(upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music continues) - Welcome to "A Shot of Ag."

I'm your host, Rob Sharkey.

Do you believe everybody deserves a voice?

How does everybody get to have a voice, and can a farm be included?

Well, today's guest is gonna tell us all about what she thinks.

Elizabeth Nielsen, how you doing?

- Good, how are you?

- I'm doing fantastic.

You're from Kaneville?

- Kaneville, Illinois, yep.

- Up by Chicago?

- Yep, about 60 miles from Chicago.

- Is it a suburb?

- So it's, like, right on the edge of the suburbs right there.

- Gotcha.

- So like, it's like, the last train stop to get to Chicago, so yeah.

- Okay.

Well, thank you for driving.

Yeah.

- Yeah, yeah.

- We interviewed you on our XM Radio show, and I'm really glad you came down here, because what you're doing is amazing, and we like to have amazing people.

(Rob laughing) - Well, thank you.

(laughs) - Now, is that where you grew up, is Kaneville?

- I actually grew up in Plainfield, so a suburb of Chicago.

- Okay.

- Yep.

And you are the owner of Tiny Voice Therapy.

- Yes.

- Okay, so what is that?

- So Tiny Voice Therapy is a pediatric speech language pathology clinic.

(Rob chuckling) - Wow.

- It's a long, long title.

(both laughing) I opened up in 2014, part-time, just doing a lot of home visits for my clients.

I specialize in working with autistic kids that are non-speaking, so it was great to get into the home and work with the child and their families, and their siblings, and figuring out how to help them.

And I knew eventually I wanted to incorporate horses into my practice, so- - Okay, why?

(both chuckling) - Yeah, you would think, like, why horses?

- Did you just like horses?

(Elizabeth chuckling) Or like, "Yeah, we can merge the two"?

- Right, yeah.

(Rob chuckling) My oldest sister has disabilities, and my mom wanted to find a therapeutic riding place for my sister to ride at, and so in middle school, I started taking horseback riding lessons at that facility, and kind of fell in love with it that way.

So I just saw with the clientele at that farm, just what horses can do, and so that's why I wanted to start incorporating horses into my practice.

And so kind of looking around at lots of different farms for years and years and years, and finally found the place in Kaneville in 2019, so.

- Okay, well, let's go back to why you got into speech therapy.

- Yeah.

I really enjoyed, like, when I was younger, I really enjoyed teaching.

I wanted to maybe be a teacher - Really?

- Kinda, yeah.

- You'd have to deal with kids then.

- Yeah, I know.

(laughs) - Oh, gosh, yeah.

(Rob chuckling) - And then I really liked the medical side of things, so I always thought, like, nursing, too.

My mom was a preschool paraprofessional, and so she was like, "Hey, come to the school and observe some speech therapists," and that was back in middle school.

- Oh.

- And just kind of fell in love with it, and then kind of helped them out in high school, and kind of just went from there.

- You stuck with it?

- Yeah.

- 'Cause I mean, generally, even in high school kids, they change their mind, which is fine.

- Yeah, yeah.

- But from then on, that's what you were gonna do?

- Yeah, I was set on it.

And I liked the field, because there's so many different avenues you can get into.

So if you get bored in one area, you can just kind of work with adults, or work with, you know, (Rob chuckling) in the schools, or work in a hospital.

So there's so many different avenues that you can go into with the field, but knowing I wanted to, like, incorporate the horses- - Yeah.

- Having that passion with that, I think that's kinda helped to kinda stick around for a little bit.

- Did you go to school for it?

- Yep, so I went to undergrad and grad school at Northern Illinois University.

- Oh, couldn't get into a real school?

(both laughing) I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

I'm just joking, just joking.

It's a great school.

- It is, yeah, it's a great program.

- So you went there with the understanding that this is what you wanted to do when you got out?

- Yeah.

- Okay, and they have a program for that?

- So, yeah, it's specifically for speech language pathology.

