It has been over a year since Rowan first developed an interest in musical instruments when a very kind person donated their clarinet to the Horse Boy Foundation. True to form Rowan could soon name far more instruments than any of the rest of us and could tell you what musical family each instrument comes from to boot.
It didn’t take long for him to develop a particular fascination in the brass family and a 
desire to one day play in a marching band so recently we finally made the decision to get him his own trumpet and trombone and he will begin music lessons next week.
What we hadn’t anticipated was that not only would buying him these instruments provide an opportunity for him to learn to make music but that it would provide a whole host of other learning experiences as well.
Soon after getting the trumpet Rowan asked me to make him a book of ‘fun trumpet facts’ which he loves and has read over and over. This includes not only information about the history of trumpets and famous jazz musicians but also includes facts about the chemical properties of brass and what makes something an alloy.
Watch this space for updates on how his lessons go and when he is able to realize his dream of forming the Horse Boy Marching Band. Knowing Rowan I don’t think it will take long…
Hi, Rowan, you are one remarkable kid – that’s an understatement! I work with lower functioning people who have autism – amazing people they are as well! They teach us so much.
I am curious about the band aids over Rowan’s eyes. Is this related to autism or something to do with his visual development? Just curious. Never seen this used before for children with autism. If it was mentioned in the documentary I must have missed it….Carol
Hi Carol,
Thanks for the message and sorry it has taken us a while to get back to you we have been having some website difficulties. Rowan really is truly remarkable. He teaches us all so much everyday.
In terms of the band aids it isn’t any kind of radical treatment but instead something Rowan did himself. He was too young at the time to ask him why so we aren’t hundred percent sure why but can only assume he was trying to alter his vision slightly in someway.
Thanks for asking and keep checking in we are always happy to answer questions.
hi there Rowan – Keep following you passions! my son is 21 now and has autism and ADHD. He learned the trumpet when he was 6 until he was 10, then he learned the viola and now he plays the violin and is about to take his grade 2 exam.
He has also been riding since he was 7 years old. He began with the Riding for the Disabled but then left school and went to college to study horse skills and riding. Now he is training as a wrangler at a local community ridingin school 3 days a week as well as a day in college learning about all kinds of strange animals.
He loves hearing about you – he says you are like him and you make him smile. Perhaps one day I will bring him to Texas to meet you .
I look forward to reading about your marching band xx I believe in you xx
keep posting guys x
love from Sally and Daryl, North Wales UK x
Hello,
My husband and I watched your documentary, Horseboy, on New Year’s Eve and it couldn’t have been a better way transition into 2013. We even missed ringing in the New Year as we were so absorbed by your family’s compelling story.
I wanted to write to thank you for being such an inspiration to parents all over the world. Congratulations for sharing your healing approach with others through your foundation.
So happy to hear that Rowan is doing well and has developed an interest in music. Rowan is an amazing little guy and you are both wonderful parents.
Take care,
Anne
Toronto, Canada
Hello Rowan,
I have been teaching saxophone for over 30 years and have been fortunate to recently teach a 17 year old autistic boy. He is by far the most intelligent and talented student I have known!! He had been playing 4 years before we met and was mostly self taught but he already had a magnificent sound, excellent technique and a musical maturity far beyond his age. He just intuitively understands and feels music. I’m sure that with proper guidance from a good teacher you’ll be flying in no time. Good luck!!
P.S. Kristen I love your Sounds True video on self compassion. It really spoke to me. Thanks.
Pierre
An amazing kid, but truly phenomenal parents! I hope the world is listening to you guys. You have so much insight to offer! Keep up the fantastic work.
Hi, I posted this on my blog. Please read, I would like to find a way to help you raise funds for your organization. I am a fundraiser for NYPIRG, the New York Public Interest Research Group. And I am creating a non-profit to fund worthwhile projects. Please contact me. Here is the blog. I hope you enjoy reading it. Rowan’s and your story are inspiring and a validation of what I’ve been working on, i think. Enjoy and be well.
A child suffers with autistic emotional tantrums and a lack of potty training, along with social isolation – his parents are at wits’ end – they bring him to Mongolia in order to visit shamans and ride horses – the child, Rowan, though still autistic, and with some remarkably brilliant talents as a result, is then able to overcome the chaos of his perceived social world – the tantrums disappear, he learns to go on the potty, and he becomes comfortable socializing and even being an integral part of his peer group. A little miracle.
I think the basis for this series of events lies in the love and dedication these parents felt for Rowan, and for one another. Many times during the filming they would embrace and Rowan would watch them. And Rowan was physically affectionate with them. The family bond was strong, The parents wanted to help Rowan, and Rowan himself is a strong presence. So with all of that love, what was causing the tantrums?
There are probably neurological differences in the autistic brain which we don’t understand, which relate to how we develop both a cognitive filtering system and inhibitory controls, which we consider normal. So it may help to understand Rowan as living out a prolonged period which we all experience for a short time as we emerge from the womb.
