Announcing Evelyn Kidd, MS, OTR/L
In honor of National Occupational Therapy Month, we are thrilled to share all about our new OT, Evelyn Kidd, MS, OTR/L, who recently moved to the area looking to continue utilizing hippotherapy as a treatment tool. Prior to joining the Mane Stream team, she was at Heightened Potential Co. in Illinois, where her friend and mentor, Jeanni Bonine, HPCS, showed her the ropes at her farm.
A busy Occupational Therapist since 2016, Evelyn currently works in early intervention during the weekdays. This is an in-home setting for children birth-three years of age. Evelyn finds this setting to be extremely rewarding and she enjoys building relationships with families while seeing young children achieve their goals with her help. She also has experience in other settings, including pediatric outpatient and adult outpatient focusing on neuro-rehabilitation (stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, Parkinsons). She is a Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT) and an LSVT-BIG certified clinician. She has completed her level 1 Advanced Intensive Mentorship with the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing, as well as the American Hippotherapy Association’s Hippotherapy Treatment Principles Part 1.
Get to know even more about Evelyn!
Where did you receive your education? I attended the University of Illinois at Chicago for my masters of science in occupational therapy after having attended Stockton College in Galloway, New Jersey for my undergraduate degree.
Did you have previous horse experience before learning about Hippotherapy? I did not have much horse experience prior to becoming an OT and entering into the world of hippotherapy (2016). Hippotherapy collides my two passions of working with animals and people, and I LOVE continuing education!! As soon as I learned about hippotherapy when I was in grad school, I began researching how I could incorporate this into my career. I have taken Hippotherapy Treatment Principles Part 1 from the American Hippotherapy Association and will be obtaining my Part II this October.
What do you like most about treating at a facility like Mane Stream? I was very "picky" when searching for the right place for me to continue my journey practicing hippotherapy. After some research and visiting a few facilities, I found Mane Stream. I enjoy feeling a part of a team, having mentorship and people to bounce ideas off of. I appreciate the fact that there is a clinic space and that they truly understand the concept of hippotherapy - therapy with the help of horses.
How does treating at a facility like Mane Stream differ from a regular clinic? It is very different from a regular clinic! The arena dust is the first difference to note! I most appreciate the access to the outdoors, nature, and horses (of course!) in this very unique setting.
Tell us about a favorite memory. Any time a client makes progress, it becomes a core memory for me. I celebrate with them and their families. I have so many favorite memories, it's really hard to pick just one.... but I enjoyed dressing up on Halloween as a dinosaur, and even the horses had little costumes, and the kids were just SO excited for it.
What do you do in your free time? I live with my husband, two young children and rescue dog in Sussex County and we enjoy going on hikes together as a family and being in nature whenever we can throughout the year. We also visit the shore (and Mommom and Poppop!) often. I play intramural softball in the spring and summer, which I love. I am a very big animal advocate and enjoy getting involved in animal rescue efforts when I can.