In undergrad, I knew I wanted to... I got certified for therapeutic horseback riding, which is different from what I'm doing with the horses now.

- [Rob] Okay.

- But my mom and I both got certified, and so that kinda helped pave the way then for incorporating the horses into my practice.

- Well, say, like, 2014 is when you started the business, right?

Like, how old were you?

How far were you out of college?

- So I graduated with my master's in 2012, so not- - Oh, so you jumped in?

- Yeah, jumped in.

- You jumped in right to owning your own business?

- Yeah, yep.

- That's intimidating for not just a young person, but for anybody.

- Yeah.

There was a class in grad school, and my project was to talk about owning your own private practice, 'cause it's really not talked about in the master's program anyways.

And I knew that I wanted to, like, get in that route eventually, so I think that kind of helped pave the way for opening up my practice, and I had really good support, too, from a private clinic that I was working for part-time, and they were very supportive of, like, helping me as well.

- Okay, but instead of going to people's houses, you wanted horses, right?

- Yes, yeah.

- Okay, so you're looking for a farm, again, you're young, but you do find one, right?

- Yes.

- Then tell me what happens.

- So we built... So we moved to Kaneville in 2019.

I had the barn built.

There wasn't a barn on there.

- Okay.

- So I had it built at the end of 2020 and started using it to use with the horses with the speech therapy, because the horse's movement is just so great for the clients that I work with.

It's so regulating for them.

- How's that?

- So a lot of the times, like, the clients that I work with can have either like a high-arousal nervous system where they're constantly in a fight or flight mode.

- Yeah.

- And the movement of the horse can be kind of, like, therapeutic itself.

Just the movement is so regulating.

- Huh.

- And it's constant and consistent.

And so the more that we can regulate our nervous system, our language part of the brain kind of turns on, so when we're dysregulated, that part of the brain just shuts off.

It's hard to communicate.

So I've heard lots of first words on the horse from my clients, yeah, yeah.

- Really?

I mean, okay, I'm trying to put myself in a parent's position, right?

You have an autistic kid, and they take them to you on a horse, and you're hearing their first word.

That has to be, like, I don't even know how you describe a moment like that.

- It's emotional.

- Yeah.

- It really is.

And then you just kind of see a connection even with the child and the horse, and it's nice that the parents can even be there for that moment, 'Cause if you work in a school setting, the parents aren't there, and so it's really great.

It's, yeah, a very emotional experience for everyone.

(both chuckling) - Is it intimidating at all?

Because, I mean, horses, that's a big animal, and I don't know, sometimes they get spooky.

My wife's horse, I don't know.

I stay away from it, right?

- Right, right.

- 'Cause you never know.

And now you're having kids with autism by there, I mean, is there ever a concern?

- So what's really nice that I'm really close to Northern Illinois University, so I get a lot of grad students that are going into the fields, that intern with me, so I actually get a lot of help.

So when we're doing the session, I'm standing next to the kid, holding onto, they have, like, a belt that they're wearing.

- Okay.

- So I'm holding on to them while someone else is leading the horse, and then I might have the parent walk on the other side of the client, so we have lots of help.

If there's ever an emergency, like, we can just pull them right off if we need to.

- Okay.

- So there is definitely that concern, but there's enough safety procedures in place to help reduce that.

- Help me understand, like, the nonverbal autism, 'cause I'm Gen X, right?

So I remember "Rain Man," right?

That was my introduction into autism, and he never changed, right?

Now, can these kids with autism, I mean, can they improve?

- Yeah, and that's what we're seeing, too, with just being in, like, a natural setting on a farm.

There's a spectrum, and it's not a linear spectrum, it's not low versus high-end autism, it's actually circular.

So they might have more needs in sensory, where they might need to help regulate their system a little bit more, or they might have higher needs in communicating, where they are non-speaking, but then we use communication devices, so it's like a computer, and they push the button, and it says the word for them.

