{"id":249388,"date":"2026-04-03T01:59:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/249388\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T01:59:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T01:59:27","slug":"miller-hospital-celebrates-autism-acceptance-day-with-help-from-mini-therapy-horses-firefighters-press-telegram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/249388\/","title":{"rendered":"Miller hospital celebrates Autism Acceptance Day with help from mini therapy horses, firefighters \u2013 Press Telegram"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital hosted its annual Autism Acceptance Day event on Thursday, April 2, bringing awareness to the neurodivergent community by providing an afternoon of fun for children, families and hospital care teams with a visit from mini therapy horses and local firefighters.<\/p>\n

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects communication, social interaction, and behavior. Autism Acceptance Day is on April 2 each year, and Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital, along with organizations across the globe, will support Autism Acceptance Month throughout April to raise awareness for the increase in identified cases and to celebrate the acceptance of neurodiverse people, according to a press release.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me personally, and I think for us at the hospital, it\u2019s important to have inclusion,\u201d said Dr. Ioana Pal, licensed clinical psychologist at Stramski Children\u2019s Developmental Center at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital. \u201cTo make people comfortable when they come out to celebrate so they can continue to bring that awareness and acceptance year-round.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

Eric Rojas, 6, pets a mini therapy horse at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Long<\/p>\n

Long Beach Fire Department Station 7 makes a visit during Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

Eric Rojas, 6, participates in activities at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Children<\/p>\n

Children and families interacted with mini therapy horses at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Tuesday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Children<\/p>\n

Children and families interacted with mini therapy horses at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Tuesday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Valentina<\/p>\n

Valentina Blue, a mini therapy horse, plays a keyboard during Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Children<\/p>\n

Children and families interacted with mini therapy horses at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Tuesday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Long<\/p>\n

Long Beach Fire Department Station 7 makes a visit during Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Children<\/p>\n

Children and families interacted with mini therapy horses at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Tuesday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Nurses<\/p>\n

Nurses interacted with mini therapy horses at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Miller<\/p>\n

Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital in Long Beach held its annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026, featuring mini therapy horses and beloved mascot Millie the Dolphin. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Children<\/p>\n

Children and families interacted with mini therapy horses at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Liani<\/p>\n

Liani Lira, 5, petting Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital facility therapy dog Karat at the hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 13<\/p>\n

Eric Rojas, 6, pets a mini therapy horse at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital\u2019s annual Autism Acceptance Day celebration on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Christina Merino, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

There are no medical tests that can diagnose autism, but each year, one in 31 children is identified on the autism spectrum in the United States, according to a press release.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number could sometimes be scary for parents,\u201d Pal said. \u201cIt\u2019s important for parents to know that it\u2019s this type of awareness that brings more research, and it brings parents forward to get their kids evaluated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis type of acceptance and awareness makes it OK for parents not to feel like they have to wait or to feel like there\u2019s something wrong by getting an evaluation,\u201d Pal added, \u201cbecause the diagnosis is the most important thing toward getting the support, so that there are no or very few barriers later on.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Stramski Children\u2019s Development Center at Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s, doctors and health teams care for children with behavioral and developmental conditions, and support their families. For nearly 50 years, the Stramski Center has provided comprehensive care by creating specialized programs addressing the bespoke needs of our patients. It is one of Southern California\u2019s leading comprehensive centers that supports children \u2013 from birth to age 21 \u2013 with conditions such as autism, Fragile X, and ADD\/ADHD.<\/p>\n

Eighteen-year-old Emmalee Beltran, from Long Beach, was at the event with her family \u2013 including her mother, Leann Beausoleil, and grandmother, Marie Beausoleil.<\/p>\n

Beltran was recently diagnosed with autism at the Stramski Children\u2019s Development Center. She said that knowing her diagnosis brought her reassurance and relief. Her favorite part of the event was getting to pet the mini therapy horses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great to have her go through (the hospital) for her diagnosis,\u201d Leann Beausoleil said. \u201cThey were caring, listened, and this is actually her being retested because she was misdiagnosed when she was 10. Coming through here again was something that she wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belle and Valentina Blue were the mini therapy horses<\/a> that children, like Beltran, were able to pet and see perform tricks, such as smiling, high-fives and playing small keyboards.<\/p>\n

Patients and families also participated in fun and interactive sensory activities, including bubbles and fidget toys. They also got to greet Miller Children\u2019s beloved mascot, Millie the Dolphin, facility therapy dogs, and firefighters from Long Beach Fire Station 7.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miller Children\u2019s & Women\u2019s Hospital hosted its annual Autism Acceptance Day event on Thursday, April 2, bringing awareness…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,584,1280,1583,23,131,133,132,137],"class_list":["post-249388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-events","tag-health-care","tag-hospital","tag-local-news","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}