Appling farm offers animal therapy for those with disabilities
APPLING, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A local farm is helping both kids and adults meet specific goals with the help of animals.
Cooper Ridge has been around for four years improving the mental, physical and emotional well-being of everyone who walks through their gate.
We went out to their farm in Appling to see how they’re finding solutions to provide jobs to those they help.
Aiden is 25 years old and has been coming to Cooper Ridge for a couple of years. He was diagnosed with autism at a young age.
“It’s always been a joy to work with him, but he has had struggles along the way, so finding an opportunity here like Cooper Ridge has been fantastic,” said Leslie Mann, Aiden’s mom.
Cooper Ridge is an inclusive farm that helps kids as young as 3 and up to adults.
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Josephine Fuller, owner of Cooper Ridge, says about 80% of the people they work with have disabilities.
“So we split our time between animal time and farm time. We could be working out in the vegetable garden. We can be working with animals through an obstacle course. Feeding animals, taking care of animals. It’s really about building the relationship up with a particular animal and finding that connection,” said Fuller.
Fuller says they work with families to come up with three goals and then document the progress.
Mann says she has definitely seen improvements in Aiden.
“It’s allowed him to try to work on some of his social skills. His skills for asking to do things, for his task completion, those types of things,” said Mann.
Recently, the farm received a grant to provide employment opportunities to adults with disabilities.
Aiden will soon start his first job at a place he’s already very familiar with.
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“It’s just icing on the cake. It’s like something I always hoped for him but didn’t know if it would be a reality, and the fact that this is kind of a bridge for something like that is awesome,” said Mann.
Fuller says this farm is very rewarding.
“I love to see how things change for that individual both on the farm and outside the farm,” said Fuller.
Cooper Ridge works closely with the Boys and Girls Scouts so you’ll see projects they have done at the farm.
They also have a new interaction platform that is handicap accessible which makes tending to the livestock easier for those in mobile devices.
They have certainly grown over the last four years.
The good news is registration for their fall program opened up on Monday.
To learn more, donate or sign up, visit https://cooperridgefarm.org/.
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