And so when- - And they know?

They understand that?

- Yeah, so that's where we kind of come in, and we do a lot, like, we use the device a lot, 'cause it's like learning a new language.

- Yeah.

- So like, in order to learn Spanish, let's just say, like, you have to be speaking Spanish and listening to it.

So the more that we're using the device, the more then they can kind of recognize, like, "Oh, my voice has power."

I have that connection of, like, if I say something on the device, something happens, that cause and effect.

- Yeah.

- And so, like, with on the horse, we have, like, a pillow set up where they can have access to the device, because if it's, like, tucked away, that they can't say anything, so we've kind of built this little system where they can access their communication device the whole session.

- So I remember my kids, when they were learning how to talk, and you know, they're just babbling on until they wanted something.

And then all of a sudden, the most clear word in the world is cookie, right?

- Yeah.

(laughs) - They know how to do that.

- Yeah.

- So are they enjoying this horse?

I mean, do they enjoy it to the fact where that's... Is that how their mind is working?

That they're enjoying this so much that, like, that first word comes out?

- Yeah, and that's what we try to do at Tiny Voice, is create, like, a sense of safety and connection.

If those things aren't there, then language isn't gonna happen.

So we hear those first words because they feel that sense of safety, they feel that connection, and then their nervous system is regulated enough where then they can... It's like turning on their brain of, like, "Now, I can communicate, because I'm regulated enough to take in what I'm hearing, and then try and speak it or say it on the device."

- Why are you so nice?

(Elizabeth laughing) - I don't know.

- Hey, seriously, I mean, what you do, it's gotta be frustrating at times.

It's gotta be incredibly frustrating.

I mean, I'm sure you are very smart.

You could probably go off and make a boatload of money elsewhere.

I mean, why are you doing it?

- I just care so passionately about the clientele that I work with, because I feel like they just don't get a choice or a chance in the world.

They're not speaking, so they think that they're not listening to us, and you see it all the time, too, where they're not even talking to the child.

They're talking to the parent asking about the child, where it's like, that child might be able to answer, but they're not given a chance.

- Yeah.

- And so it's like, let's give every kid a chance.

Let's presume competence that they can communicate, and I'm hoping that what I'm doing there helps with that.

- I mean, was this your idea with the horses?

Or is this something you saw somewhere else?

- So I was working at a clinic doing the hippotherapy.

So they call it hippotherapy.

Hippotherapy isn't like a standalone term.

It's not a therapy itself, it's more of a- - It's where they're riding hippos.

- Right, you're not riding a hippo.

(Rob laughing) It's a tool, kind of like you might use, like, a trampoline to help with regulation, that getting that jumping kind of helps regulate.

- Okay.

- So you're using the horse as a tool.

- Okay.

- You're not teaching them how to ride the horse.

So I started working there before I opened up my own clinic.

- Gotcha.

- So.

- Okay, so you built the barn, but there was what, houses on the farm?

- Yep, there were two houses on the property, which was perfect, because I just converted the little house then to my clinic, and then during, like, winter season when it's, like, super cold out, we don't use the barn, so it was perfect to have both houses on the property.

- Sure, yeah.

- Yeah.

- Now, do you live there?

- Yes, yep.

- Okay, so that's the two houses?

- Yep.

- Okay, but you do have a, what, Airbnb?

- Yeah, yeah.

Towards the end of 2020, then I recognized that, like, okay, we're not using that second house on the weekends, 'cause I only work Monday through Friday.

I'm like, "How can we change this?"

(Rob chuckling) Like, "How can we make more money?

Because obviously owning a farm, you're always, like, buying more animals, so how can I generate revenue?"

And I started to do some research and figured out, like, "Hey, I can turn this into an Airbnb on the weekends."

So we opened up in June of 2021 and started getting bookings right away.

I think it was a good time, too, because it was during COVID, and people weren't really traveling, and they wanted to get away, but not have to fly or- - Not too far, yeah.

