully insured professionals working alongside selected animals as an adjunct to their scope of practice accepted by ALL plan managers as an NDIS support.

The biggest issue now is the ill-informed plan managers. ATL is in regular communication with the CEO and senior executives about this.

service providers, please refer to the NDIA communication below sent to ATL by an equine-assisted learning practitioner:

On Mon, 4 Nov 2024, 9:42 am provider.support, wrote:

Thank you for contacting the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

Yes, your interpretation is correct. Unless the NDIS Pricing Arrangements state that a specific professional must deliver the support, like it does with the therapy or nursing supports for example, then an appropriately qualified worker can deliver the support item. This includes the 09_ support items. If you’re a registered provider with the NDIS Commission, you’ll also need to be registered for the registration group applicable to each support item.

Q1 – Can providers (who are not allied health workers) invoice under ‘Assistance in Coordinating or Managing Life Stages, Transitions and Supports’, provided their service(s) complies with the criteria as stated within that section (that is, page 72) of the current NDIS pricing guide? Yes, as long as the activities involved are not included in the Supports that are not NDIS supports list, and the support is in line with the participants plan and related to their disability and disability needs.



Q2 – Can providers (who are not allied health workers) invoice under ‘Development of Daily Living and Life Skills’, provided their service(s) complies with the criteria as stated within that section (that is, page 73) of the current NDIS pricing guide? Yes, as long as the activities involved are not included in the Supports that are not NDIS supports list, and the support is in line with the participants plan and related to their disability and disability needs.



Q3 – Can providers (who are not allied health workers) invoice under ‘Innovative Community Participation’, provided their service(s) complies with the criteria as stated within that section (that is, page 73) of the current NDIS pricing guide? Yes, as long as the activities involved are not included in the Supports that are not NDIS supports list, and the support is in line with the participants plan and related to their disability and disability needs. Please note, this support item can now only be used if it has been stated in the participants plan document/planner notes.



Q4 – Can providers (who are not allied health workers) invoice under ‘Community Participation Activities’, provided their service(s) complies with the criteria as stated within that section (that is, page 74) of the current NDIS pricing guide? Yes, as long as the activities involved are not included in the Supports that are not NDIS supports list, and the support is in line with the participants plan and related to their disability and disability needs.

We understand that many of the activities listed in this supports description are included in the Supports that are not NDIS supports list. Another business area is currently working to clarify contradictions between the new What does NDIS fund? | NDIS legislation and the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2024-25. This includes the 09_011_0125_6_3 Community Participation Activities and 04_210_0125_6_1 Community Social and Recreational Activities support items. Providers are advised not to use these two items until their descriptions have been clarified.

If you require any further assistance, please reply to [email protected]. Alternatively, you can contact the NDIS National Contact Centre on 1800 800 110, Monday to Friday between 8am-8pm.

28/10/2024

💟 Welcome to term 4 💟

Come and build executive functioning skills, social emotional learning and support positive behaviour. Our animal-assisted therapeutic facilitated learning sessions are here to work towards your goals, and engage positive participation with qualified and registered facilitators.

Week 3 & 4 Catch Up

Activities this week include;

⚛️ Emotional Control - is the process of controlling your emotions and managing them to fit the social situation.
Activities: Catching & Leading a horse, Liberty, & Free Grooming.

⚛️ Attention - The ability to focus with the duration and efficiency required to learn important information.
Activities: Experiential farm activities that require more than 1 step.

⚛️ Inhibition (inhibition control) - the ability to inhibit or control impulsive (or automatic) responses, and create responses by using attention and reasoning.
Activities: Round yard work, direct contact with a horse, obstacle course activities.

⚛️ Time Management - Successful time management starts with understanding and managing yourself so that you can adopt the strategies that are most likely to work for you.
Activities: following a daily activities list, priority planning health and care, self managing session outcome.

⚛️ Flexibility - the behavior of switching between tasks and demands in response to changes in the environment.
Activities: all farm based activities, role model, clear and achievable expectations.

