Ebony Cox Equine Services

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

12/10/2024

Free Access to Recorded Webinar: Horses and Autism - Being neuro-diverse in a world designed for the neuro-typical brings challenges. Research and clinical practice confirm that equine interaction has a powerful positive impact for autistic people. Speakers will share information about how and why equine interaction is often effective and how other professionals can leverage this power in the work they do. Speakers: Dr Temple Grandin, PhD, Professor and Animal Behaviorist Irina Amelina, B.Ed. Director, Equus Terra Therapeutic Horse-riding, EA & SO coach Dr Anja Kriegeskotten MD, FRANZCP, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr Igor Shpitsberg MD, FRANZCP, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr Stephen Shore, Ed.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Special Education Prof Tony Attwood - Clinical Psychologist PhD MAPS FCCP Dr Michelle S Garnett

Visit the ATL events page to download your free ticket to listen to this recording:
https://animaltherapies.org.au/events/

06/10/2024

Just a reminder to our fabulous clients that Monday 07th is a public holiday and we will be closed.

29/09/2024

14/09/2024

Thank you Mal for capturing some beautiful photos from the Gympie Women in Business awards last night. We are truely thankful for all your nominations, maybe next year 🤩
A big congratulations to all the finalists and winners across all categories 👏 👏 👏