- Yeah.

So we had a lot of people from Chicago and the suburbs, even people 20 minutes away.

- So these are people not affiliated with the therapy?

- No, no.

- Okay, just wanting to be on a farm.

- Yeah.

- Isn't that crazy?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- They want to experience the farm life, and the kids want to muck stalls, and you know, do all that, like, right?

- Have at it.

(laughs) - They're like, you know, they ask, like, "Can we pick up more poop?"

I'm like, "You can pick up as much poop as you want."

(Rob laughing) So, yeah.

- So your farm, it's not just horses?

- Correct, so we have horses- - Chickens, it's just chickens.

- Chickens.

- Something about the chickens.

- We got chickens.

- How many chickens do you have?

- I always lose track of how many.

(Elizabeth laughing) - Exactly.

- As long as they're producing eggs, I don't keep track.

We got chickens, goats, pigs.

- Oh?

- Turkeys, ducks, peacocks, and cats.

- Gotcha.

- So yeah, we got it all.

- So is that for Elizabeth?

Or is that for your clients?

(Elizabeth chuckling) - So originally, (Rob laughing) I wanted to get just a couple horses and then maybe, like, a goat or two when we first moved to the farm, and then we're like, "Well, we have all this space, so let's keep buying more animals."

And so that's kinda- - How big is the farm?

- Six acres, so.

- Okay.

So it's six football fields, so pretty good size.

- Yeah, yeah.

- And I imagine you've got, like, a riding ring?

- Yep, yep.

- Okay.

- And so that's what I had built at the end of 2020 then, was, like, the arena with stalls for the horses, so.

- Oh, is it inside or outside?

- Yep, inside, yep.

- Oh, nice, okay.

Well, Illinois.

- Yep, we gotta have it.

- I mean, you got what, (Elizabeth laughing) two good weeks of weather?

- Yeah, exactly.

(both chuckling) - So you live there?

- Yes.

- Okay, I live on my farm and I enjoy it.

Now, I've had friends that moved, because, I don't know, it was tough for them to separate where they live.

How are you doing with that?

- I kinda like that I'm working where I'm living, because there's just, like, one time where, like, the pigs got out, and my client's dad is like, "Hey, your pigs are walking around the barn."

(both chuckling) "Can you go take a look at that?"

So like, I'm there if there's any, like, emergency ever with any of the animals So I think that's kind of nice that I get that opportunity, and I love working, like, when I was growing up, I thought I wanted to work at a zoo, and here I am, like, with all these animals.

Like, it's pretty much a zoo, so I just love animals, so it kinda helps.

- Okay.

So if I had a a child with autism, why should I be looking at sending them and working with you?

- Yeah, and I think, you know, just with... I'm really trying to delve deep into more of our nervous system and not just speech itself, but looking at the child as a whole, and looking at the approach holistically, because if we're just looking at, okay, I gotta treat the speech and language part, that's not enough.

- Yeah.

- And so we gotta look at the whole child and figure out, how is their nervous system?

Do they feel safe with us?

Is there trauma in their life?

And it's therapeutic for the families, too.

Like, parents even mention, like, "Ugh, this is like therapy for me," and I think that's important, too.

Like, we gotta also think about those caregivers.

They're burnt out.

How can we help support them?

And I think just having that environment for them is also helpful for them.

- I hadn't really thought about that, yeah.

And it's gotta be, you know, raising kids alone is hard enough, but we know what the challenge is, is autism.

Now, is that all you deal with?

Or do you deal into any other disabilities?

- Also feeding, so I have some kids that might have difficulties with expanding their food repertoire, so they might eat a few things the whole time.

And what's nice about, like, using the animals is we might make snacks for the animals, so like, cutting up fruit- - You can eat them, too.

- Right, exactly.

- You can eat the animals.

Yeah.

(laughs) - Right, yeah.

