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Dianna watched him go, then faced Tristan and folded her arms. “Equine therapy is meant to help calm the child so they can better accomplish their goals. The skills Mathew might work on can include speech, social skills, and fitness, but it also includes learning how to care for something besides themselves. We’ll work on following instructions and safety. But he’ll also be focused on having fun.”
The longer his stare drilled into her, the more uncomfortable she became. Dianna shifted and glanced in the direction where Mathew had gone. Shane had put her through a training program so she knew what to do, but she felt like she was just making excuses. Tristan knew his son better than she did. What right did she have to tell him how this would go?
She cleared her throat and offered another smile she hoped appeared more confident than she felt. “Autism affects everyone a little differently.”
“I know that.”
“Of course you do. That’s why you warned me that he might not even talk to me during your visit.”
His features tightened. This probably wasn’t what he had wanted to hear, and she prayed she was on the right track as she attempted to make her point.
“Mathew needs to trust me, and he’s not going to do that if I push him. The more I put him in an unsettled position, the more he’s going to withdraw. I suggest you take a step back and let me try things my way. Yes, we’ll work on social skills. But that doesn’t always mean speaking. It’s body language and respect. Let’s just see how the next few weeks go before you decide that I’m not doing what I was trained to do.”
His brows creased as he glanced back toward where Mathew was standing outside of a stall, staring up at a horse that had its head over the stall door.
Dianna shifted so she stood beside Tristan. “I take it that Mathew likes horses.”
Tristan puffed out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s an understatement. He named every type of horse we passed on our way here. He knows what they eat and how big they can get. He knows what events they can participate in. Honestly, if we could afford to own one in the city, I probably would have gotten him one already.”
“Has he ever ridden a horse before?”
He shook his head, then met her gaze. “This will be the first time, and the only reason I agreed to come was because Shane offered to let us have ten weeks of therapy for free.”
Dianna’s shock must have been written all over her face because he looked away and his expression darkened.
“If we could afford something like this, I would have done it already. The truth of the matter is that our insurance only covers the kind of therapy that takes place in an office setting. But something tells me this will be better for Mathew.”
She glanced over to Mathew, finding him rubbing the nose of the horse, a bright smile on his face and completely oblivious to everything else around him. “You’re not wrong.”
Tristan glanced at her once more, his gray eyes no longer hard, now more curious. There was a yearning she could read in his eyes as if everything hinged on this experience.
Dianna motioned toward Mathew. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a child, an adult, typical or atypical—everyone has a currency. There are love languages, and hobbies, interests that pull us out of our shells. Autistic children are no different. Some like trains or dinosaurs. Mathew likes horses. I think you’ll be surprised how much he comes out of his shell while he’s here.”
He didn’t look convinced. When Tristan wasn’t showing his exhaustion in his features, he was carrying it in his shoulders. He let out another sigh and raked his hand down his face. “Okay. If you think you can break open his shell, then you do what you think is best.”
She smiled, a chuckle escaping her lips as she shook her head.
“What?”
Dianna stilled and stared at him. “Hmm?”
“What was that look for? Are you mocking me?”
“What? No, of course not.”
The frown from before marred his handsome face. “Then why were you laughing at me?”
Eyes wide, she forced the lump in her throat down with a hard swallow. “I wasn’t laughingatyou. I was laughing—Well, I guess I found it humorous that you’ve been around him for his entire life and you have yet to see what you’re doing wrong.”
“WhatI’mdoing wrong?” His voice had a bite to it that she hadn’t heard before and she flinched. “I’m sorry, why don’t you enlighten me, what am I doing wrong in raisingmychild?”
“For heaven’s sake,” she said, still quiet enough that Mathew wouldn’t hear. “I didn’t mean it like that. I only meant that you have this mentality that you have to make him conform to society’s standards. You want him to speak to everyone he meets and behave the wayyouwant him to behave.”
“That’s not fair. I never said anything like that.”
“Nottechnically. But let me ask you this. Are you trying this therapy because you think it’ll be good for him? Or are you doing it because you think it’s his best shot at being ‘normal’? Or at least what society deems normal.”
She’d overstepped. The realization hit her like a slap in the face when Tristan’s face turned a deep shade of red. She cleared her throat and looked away, feeling her own face flush with embarrassment. “The point I’m trying to make is that Mathew is different. He’s never going to be what you or the world deemsnormal. People will always think he’s disrespectful because society has taught them how to think. There’s no such thing as ‘normal,’ and people need to get used to that. Yourself included.” Before she said another word that could get her in trouble, she spun on her heel and strode toward Mathew.
