In April, the Children’s Foundation started supporting 10 year-old Siim, who is suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome and who needs horse riding therapy to cope with his disease. The Foundation will help cover the costs of the therapy with 1080 euros during a one year period.
The majority of the boy’s problems are related to social communications, because he lacks the understanding of social situations. He also struggles with managing environments with many incentives, especially school, because that causes fatique, tense situations, difficulty controlling emotions, and due to the latter, difficulty with controlling and organizing his behavior. Siim is unpredictable and extremely restless. There are also shortcomings in detecting other people’s motives, reactions, standpoints and emotions. It’s also hard for siim to work in a team and adhere to rules and deals. He avoids eye contact and it is difficult for him to accept new people, and sometimes doesn’t at all. He’s not willing to talk to strangers at first, and will keep quiet. It’s possible to reach some contact with him through activities.
Siim has been attending horse riding therapy since the fall of 2016, which has had a really good impact on him: thanks to the therapy, the length of eye contact he can keep, has extended, and it no longer causes internal tensioon on him. Continuation of the horse riding therapy is important to reach further goals: encouraging speaking, increase his self confidence and self-initiative in activities, relieve internal tension in new situations and to furthermore extend the time of eye contact with people.
Until the end of 2016, he attended the therapy on the basis of a rehabilitation plan, after that, the family has been paying for it. To lessen the family’s costs, the Children’s Foundation decided to lend a helping hand, and are now paying for 90% of the therapy.
Siim’s mother is very grateful to the Foundation and the donators. „Siim really likes to go to museums, theatres, movies, concerts etc, which would have been difficult without the help of the Foundation. And from the standpoint of his development, it is very important for him to be in different environments,“ according to her.
The Tartu University Hospital Children’s Foundation is one of the oldest and largest nationwide charitable organisations in Estonia, which from the year 2000 has, along with the donators, supported different hospitals in purchasing equipment, also children in need of special treatment and care and their families by a total of 3 million euros. You can also help children in need of treatment by becoming a permanent donator of the Children’s Foundation at http://lastefond.ee/vormista-pusiannetus . To apply for a donation or to let us know about someone in need please send us an e-mail to info@lastefond.ee.