Collect the chicken eggs, and you know, cook the eggs in the kitchen, like, just having, again, they don't feel like they're working.

They're in this natural environment and just helping out around the farm, and then they might chew on a carrot while they're making a snack for the pigs, and so things like that where there's no pressure.

This is all, - Yeah.

- You know, we're helping the animals.

This is your job, and then they start eating the food, too.

So.

- You said you rode horses, but you didn't grow up on a farm or raising animals, so, I mean, there had to be a learning curve for you, too.

- Yeah.

My husband grew up on a farm, so I got lucky on that part.

- Oh, there you go.

- So.

(chuckles) (Rob laughing) - He knew what the farm life was gonna be entailing.

I didn't, so I was like, "Oh, everything will be fine."

And obviously, you know, there's always something going on around the farm that needs fixing.

So it helped that he definitely grew up with animals and horses, and knew a lot of that stuff, but then also took upon myself to just, like, go on Facebook groups, especially, like, goats, they're so susceptible to so many things, and so researching how to take care of the goats and the pigs, and all that.

- You don't have sheep though, right?

- No, no.

- They're a stupid animal.

- They are stupid.

- No, you don't want that.

- I can't handle them.

(both laughing) - So you are an author, too?

- Yes.

- Tell me about the book.

- So "Udder Chaos," I wrote this- - It's clever.

- Thank you, thank you.

(both laughing) I wrote it in October of 2022, and I wanted to incorporate all the animals that I use in therapy, but to have a theme that you can do hard things, and to keep persevering, because everything that's in the story is pretty much everything that happens on the farm.

And the farmer's always thinking, like, "I can do it, I can do hard things," 'cause what we work on in therapy is hard.

It's not easy.

And I want them to know, like, "Hey, you know, you're safe.

We can do this hard thing today."

And so I wanted to- - So I haven't read the book 'cause it's above my level, (Elizabeth laughing) but this is not about autism?

- Correct, right, it's just- - Okay, so this is just a farm story?

- Yep.

It's basically my life, and just (laughs) with that theme around persevering.

- Hey, how do you do this?

I mean, you just seem to do stuff that you have never done before.

I mean, that's so intimidating to a lot of people.

I mean, you buy a farm, you start a farm, you do this speech therapy business, you do all this, really, without any experience, even writing a book.

I mean, is that just your... Are you stubborn?

Or are you adventurous?

(Elizabeth chuckling) - I'd say adventurous.

I'd say- - Would your husband say you're stubborn?

(both laughing) - Maybe?

I just don't stop, I don't know.

I just always have something going on in my head of, like, what's the next thing?

Like, how can we keep going with the next thing?

And I think with all of it, really, I never really saw, like, any... I knew there were risks, but I was like, "Well, let's just try it."

Like, life's too short, let's try it out.

If it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

Like, we'll figure it out.

- That is such a great attitude so many people... I don't know, it's almost like being taught not to in this society and it bugs me.

So that's why when I have someone like you on here, I love just highlighting that attitude that, you know what, all right.

Believe me, I failed so much in my life it's not even funny, but I mean, we had a lot of fun.

- Right.

(chuckles) - As long as you learn from a failure, it's not a failure.

- Right, right, and I think that's the fear.

Fear stops people.

- Yeah.

- And like, let's just keep trying, yeah.

- I farm, I feel good about that, because I partake in feeding the world.

What you do, you've gotta feel good about this, don't you?

- Yeah, yeah.

It's really rewarding.

It can be definitely tiring at times, 'cause I do all of it throughout the day, but it's definitely a rewarding experience, not just the Tiny Voice, but the Airbnb, and seeing families throughout the weekend, where at first, kids are kind of intimidated, they don't know what to expect, but by the end, they're like, running around the farm, feeding all the animals.

(Rob chuckling) I'm like, "Well, you can go and do that.

I'll take a break," and so, yeah, it's great.

- Do you have a few, like an example, a story of one of the breakthroughs with your clients that really meant a lot to you?

