Fun at the Barn

We found out about a barn where they have made everything accessible for kids with any abilities/disabilities. It was created specifically for autistic children, but they use OT/PT for their staff so anyone would benefit. We had the chance to go to a cookout and game night so we packed up the kids and off we went.

Andrew pushed Nathan on the tire horse swing.


Rebekah played with the cars and trucks on one of the sensory training playhouse. Everything in this one works on the different textures of things to get the kids to accept different textures more easily. On this level, there was astroturf as well as wood and material in another area so kids could play on the part that was the best feel for them.

Here's Nathan wheeling around in the recumbent bike. He loved spinning in circles.

Nathan and Andrew both climbed the big inflatable to get the flags. Nathan would climb up, take a flag and climb down with the flag. Then he would climb right back up to put the flag back at the top.

One of the highlights was the "hay rack ride without any hay". With allergies, wheelchairs and texture issues, hay isn't really great for these kids. She has the rack where hay would go and it's got foam mats on the bottom for comfort. She hooks it up to a 4-wheeler and pulls everyone around the property. This was a family favorite! We rode it a couple times. All the kids ended up smiling and laughing. A few were really nervous to try, but they all had a great time on the hay rack ride.

Nathan tried out the 'human gerbil ball'. It's a big inflatable ball that you get in and roll around. The first picture is the outside of the ball and the other two show Nathan rolling around inside.

Rebekah's favorite part was feeding and petting the horses.

I was really thankful that Andrew was a trooper. Most of the games and activities were geared for younger children. I thought he did well to play for a while, then he took a break and drew pictures in the car, then he came back to eat and play with us again. When the whole evening was over, we discovered the 'Enchanted Forest' on the property. If I would have remembered to look for it, I would have spent the evening there. I didn't have my camera when I was in the forest, but plan to go back another time and capture it on film. The trees are grown together at the top leaving a GIANT open area that runs the entire fence line of the property. She's got slides and seats and teeter totters, etc. in there. I would have grabbed a chair and a book and lost myself to the enchantment.

What an awesome place! Can't wait to go back.