Bixler’s idea for Poss-ABILITIES becomes a reality

Mikaela Bixler spent many years in 4-H, but it wasn’t until after she left the program that she came up with the idea for Poss-ABILITIES, which “strives to ensure that youth of all backgrounds and abilities have access to all 4-H opportunities.”

“I studied human services at Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne. I missed being in 4-H and was reminiscing about it’s impact on me,” she said. “I started researching special needs livestock shows and accessibility within the 4-H program.

“I wanted to make 4-H more accessible and offer more accommodations for people to participate in the program. I was a sophomore in college and went home to Warsaw to present the idea to the 4-H council. That’s how it was born,” said Bixler.

Bixler added, “Poss-ABILITIES started in 2016. Skylar Payton was one of the first participants. Both participants showed sheep that year. It was really inspirational to see the parents and kids take a chance on this new program. They worked together to make this a very positive experience.

“We had to figure out how to make the show arena more accessible to Skylar and her wheelchair. The typical flooring is sawdust. I had volunteers pack down the sawdust, allowing her wheelchair to work in the arena/show barn.

“Some volunteers came up with the idea of making a stand that hooks to her wheelchair so she could drive the wheelchair and the lamb could walk next to her,” she said.

Bixler explained how volunteers helped train the animals.

“The volunteers worked with the lamb to train it. Skylar had to learn how to drive the wheelchair softly for the lamb to cooperate. Now Skylar has started showing calves. They altered the stand so it could fit a calf’s head. A volunteer trained a calf by having it walk next to a golf cart.

“Any youth grades K-12 can participate. They do not have to tell us about any diagnosis. We do not turn anyone away. They just need to include some info on what their child’s obstacles are so they can be successful,” she said.

Elaborating on how students get involved, she said, “They attend an initial meeting with participants and volunteers. They are paired with a mentor family who is paired with a species the child wants to show. They have an initial meeting and have animal visits. They learn how to feed the animal.

They have to do three farm visits and then can show in the showcase.

“They learn how to care for an animal, but it is also about developing social skills and building friendships and relationships.

“We just want to be mindful and open to all people and their abilities and backgrounds.

It was really cool to see this happen naturally. The mentors have noted how it’s helped them learn how to teach someone and be a leader while being more understanding and compassionate,” she said.

Speaking of the showcase, she added, “They go out in the arena together the day of the show. It’s a noncompetitive showcase. We have a guest judge who asks the Poss-ABILITIES kids questions. Both the mentor and the participant talk to the judge and answer questions. This gives them some experience in public speaking as well.

“Participants in PossABILITIES are 4-H’ers. They have the ability to participate in workshops, camps, club meetings, gen-

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