CHATS

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CHATS CHATS is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit horse therapy center located in Yorktown, Virginia. We provide servi My name is Dr. Megan B. It was devastating to say the least.

McGavern, DO, MS, FACP....but more importantly, I am Cole's mother. Let me start out by saying it's been a long road!! At times so difficult, frustrating and isolating, I have not known how I was going to survive another minute....but then there have been days so beautiful, and breakthroughs so amazing, it has taken my breath away. Our son Cole was diagnosed with autism at age 4. A few days of sadness and disbelief then led to unending research and "warrior mode" on how I could heal my child. Along the way, I read a book titled "The Horse Boy", written by Rupert Isaacson. It changed our lives forever. We took Cole out of public school, created a homeschooling Movement Method (MM) program in 2017 and a Horseboy Method (HBM) program in 2018. In 2019, my husband and I bought almost 18 acres in Yorktown, to create what I have called a "Horse Boy masterpiece". We transitioned to the land in April 2020 with Majana and Diego. Our third Horse Boy horse, Neron, arrived from Germany in May of 2021 after 18 months of intense training. My son is not "neurotypical" by any means at this point, but we have gone from 10 words in a day to 300 plus words in an hour on the horse. We have gone from driving him to a feeding clinic in Richmond for 2 years, to him being above 90th percentile in weight. We have gone from not being able to go to the beach because he couldn't bear to step on sand, to it is now one of his most beloved places. We have gone from lugging a bike to OT for years trying to get him to be able to ride to he now can ride a bike scooter, and hover board all by himself!! We are grateful to have been able to do such a far-fetched thing and hope to be able to share this with those in the community who are going through similar struggles. Here's to strength, hope, community, peace and faith! CHATS does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color,
national origin, disability, or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activities, or in employment.

10/26/2026
10/26/2026

We had another first today with Cole! He helped me unload 16 of the 32 bales of hay from the back of the truck!! He attempted to use the broom but as you can see he doesn't have the grip figured out. Be on the look out for the future video showing that he can sweep cuz I have nothing but hope up in heeeeereee!!!

10/25/2026

Hard to believe CHATS celebrated our 6th annual Halloween Sensory Saturday today!!
We had a special day with our CHATS family and horses doing all things Halloween!

Thanks TJ for all the tractor rides!! Thank you to all the volunteers who came out this morning and gave of their time to make this day memorable for our special needs community.

Happy Halloween from all of us at Cole's Horse Autism Therapy Station! 🎃 🐎🎃🐎

10/23/2026

Neron meets his skeleton friend again this year!! This never gets old lololol!

This is the last week to buy raffle tickets to win our Staycation Raffle!Link for tickets:https://square.link/u/HRrDX5gw
10/20/2026

This is the last week to buy raffle tickets to win our Staycation Raffle!

Link for tickets:
https://square.link/u/HRrDX5gw

Raffle Fundraiser is LIVE!

Enter to win a one night stay at the Embassy Suites by Hilton on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront!

Stay in & relax or explore all that Virginia Beach has to offer especially with the holidays right around the corner!

Link for tickets:
https://square.link/u/HRrDX5gw

Next Saturday is our annual Tractor Treat sensory day!email explorewithchats@yahoo.com to sign up!
10/15/2026

Next Saturday is our annual Tractor Treat sensory day!

email [email protected] to sign up!

SENSORY SATURDAY TRACTOR TREAT IS COMING!

join us for a morning full of costumes, treats, and LOTS of fun!

email us at [email protected] to sign up by Oct 22nd!

Thank you Debbie Leanne Portraits for your interest and desire to share the story of Cole's Horse Autism Therapy Station...
10/14/2026

Thank you Debbie Leanne Portraits for your interest and desire to share the story of Cole's Horse Autism Therapy Station 💙🐎💙. You are appreciated!! (This was recorded in July 2026).

She was doing everything right. Every specialist, every therapy, ev...

Some more evidence based medicine for you published in The American Academy of Pediatrics!! A randomized clinical trial ...
10/10/2026

Some more evidence based medicine for you published in The American Academy of Pediatrics!! A randomized clinical trial demonstrating statistically significant improvements in behavior and sensory dysregulation in autistic children with behavioral diagnoses who were in the therapeutic riding group AND the group that did not get randomized to therapeutic riding BUT were exposed to barn activity.

Email us at [email protected] to schedule your child for a play date! It will change your life 🐎💙


https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/doi/10.1542/peds.2026-077263/210741/Therapeutic-Horseback-Riding-for-Youth-With-Autism?redirectedFrom=fulltext&fbclid=IwdGRleAU2VARleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mBWZkaWQWUP8SD7CL8DmCPD_l7aWUAn7y8LRh7HNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5sqLTK5NoVZKtjXtwArYf14dZNcGPbzkuvcBDEgftZDPSXlwIve-HHU8nV8g_aem_S5cpxECePEccbp-x9d0BwA?autologincheck%3Dredirected?autologincheck=redirected

10.1542/6404221739112Video AbstractPEDS-VA_2026-0772636404221739112OBJECTIVE. Autism spectrum disorder care is often complicated by co-occurring psychiatric symptoms. Equine-assisted services show promise for improving behavioral outcomes in this population. We aimed to examine benefits of equine-as...

10/10/2026

Yorktown VA Rotary Club, we thank you SO much for your donation/contribution to our organization!! This helps support our programs, horses and provides scholarships to the families we serve!!!

We are looking for volunteers!Our biggest area of need is help with playdates.Playdates run mon-fri with varying times b...
10/05/2026

We are looking for volunteers!

Our biggest area of need is help with playdates.
Playdates run mon-fri with varying times between 1230-5pm

& also occasional barn chores

please reach out to [email protected] if interested!

Address

100 Old Pond Road
Arlington, VA
23692

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