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Boost in confidence for Calais

Calais Janes gives his family cat a wide berth and any dog he comes across an even wider one still.

But the 6-year-old Tauranga boy looks quite happy sitting high on a horse at Tauranga Riding for the Disabled.

Calais suffers from a rare genetic disorder as well as autism and Tourette's Syndrome and will often run away or verbally express his distaste at unfamiliar textures and temperatures, including animal fur.

Calais' mother Heidi Janes said she and husband Chris were concerned at how their son would react around such large animals as horses at RDA, but were pleasantly surprised when they saw photos of his weekly therapy sessions at RDA, which he attends with students from Kaka St Special School and its satellite classrooms.

"I would imagine it's getting him used to being around animals. He loves it, absolutely loves it. He's got this real thing for horses now and he delights in telling us which horse he's ridden each week," Mrs Janes said.

Merivale Primary School satellite classroom teacher aide Belinda Dawson said Calais tended to withdraw from situations he was not comfortable with and the completely foreign environment and unfamiliar people at RDA meant for the first couple of sessions he did not speak to anyone.

As time has gone on however, riding has provided a huge confidence boost and Calais now speaks and interacts with the volunteers and coaches at RDA.

"He loves going out there, the first couple of times he went out he didn't speak to anybody but now he's opened up and talking, he's coming out of his shell.

"It's just something so new that it's given him that extra little spark. We can see Calais blooming while he's out there," said Miss Dawson.

She said the weekly therapy sessions were also a great motivator for Calais, helping him develop skills in self-organisation as he prepared for each ride.

Mrs Janes said she had also noticed her son taking a strong interest in the horses, repeating the commands he uses to control the his horse, Red, back to her. "He's interested in what he's doing and he obviously talks about it at school too, because it features in his news book that goes back and forwards each day. I think it's just given him a new experience to focus on. Just seeing the excitment in his face and his voice when he talks about the horses at the moment, it's really evident that he enjoys going. I think it's a awesome thing that they do out there," she said.

Story Michele McPherson  Photo John Borren  BOP Times