Bonnie Cunningham, MA, PT, HPCS Bonnie is a licensed Physical Therapist in the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Arts in Physical Therapy and Master of Public Administration. Bonnie is a PATH, Intl Registered Therapist, a PATH, Intl Certified Riding Instructor and Certified as a National Assessor for riders interested in competing in National Events and the Paralympics. Bonnie is a Board Certified Clinical Specialist in hippotherapy, Coordinating Faculty for the American Hippotherapy Association, has taught internationally and presented at national conferences. Bonnie is practicing physical therapy using hippotherapy treatment strategies in private practice. Bonnie is a past president of AHA, Inc. and served as the first Executive Director.

Lori Garone, PT Lori Garone, PT, HPCS is a physical therapist. She is a board

certified Clinical Specialist in Hippotherapy. A 1990 graduate

of Touro School of Health Sciences, Lori holds a Bachelor of

Science in Community Health and a Master’s Degree in

Physical Therapy. Lori has served on the AHA Board of

Directors from 1999 -2008. Lori was one of two therapists

chosen to represent the United States in 1991 at the First

Symposium of Physiotherapists and Riding Instructors which

took place in Surry, England. Lori has trained successfully up to

Fourth Level Dressage and is a life- long horsewoman. From

2005-2007, Lori served as Interim Executive Director and

Program Director at The National Center for Equine Facilitated

Therapy. In 2010 she was awarded the prestigious Oyster Bay,

New York, 2010 Woman of the Year Award for her work in the

Health Industry and promoting Hippotherapy. Lori was named

AHA Inc. therapist of the year at the 2013 AHA conference.

Lori has a private practice on Long Island, New York since

1990, Physical Therapy in Motion, and incorporates

hippotherapy into her patient’s plan of care.

Special Strides 118 Federal Road Monroe NJ 08831

732.446.0945 732.446.5391 Fax

srehr@specialstrides.com

How does a Therapist use Equine

Movement?

Therapists using equine movement include physical

therapists, occupational therapists and speech

language pathologists. They combine equine

movement and traditional therapy techniques (i.e.

NDT, PNF, task-oriented motor learning, and sensory

integration) in an integrated treatment plan to achieve

functional outcomes.

When utilizing hippotherapy treatment strategies, the

patient engages in interventions designed to challenge

balance, increase stability, integrate sensory

information and interact with the environment. In this

controlled therapy environment, the therapist directs

the horse’s movement and carefully grades the sensory

input. In a PT, OT or Speech treatment session which

incorporates hippotherapy as one of the treatment

strategies the patient benefits from a foundation which

is established through the movement of the horse to

improve neurological function and sensory processing.

This foundation can be generalized to a wide range of

daily activities.

Therapists in the United States have used the

movement of the horse for treatment since the 1970's

and it is currently utilized in 24 countries around the

world.

Go to the American Hippotherapy Association, Inc. (AHA, Inc.) website:

www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org

For Directions to Special Strides please see website:

www.specialstrides.com

Special Strides

Presents

The Neuro Connection:

Incorporating Equine

Movement into the Treatment

of Patients with Neurologic

Deficits

May 31 and June 1, 2014

This course is part of the

CONNECTION SERIES

Special Stides … Improving Lives

One Stride at a Time

Course Description:

This 1 ½ day course is designed for therapists who

currently treat or are planning to treat patients with

neurologic deficits using equine movement.

With extensive use of patient videos, group discussion

and problem solving, course participants will explore

the theoretical and scientific rational and benefits for

using hippotherapy treatment strategies alone and in

combination with other treatment strategies for

specific neurologic impairments such as: spasticity,

impaired motor control and sensory deficits.

In addition, participants will discuss ways to

incorporate principles of neuroplasticity and motor

learning into their therapy session.

Topics to be covered:

Review of major relevant areas of Central Nervous System

Common impairments related to motor behavior

Theoretical and scientific rationale for treatment of neurological patients

Related systems – treating the whole patient

Explore varied therapist treatment approaches

Combining principles of motor learning and neuroplasticity with hippotherapy treatment principles

Patient problem solving using videos of patients with neurologic deficits

Participants are invited to submit a video of a patient

with neurologic impairments. This video may be

selected to be viewed during the course as a teaching

tool to discuss various treatment options including

treatment using equine movement and related

activities. Videos would need to be submitted to one

of the faculty 3 weeks prior to the course. Contact one

of the faculty to receive guidelines for video

submission.

This course is scheduled to run 8:30 to 4:30 on Day 1

and 9:00 – 1:00 on Day 2. Detailed course outline will

be available on Day 1 of the course.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Name: ____________________________________

Address: __________________________________

City/ State/ Zip: _____________________________

_________________________________________

Phone: ___________________________________

Email: ____________________________________

AHA, Inc. Member#_____________________________

Profession & License # __________________________

AHA, Inc. Manuals, Breakfast and Lunch are provided.

Early registration

_____ $325 AHA, Inc. Member

_____ $450 Non-AHA, Inc. Member

Late Registration (after May 1, 2014)

_____ $375 AHA, Inc. Member

_____ $500 Non-AHA, Inc. Member

For AHA, Inc. membership information prior to

registration please go to:

www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org

Important Information

Intended Audience Physical Therapists, Occupational

Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Physical

Therapy Assistants and Occupational Therapy

Assistants

Certificates of attendance with contact hours will be

provided to all participants to submit to their individual

professional organizations for continuing education

credit. 9 contact hours are available for this course.

Courses are not “pre-approved”.

Cancellation Policy: AHA, Inc. and the host facility

reserve the right to adjust program dates, times and

faculty to accommodate unforeseen circumstances; we

will only notify advanced registrants of any program

changes. Neither AHA, Inc. nor the host facility is

responsible for any expenses incurred by registrants

due to such adjustments. AHA, Inc. and the host facility

reserve the right to cancel a course due to insufficient

enrollment or unforeseen circumstances up to 2 weeks

prior to start of the course. If a participant wishes to

cancel; cancellation notices must be provided in writing

from participants up to 2 weeks prior to the course start

date to receive a refund minus a $50 administrative fee.

No refunds will be given for cancellations received

within two weeks prior to the start of the course.

Payment: All checks to be made out to Special

Strides.

Please mail registration to Special Strides at 118 Federal Road Monroe NJ 08831 The curriculum may be utilized only under conditions

set forth by AHA, Inc.