Drumm Farm Center for Children in Independence, Kansas – Kody Saak, 10 was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at 5 and for the past two years has tended chickens and prepared eggs for the Drumm Farm’s farmers market.
Kody runs his own egg sales marketing campaign (Kody’s Eggcellent Eggs) and greets customers during the first Saturday of the Drumm Farm farmers market season.
Andrew Drumm, founded the facility as an orphanage in 1929 and later operated it as a working farm. He says in The Kansas City Star article:
“There is a therapeutic process that happens when kids engage with animals,”
The Drumm Farm Center offers homes or programs for foster children as well as for young people who have aged out of foster care or who are homeless. Three years ago, the farm’s staff began bringing in goats, sheep and chickens.
Kody was assigned to feed the chickens.
Brad Smith, the center’s executive director said:
“He was picking the chickens up, petting them and talking to them,”
Kody sometimes takes his chickens to his classroom at Glendale Elementary School.
Heather Saak, Kody’s mother said:
“It helps him being successful among his peers,”
Heather and her husband took Kody in as a foster child at 7 weeks old and adopted him at 15 months. Today, Kody lives at the center with his six adopted siblings and nine foster siblings.
To read the full article by Brian Burnes please visit The Kansas City Star website here
Autism Daily Newscast first reported on autism and chicken therapy here.