GASTON COUNTY, N.C. -- Doctors told Jacob Hammit's parents not to expect much from their son, but now with a unique therapy, his parents say Jacob is making wonderful progress.
“They didn't know if he would ever walk, ever talk, ever know who we are,” Sandy said.
Born with autism and some brain damage, the 7-year-old is surprising everyone.
Melinda Kirkpatrick runs Shining Hope Farms in Gaston County, where Jacob attends horse therapy.
“It really has been remarkable, we have seen children diagnosed as non-verbal start communicating, we actually have seen children that were not able to walk begin walking,” she said.
This is Jacob's fourth year at horse therapy.
“When Jacob first started coming he didn't sit up very well on the horse, he was a little wobbly,” Kirkpatrick remembers.
“Nothing else mimics the human gait the way the horses does so if a child doesn't understand what it feels like to walk in a normal human gait, if you put them on a horse their muscles are worked,” she explains.
But workers here say they often have to cancel sessions because of the weather.
They're hoping to build a covered arena to help with that.
Jacob's mother says she hates missing horse therapy as much as Jacob because of the effect she sees on her son.
“Every time he rides on the horse, on the way home he makes a lot of sounds, he’s much more verbal,” she says.
“It’s really encouraging to see him. I’ve seen him come a long way,” his dad told us.
They’ve organized a benefit dance to help raise money for the covered arena. For more information call 704-691-1119.
