....yikes,its been awhile since i've had the time to update this,but what an update!

October,2005

Aric and Tagg: Service Dog Pioneers on the Oregon Trail

By P.G.Nichols

Our son,Aric,who is 14,has a high functioning form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome. He has had the assistance at home of a service dog for many years,but circumstances and lack of maturity prevented him from having his service dog with him at school as well,which meant that he was not able to attend school,but rather be homeschooled...his stress at being around other children and unknown situations is more than he can cope with alone. But with a service dog trained to alert him to rising stress and anxiety,and then calms him by insisting that Aric focus on him,with petting and so on,among other tasks,Aric is now able to face the world on his own for longer periods of time. Together,Aric and Tagg,his sable rough collie service dog,go out to do errands,walk to therapy at the clinic across town,or just go out to the minimart for a coke and a treat for them both. Aric and Tagg are a well known sight around our little Kansas town-the tall,handsome boy with the shy smile,and the handsome sable rough collie in the bright red backpack who always greets new friends with a 'handshake'. None of these things were possible for Aric before he had Tagg....now we can let him do more and more things that 'other kids' can do,without worry about his getting disoriented or lost,or even having the 'wrong sort' of stranger approach them and try to strike up a conversation with Aric,who is too friendly for his own safety-Tagg is very alert to how everyone around him is feeling,and when he doesn't like a particular person,he simply takes Aric away from them,easily done,since his leash is one that goes over Aric's shoulder and across the body...he just walks off and Aric knows it is time to listen to Tagg and leave. Tagg has a number of tasks,and all have verbal commands,but most of what he does is in trained response to situations. This way, we can count on him to know when to help Aric,and to do so without always needing a direct command.
These two were recently featured on the local CBS TV affiliate,because of the local public school refusing to allow Aric to attend classes with his service dog,even though this obviously in violation of Federal law permitting the disabled access to free education. We have been in contact with the school district regarding this for many months,and have made available to them the laws on this,and many precedents of high schoolers attending class with service dogs,and for months would not allow him to attend school. But finally,after months of waiting and work,Aric and Tagg got the green light to come to school together! We are so proud of them both,and they are both so special that their story could be a help to other teenagers and young adults who have Asperger's Syndrome,and who could be helped by a service dog....and collies seem to have a special talent for this work. Tagg is literally a Cinderella story,of the dog who was so often in the pound that he was about to be put to sleep,who became a service dog,helped shape the service dog laws of Kansas while making friends in the Kansas Statehouse,and now working with Aric in class and out.

As we came out of the decisive IEP meeting, Aric turned to me,and says,"Well,Tagg and I have blazed a new part of the Oregon Trail,to help other disabled kids come to school with their service dogs".....that totally blew me away! Where we live,here in Kansas,we literally do live on the Trail-it is our alley and back yard as it cuts through our town,and we often remind the kids of different things that happened to folks as they traveled through here long ago. But to have that kind of sense of history, it was amazing!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(this is a list of Tagg's tasks that we prepared as part of presenting his case to the IEP team in charge of Aric's studies in the public school)

Tagg's Service Dog Task List,Oct4,'05

Aric Nichols' service dog,Tagg:
Breed: purebred rough collie
Age:about 7 or 8 years old.neutered.
Training: Obedience basics,Service Dog tasks,Public Access Training,Delta
Society Therapy Dog training.

***SERVICE DOG TASKS:

(As Aric is autistic,and often forgets commands when upset,Tagg is trained
to work without direct command,in response to situations. Many commands are
ones that we,his parents,use more often than Aric.)

Physical:

*stops at curbs,to alert to street.If car approaches,service dog holds back
and alerts to danger. Aric often walks out into the street when distracted
and has had too many close calls.

* orienting-knows usual routes to and from familiar destinations,cues Aric
when he is unsure of direction.

*physical boundary with strangers-if service dog is unsure of new person,he
will stand/sit between Aric and them in a non threatening way. This is
important,because Aric is too friendly,and not able to properly judge
intentions,or mistakes a stranger for a known friend.

