Barnyard animal program in Sunnyvale supports children with special needs

Jonathan Coleman remembers the struggles he dealt with as a kid. Speaking and forming relationships were difficult, until he met his three best friends: Froyo, Romeo and Tyler, miniature goats who were part of a team of barnyard support animals. 

“I got involved with Animal Assisted Happiness when I was 9 years old,” said  Coleman, now 27. “That was a time when I was struggling a lot socially as someone on the autism spectrum. … At the time I didn’t see it as therapeutic, but it was a therapy to help me with thinking about other people and other living things.”