By Brett McMahon
Growing up in Vermilion County, Roxy Reed never imagined she would own and operate a therapy ranch.
After high school and earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Northern Illinois University, Reed moved to Nashville to work at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in the traumatic brain injury unit, before returning to Illinois and working in Chicago with inner-city children with speech and language deficits.
Eventually, she made her way back to Danville and opened a private practice, but discovered her true calling one day while taking a group of toddlers outside.
“I initially had a speech therapy private practice in town,” Reed said. “One day, I took a toddler language group outdoors, and we walked trails in the woods and had a picnic. It was so easy to teach new vocabulary words like butterfly, cattail, daisy, flower, etc. when we were looking at the real thing.
“That’s when it hit me that I needed to move my private practice to the country. I wanted to focus on nature-based therapy and animal-assisted therapy. Less than a year later, we found our current property in Homer that had an 11,000 square foot pole barn that was wheelchair and amtryke accessible!”
The location is ideal because it’s on the line between Champaign and Vermilion Counties, allowing Reed to serve them both.
But, despite its potential in the beginning, a lot of work went into transforming the property to what it is today.
“There was space for animals, events, fundraisers, a therapy clinic, and outdoor therapy sessions,” Reed said. “Things fell in place, and we moved to the ranch. The property was in disarray, and we got to work building the therapy clinic inside the barn, building fences, cleaning up the neglected property, and learning how to live on a farm.
“I took classes on alpaca care and animal husbandry and finally I was able to open as a private therapy practice.”
Reed has also founded and organized the non-profit, Roxy’s House, which will open in June for speech therapy.
Housed on Blue Heron Ranch, services at Roxy’s House will include speech therapy, reading and other programs for children with disabilities as well as typically developing children, through animal-assisted therapy and nature-based therapy. Reed’s hope is to expand to other services, like physical and occupational therapy in the future.
Reed feels the use of animals is an important factor in working with children, stating “It has been my experience that children learn best in natural settings through movement, animals, and a variety of sensory experiences. There are several reasons why animals help children to learn.
“The most obvious is that they are highly motivating for children. When an animal is there, it doesn’t feel like work. Also, children can ‘teach’ the animals what they are learning and often teaching is the highest form of learning.”
She adds that coming to the barn is a sensory experience in itself through different textures, smells, sights, and sounds. Additionally, interaction with animals and learning how they communicate can sometimes help instill better communication in children.
In terms of animals currently on the Blue Heron Rance, there are three alpacas, three potbelly pigs, chickens, two peacocks, and barn cats.”
“We choose animals based on their temperament with children,” Reed said. “Although I have 25 years of experience as a speech pathologist, I find myself stepping back to allow the wisdom of the animals to sometimes lead the way in a therapy session.
“It’s really the connection between the three of us: child, animal and therapist that creates a greater healing experience.”
In the future, there is hope of adding more alpacas, mini-donkeys, mini-cows and horses, though any animal that brings a healing connection to children and families could be considered.
Reed’s two daughters, Lexy, 20 and Izzy, 17 also play significant roles in the ranch.
Izzy, who has been part of therapy sessions with her mom since age three, helps with maintaining the property as well as working at times with the children, while Lexy, a sophomore at the University of Illinois Chicago, helps with technical issues and maintaining the website along with coming home to help with occasional events.
In a region where gathering places are often difficult to find, Blue Heron Ranch also includes a barn that can be rented for such events as proms, family reunions, weddings, showers, corporate retreats, company picnics, barn dances, graduation parties, and birthdays. The trio also hosts ranch events like yoga and wellness retreats.
“There is an indoor children’s play area with a 22-foot pirate ship, hanging chairs and swings, a buffet area, and animal experiences available with our animals. We have indoor seating for up to 350 and outdoor space for more tables. There’s a variety of games (pool table, cornhole, yard games, washers, horseshoes, volleyball) as well as a firepit. We believe families should have an affordable venue to host gatherings and connect,” Reed added.
With the official opening of Roxy’s House in early June, Reed has several events planned for the coming weeks.
She explains “A is for Alpaca” is a pre-reading camp for 4-5-year-old children entering kindergarten in the fall.
“We’ll be focusing on phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and language through nature and our animals,” Reed said. “We meet Mondays from 9-11:30, and families can choose June, July or both. Camp begins June 5th or July 3rd.
Another event called “Breathtaking” is an adult yoga, meditative, and animal retreat on June 5th.
“We will also have a children’s animal and yoga retreat on July 9th,” she said.
The hope is to continue to provide a space to fill a need within the community.
Reed’s hope for children visiting the ranch is to know that they were born perfectly. She expresses that the goal is to meet them where they are and understand them better, not making them fit a certain mold while striving to help them reach their maximum potential.
“When children leave the ranch, we hope they feel accepted, loved, challenged, and amazed at what they can accomplish,” Reed said.
Blue Heron Ranch and Roxy’s House are located at 13801 N. 130 East Rd. Homer, IL, just nine minutes south of I-74 on the Champaign, Vermilion County line.
Events are often posted on the Blue Heron Ranch Facebook page, and barn rentals are available April-October, with some small group options year-round in the heated portion of the barn.
To set up an appointment with Roxy for an evaluation, she can be reached at 217-369-4496.
