A collaborative team of CSU advocates aims to prepare people with individual and intellectual disabilities to address employment gaps in STEM and agriculture.
The new Temple Grandin Equine Center totals 30,000 square feet, and includes equine, clinical, administrative and classroom spaces that support student learning, client success and research advancement for the equine-assisted services industry.
The state-of-the-art facility, named for Department of Animal Sciences faculty member and autism advocate Temple Grandin, was created to be a place of healing, treatment, education and research for clients from diverse backgrounds. The center is the new home of one of the leading equine-assisted services education and research programs in the world.
A recent CSU pilot study aimed to develop and evaluate occupational therapy in an equine environment for youth with autism.
The Temple Grandin Equine Center will elevate CSU into a position of world leadership in equine-assisted activities and therapy.
A 14-year-old boy with autism is led slowly around an arena by horseback, while an occupational therapist gently gives him simple tasks like lifting his arms or dropping a ring around an orange cone.