Rowan can help us to view how we all adapt to social existence at critical moments of decision.
His mom described a tendency in the female line of her family for mental instability, which may relate to a genetic component in Rowan’s limitations, and to a component of thought/behavioral adaptation.
She characterized one of the traits of the instability to be “a rage at not wanting things to be other than you want them to be.” To me that means not being able to tolerate a disruption in the perception of the environment. That probably happens to all of us even before we become anxious at not being able to get what we want when we want it. The first anchor of trust in the social reality is probably the mere cognition of a recognizable terrain. The lack of a reliable frame of reference probably causes some degree of panic, and then the lack of ways to get what you need when you feel the urge adds frustration to the mix, resulting in anger, and in the extreme, rage.
And doesn’t this young boy’s eventual decision to quell his anger and to control his bowels represent our first compromise with civilization, in reaction to something we all face to a certain degree?
The father described Rowan’s state as “physical and emotional incontinence”. And that’s how we must be at first when we emerge from the womb, having to breathe and cry and such, prior to the compromise. And then we learn to control our bowels and our anger in some form short of chaotic tantrums. We don’t want to cede control, to assimilate into our particular culture, yet we do.
And in Rowan’s openness there is an expression of something else which most of us control. Because not only did Rowan initially lack controls over behavior and anger, he was also totally open in terms of his compassion.
All of his life, according to his parents, Rowan had had a remarkable affinity for animals, and animals felt comfortable with him. His compassion, when outside of tantrum mode, was free-flowing. Animals would let him cuddle with their babies, and he could even toss them around. And the first time his father put him on a horse Rowan went into a state of deep relaxation. His father felt that he had a “direct line” to the animals. The mother remarked that Betsy, the horse, became subservient and docile around Rowan. And Rowan became calm, a polar opposite to the rage and anxiety of his tantrums.
Maybe that state of deep relaxation is related to the experience Rowan felt on the wide-open steppes of Mongolia. There were no social pressures, but a different kind of pressure maybe. The mom said it may have helped that Rowan was adapting to new challenges he hadn’t faced before. And then the shamans.
You have to watch the documentary to get the full effect of the shamans and the rituals, but as soon as he began visiting these healers he changed. Even though he was throwing a tantrum at first, after a really short time with the shamans, he suddenly changed, and began playing with the shamans.
It’s possible that Rowan never experienced people as calm and as free of the self as the shamans he met in Mongolia. They seemed to possess a serenity and kindness and attentiveness. And they performed many rituals.
Rowan also had the help of having a similarly aged Mongolian boy, the son of their guide, for a companion. And as soon as they saw the shamans, he began making friends with the boy, whom he began to call his ‘Mongolian brother’.
Totally compassionate.
So with a combination of: unconditionally loving parents; his own direct line to his own compassion and a direct line to the minds of animals; the wide–open spaces of Mongolia; no traditional social pressures; the companionship of a peer who was open and compassionate; and finally, with the help of the shamans, Rowan grew the ability to adapt to the social reality.
And what makes Rowan’s adaptation so rare and beautiful is that at the same time that he is instituting self-controls, he is not compromising his passion at all, and that is a gift which will enrich all of us.
I hope you all get a chance to see the documentary, “The Horse Boy”, which I watched on Netflix. And thank you to Rowan’s parents for their vision, compassion and fortitude; they seem pretty amazing.
Hi there,
That is a great blog post – thank you so much for writing and getting in touch. Would love to be in contact with you – please email at jenny@horseboyworld.com…
I am creating a sensory trail to be used at our therapy center and if all works out I may be using the Horseboy method when certified. I am not certain when I may be able to accomplish this as I work fulltime right now and have little time off due to being on family leave to take care of my mother. Are there any specifics you would suggest for the sounds I might use on my sensory trail. I was thinking of using some animal calls, like duck, deer calls etc and being able then to talk about the animals. I’ve thought of music and wondered if in autism there would be something specific you might suggest.
Hi there,
So glad to hear you are creating sensory trail. A word of advice in your planning of it. As much as possible make sure you use all natural material and avoid plastics and other synthetic material. So many sensory rooms make the mistake of being all plastic and man-made which somewhat ruins the point. I think the animal calls sound great. In terms of music in general I think that is pretty child specific. Some of the kids we have hear in Texas love salsa and others reggae, some love rock and others can’t stand it. Is it possible to just have speakers and vary the music depending on the kid? That way you can have Lion King songs playing for kids who love The Lion King and so forth??
Thanks so much for your advice and thoughts. One idea I had was to use animal calls. We have a lot of whitetail deer…quail…squirrel etc and wondered if the kids would like talking to the animals. My sensory trail is mainly out along the outer edge of our alfalfa field. I really hope to be able to visit New Trails soon and take the workshops.
Yes animal calls sounds like a great idea. Feel free to email me at jenny@horseboyworld.com to arrange a visit if you are interested…