*Retrieving belongings-Aric often puts down things while in public,and the
service dog is on the alert for this,and calls his attention to the dropped
item/retrieves it. (work in progress)

Mental:

* Emotional stabiliser/safety valve: Aric is very good at not showing how he
really feels,both physically and emotionally. His service dog's presence is
a constant,a calming,know quantity that is soothing to him by touch,scent
and sound,and prevents his emotions building up to a dangerous level where
he has hurt others in the past. His service dog permits extended
petting/grooming sessions,and something we call 'kid attacks' where Aric
when under a great deal of tension (both good and bad), will suddenly swarm
all over the dog,with pettings,crooning,and heavy physical contact
such as partially lying on the dog, the dog standing over or lying on him,
washing his face, We have tried out more than one dog in the search for a
dog tolerant of this,who enjoys this intensity of contact,and it is rare.
This task is also enabling Aric to avoid the depressive episodes he used to
have when faced with the dichotomy of his abilities vs. friends,the
cruelties of teasing the 'different' kid,and so on. His SD is a natural
antidepressant/mood stabiliser,without the dangerous chemical side effects.

[quote from the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners website,
http://www.iaadp.org/ on this task:

Provide Tactile Stimulation to Disrupt the Overload
Tasks that will provide a tactile distraction from disorder symptoms are
useful in emotional overload situations. In addition these tasks provide a
reality affirmation. This type of diversion tactic becomes an actual task
when the behavior can be reliably induced on command rather than depending
on the breed of dog, a dog’s whim, or the handler needing to coax a dog into
the right mood. Most dogs do not rush sympathetically to the side of the
human partner to comfort the person when he or she becomes tearful or lies
there trembling with fear or other emotions. Nor do they engage in the
following behaviors automatically, without specific schooling. The following
tasks have been effective ways to accomplish the desired results. (e.G. to
help mitigate the symptoms)
Dog will lay head in lap, then do nudging, on command or cue till partner
can respond.
Dog will do “Lap Up” - Putting forepaws in lap, hold that position and may
be taught to put his head on the partner’s shoulder, if tall enough.
Dog will lick face on command or without, or nuzzles partner to help bring
partner to full awareness and to prevent withdrawal or the onset of more
sleep disturbances.
Dog trained to get up on the bed on command and to tolerate a lengthy stay,
obediently lying across the person’s lap or next to them for as long as
needed to permit the use of a team relaxation technique like the Tellington
Touch to mitigate the emotional overload.

Social:
* serves as a 'bridge' to other,non disabled people as a conversation
starter,as a safe haven to focus on before the pressure of the unfamiliar
conversation becomes an overload. The service dog also serves as an
emotional "boundrary" of safety,when Aric is unsure or apprehensive of a
social situation,by being the 'friend',the 'go between' that the attention
is funneled through to and from Aric. This has already had good results,with
Aric obsessing less over subjects he is interested in when in conversations
and better able for the give and take of a 'normal' conversation. This is a
task comprised of several elements that can vary from one time to the next
but usually entail tactile contact, some boundary work,and often a simple
trick or two.]

~~~~~~~~

This is a new team,and they are still in the bonding stages,and we are
seeing the beginnings of new tasks that with training can help Aric to
better mange his disability. A service dog is always in training,till the
day they die,and are always learning new tasks for their masters....Aric' s
service dog,Tagg is already a experienced SD,as well as a Therapy Dog,and is
learning more every day.

Partial Commands List:
Sit
Stay
Down
Heel
Come
Stand (doubles as the command to brace)
Easy
Speak
Paws Up
Come Up
Shake
Potty Time
Hup
Get Down
Want a Drink?
Are You Hungry?
Where's Aric?
Go Help Aric
Where's Dad?
Playtime
Where's The Door?
Get It/Pick it up
Watch

October 4,2005

»§«.,¸¸,.·´¯`·.,¸¸,.»§«
For more info:
Students With Service Dogs
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDs_In_Schools/
And
DePorres Service Dog Trainers Guild
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DePorresServiceDogs


Patricia Gail Nichols
deerskin@oct.net