(Elizabeth breathing deeply) - Yeah, I think, you know, the thing with working with autistic kids is, again, just not... I feel like there's so limiting for opportunities for them, and I can't pinpoint one, just because I work with so many, but just if even they advocated for themselves one time, like, that's good.

Like, letting them know, like, "You have a voice, you have boundaries."

You know, "You feel safe here," and I have so many families where they're like, "They don't even want to go to somewhere, like, fun."

They love coming to the farm," and that feels good for me, because I know then, like, they feel safe.

- Yeah.

- And there's not a lot of safe environments for them, 'cause there's not a lot of accommodations even in schools.

- Yeah.

- Schools can't even be safe now for kids.

Like, they have to mask, which means they have to, like, hide how they truly are throughout the school day, and by the time they come to me, they're just exhausted, but they know that this is a safe space, that they can be exhausted.

I'm not gonna put all these demands on them, so I really think that's enough for me of, like, I'm a safe space for them.

- Yeah.

A lot of people, I think, are like me, and I know it's a fault, and I try to work on it.

I mean, I see A, I see B, and that's it.

I mean, if you have a kid with autism, well, then you do this, and that's not the case with them.

Every kid is specific on their own.

- Yes, yep, all.

- I mean, that has to get a little frustrating, too, on your end, too, 'cause I mean, wouldn't you want to fall into a groove?

- Right, and that's where I feel like schools are so rigid, and they're, like, they aren't flexible with, like, being individualized to each child, because if you meet one autistic kid, you're meeting one autistic kid.

- Yeah.

- You're not meeting the autistic population, because there is such a spectrum of skills and abilities.

And so, really, I think I can cater to that child, and it's very child-led.

Like, I kind of let them lead the session.

I don't come in with a lesson plan.

- Really?

- No, 'cause if I'm making them do something that they aren't enjoying- - That's just you being lazy.

- Right, it is.

(both laughing) 'Cause I'm like, I have to do all these other things around the farm.

(laughs) And so really having that child-led approach is really great for them, because I can help therapeutically figure out what I can work on with them, but letting them kind of lead what they want to work on, even if they want to be on the horse for five minutes.

Sometimes, like, that's enough for their nervous system, where it's like, "Okay, I need to get off," and then we do stuff around the farm, and that's what's great about it, too.

- Let's do where people can find.

Let's first do the therapy.

Where can people find information about that?

- So you can find me on my website, tinyvoicetherapy.com I'm on Instagram, @tiny_voice_therapy.

I'm on Facebook, Tiny Voice Therapy Services LLC.

I think that's it for Tiny Voice.

- Okay, what about the Airbnb?

- So Little Cottage on the Farm is the Airbnb, so if you even just search Little Cottage on the Farm in Airbnb, I should pop up, - Okay.

- But we're also on Instagram, @littlecottageonthefarm, and then Little Cottage on the Farm on Facebook as well.

- And if somebody's wanting to check out your book?

- Yep, they can find it on my website at tinyvoicetherapy.com.

They can find it on Amazon, any, like, websites, they can find it on, but ordering directly through me is the best, really.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Yeah, yeah.

- You know, not to get too sappy, but you know, my wife and I, we get to interview people, we get to get a glimpse into their life, and when we get somebody like you on there, it makes me want to be a better person.

It just makes me want to go out and help other people besides myself.

I look at a person like you, and I see the absolute unselfishness that you guide your life through, and it's inspiring, and it just, I don't know, you make me feel bad about myself, too.

(Elizabeth chuckling) I mean, if you really- - I'm sorry.

(laughs) - If you want to take some blame on some stuff, but I know you never truly will get thanked enough for what you do in your life.

So let me just take this moment to say thank you for at least being on this show.

- Well, thank you, I appreciate it.

- All right - Elizabeth Nielsen, thank you very much.

Everybody else, we'll catch you next time.

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