Volunteers needed to help with RDA week
The mother of a teenager living with disabilities has praised the South West’s Riding for the Disabled centre for contributing to profound improvements in her daughter’s physical and mental health.
Fifteen-year-old Isabella Chorley lives with severe autism, developmental delay and has an acquired brain injury from a car accident when she was three, but her mum Robyn said riding horses had changed her life in many ways throughout the nine years she had attended the centre.
Along with her posture and confidence, Mrs Chorley said she had noticed huge improvements in her mostly-non-verbal daughter’s speech, saying she often chatted while horseback and was forever mentioning words about horses or the volunteers at RDA.
“Horse riding has given Isabella more confidence and she is always still improving,” Mrs Chorley said.
“They are a very friendly bunch of volunteers and Isabella and I look forward to catching up with them every week for the hour we are there.”
RDA Week will be celebrated by the centre from February 27 until March 3, with an induction workshop for new volunteers being held on Tuesday the 28th from 9am to 12pm.
South West president Julie Down said anyone was welcome to attend the induction and horse knowledge or big time commitments were not necessary.
“Anyone interested in helping the kids and enriching their lives, even for one or two hours a week, would be greatly appreciated,” Mrs Down said.
The induction will be followed by a hands-on workshop on both Wednesday and Thursday, where volunteers can prepare to start with the centre the following week.
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails