Venezuelan singer Ricardo Montaner embraces Alejandro Osorio, who participates in “Fundación La Ventana de los Cielos,” a program Montaner founded in 2005 to aid children with developmental disabilities. Photo courtesy of Marvis Osorio

Gustavo and Marvis Osorio drive 30 minutes each way every Saturday morning in Miami traffic to “Fundación La Ventana de los Cielos,” or the Window of the Heavens Foundation, so their son Alejandro can learn simple tasks, like jumping.  Alejandro Osorio, 3, has Down syndrome.

“At the beginning, it was really frustrating that my child was born with Down syndrome,” said Gustavo Osorio, Alejandro’s father.  “Little by little, thanks to people who provided us with support, we found the foundation.  It completely transformed our entire lives, our thoughts.”

La Ventana de los Cielos, located in rural Homestead, Fla., is a donor-funded foundation started by Venezuelan singer Ricardo Montaner in 2005.  It provides numerous therapies to children with varying disabilities including Down syndrome, autism and physical paralysis.

“Everything here at the foundation is just for that specific purpose, to give alternative therapies for the kids with special needs or special conditions,” said Andrea Ramos, fundraising assistant at La Ventana de los Cielos.

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Every Saturday, volunteers and trained therapists guide the children through five different types of therapies, ranging from interaction with farm animals, equine therapy or therapeutic horseback riding, arts and crafts, music and dance and hydrotherapy.

About two years ago, the Osorios heard about the foundation through an event for families with children who have Down syndrome.  They learned the founder was Venezuelan and felt an instant connection, Alejandro’s father said.

Before Alejandro began attending La Ventana de los Cielos, he was introverted, Mr. Osorio said.

The boy’s mother, Ms. Marvis Osorio, agrees.  She said his connection with the horses has helped him express himself more through his hands and to show feelings and emotions.  She has also noticed an improvement in her son’s physical capabilities.

“[In the beginning], he couldn’t grab the pencils, he would drop them,” Ms. Osorio said.  “Now, he can take the pencil and make lines.”

Although some changes have been gradual, others have been drastic, such as in his horse-riding abilities.  When he started, he refused to touch the horses and rode the whole time with his hands up.  Now, though, he can ride a horse by himself without fear of contact, Mr. Osorio said.

“The therapies began to create that physical contact for him,” he said.  “He sees the animals from a different point of view now.”

Seeing the animals in a different way has also shown to be beneficial in other environments, like interacting with other children, Ms. Osorio said.  The Osorios especially notice the change now when Alejandro goes to parties and has the confidence to play with other children.

Ramos said that Montaner started the foundation because parents would bring children with disabilities to him wherever he went to perform, and he felt God was instructing him to help these children in Miami, where he and his wife live.

“If you have just one time to talk with God, you have to pay attention, and he did,” Ramos said.  “His family is following their instructions, their desires from God, to do this foundation.”

Alejandro’s father attributes the changes he’s seen in his son to a deeper connection he has with the animals.

“When one of these children gets on a horse, there’s a kind of connection,” he said.  “It’s much greater than we could ever understand.  It’s a connection that’s almost spiritual.”