Our program is offered Monday - Friday afternoons during the school term. We have limited availability in term 4 please send a message to enquire 🤩

☎️: 0437 113 513 (text only)
📧: [email protected]
www.ebonycoxequineservices.com.au

22/10/2024

There are many professionals who work alongside animals as an adjunct to their scope of practice to support participant goals. In fact, you will find most of the professions listed on the NDIS price guide working alongside selected animals to support participants. This includes OT’s, Teachers, Developmental Educators, Speech Therapists, Psychotherapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists, Counsellors, Support Workers, Social Workers, Early Childhood Teachers, Therapy Assistants and Other Professionals.

Examples relating to how this modality may help include:

· A horse becoming an important feedback mechanism for the practitioner to identify when a participant starts to become unregulated as the horse can pickup changes in the persons breathing and heart rate before the practitioner can.

· an OT or Physiotherapist working alongside a dog to help a stroke survivor adhere to the necessary exercises to help with their impairment. eg: Brushing the dog, throwing a ball or walking the dog which in the opinion of the therapist would achieve better adherence or outcomes than functional exercises in a gym.

· a learning and development professional delivering skills development and training alongside animals.

Animal-assisted services are goal-directed programs designed to support people with intellectual, physical, sensory, cognitive and psychosocial conditions in which a selected animal is an integral part. Services are directed and/or delivered by a practitioner with specialized expertise within the scope of practice of his/her/their profession. In ATL’s opinion, these services meet the NDIS Funding Criteria.

18/10/2024

Hello Friends,
Are you a parent of a child who has been accessing animal-assisted services or learning through their NDIS plan? Can you please tell ATL how much of a difference this has made to your child’s quality of life?

We need your help...

Are you a parent of a child who has been accessing animal-assisted services through their NDIS plan? Can you please tell ATL how much of a difference this has made to your child’s quality of life?

ATL is in the process of developing a National Media campaign to raise urgent funds to support the mental health of those in need Nationally.

We need help from those who are willing to share their story on how animal-assisted services have helped to improve the quality of their life to shape our media campaign.

If you are interested in being interviewed as part of ATL's media campaign or to have your story shared, please complete this application.

You can share your story here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MH3L937

18/10/2024

Ebony and the team are very proud to be associated with this organisation Animal Therapies Ltd

ATL believe and supports the importance of each role; the facilitator, the animal and the participants….together a vibrant, engaging and educational platform is created to provide a therapeutic, supportive and creative environment.

Our practice will continue to support participants to provide evidence-based therapy to assist participants to improve or maintain their functional capacity in areas such as language and communication, personal care, mobility and movement, interpersonal interactions, social emotional learning, functioning (including psychosocial functioning), daily living skills and behaviour support while working with animals.

14/10/2024

💟 Welcome to term 4 💟

Come and build executive functioning skills, social emotional learning and support positive behaviour. Our animal-assisted therapeutic facilitated learning sessions are here to work towards your goals, and engage positive participation with qualified and registered facilitators.

Week 1 & 2 catch up

Activities this week include;

⚛️ Building Communication - using different forms of communication to connect with our animals and facilitators. This includes teaching non-verbal cues, understanding emotions and effectively and properly expressing feelings.
Activities: my body language, grooming and leading, walk with me and I’ll walk with you.

⚛️ Working memory - following instructions, expectations without loosing track of our main focus for the session.
Activities: farm expectations board, through role modelling, vision boards, mind maps, experiential list.

⚛️ Planning and prioritising - This helps us decide on steps to reach a goal and determine the order in which to tackle tasks.
Activities: open discussion, role modelling, teaching factually, Experiential exploration.

⚛️ Self Control - working on the capacity to maintain focus and resist distractions and temptations.
Activities: throwing apples, obstacle courses construction, purposeful interactions, positive feedback activities.

⚛️ Developing routine - individual to each participant’s goals, and when routine changes.

Our program is offered Monday - Friday afternoons during the school term. We have limited availability in term 4 please send a message to enquire 🤩

☎️: 0437 113 513 (text only)
📧: [email protected]
www.ebonycoxequineservices.com.au