Emotional support animals come in all shapes, sizes, colours, and levels of fluffiness – and for some animals the levels of fluff are very high indeed.
Woodland View Alpacas at Quex Park offers trekking and experience days, but they also train alpacas for SEN groups. CommunityAd chatted with Sara Llewellyn, alpaca wrangler, to find out more about the benefits of hanging out with alpacas.
What kind of training do the alpacas need?
Alpacas are naturally inquisitive, bright and passive animals. They require only basic handling and leading training to be comfortable around humans. As they are completely non-aggressive, they are ideal for visitors from SEN groups as they just exude an aura of calm. Being non-threatening and non-judgemental they effortlessly put people at ease!
What kind of SEN Groups use alpacas? Are they local groups or do you send your alpacas out further afield?
We see a lot of visitors from schools, the Llewellyn School here in Birchington are regular visitors, but also individual children with their personal assistants from care homes. We have also welcomed school groups and youth groups from outside of the area. Recently, we organised some Meet and Greet the Alpacas sessions for those with limited mobility or who are just unable to do the treks for other reasons. Some of our alpacas have even travelled to the Miramar Residential Care Home in Herne Bay!
Do you only train specific alpacas for the SEN groups – do certain alpacas just have the right temperament and personality for the job?
Most of our alpacas are suitable for SEN groups but just as every guest is an individual, so are our alpacas. Being naturally timid animals, some alpacas find the experience more enjoyable than others. Alpacas have a very sensitive nature and will pick up on any nerves, fear or aggression coming from the handler and may respond to that.
Our experienced Trekkies will lead the sessions and show any children, relatives, assistants or carers the correct way to walk with an alpaca, what to expect and why. This quickly assures people enabling them to interact and enjoy their alpaca experience in a rewarding and meaningful way.
What positive effect do the alpacas have on SEN children?
There has been considerable research into the benefits of interacting with animals; petting and physical contact can help to reduce stress and even lower blood pressure. For SEN children, particularly those with autistic spectrum disorder or ADHD, some can find it difficult to communicate in a conventional way. Human touch can sometimes be unwelcome but a fleecy friend that is non-threatening can offer a contact that is acceptable to them. There can be unexpected benefits for children with emotional and learning difficulties; the alpacas have an amazing ability to generate laughter and joy!