«Return to Blog ListingGood Food, Good Company, Good Learning

This past week, NMCTR Volunteers enjoyed an evening of homemade dishes, lots of laughter and the opportunity to expand their skills in working with the riders during their lessons at this month’s Volunteer Continuing Education Learning Opportunity.  The event was graciously hosted by NMCTR volunteer and supporter, Kim and Greg Hiner, in their beautiful home near the Santa Fe Opera House.  Each guest was excitedly greeted by the family’s dog, Ky, and escorted into the kitchen and dining room filled with dishes brought for the potluck prior to the night’s presentation. 

Stephanie Perdue, CEO of Behavioral Support and Training (BST) of Albuquerque, NM presented to the group on various Developmental Disabilities and using Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) techniques to better support them in their therapeutic riding lessons.  Stephanie is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and has been working with children on and off of the Autism Spectrum for over 18 years.  Volunteers learned how to better understand the functional abilities of many of NMCTR’s riders and how they process the world around them.  By being able to gain this insight, the volunteers will be able to adjust their communication strategies and levels of support to the individual rider to foster autonomy and even bigger smiles each lesson!

Thank you to all who attended, to Stephanie for sharing her knowledge, and to the Hiners for opening up their home.