(this is an article that was done on Aric a few years ago,shortly after we got him Samara II,a rescued GSD bitch,to be trained as his second service dog. Unfortunately,this dog had to be put to sleep a year later,due to developing mental instabilities that necessatated her being pulled from service dog training not long after beginning.)
Service Dogs for the Autistic
An Interview with Gail Nichols of DePorres Service Dogs
1. Gail, how did you get started in training dogs?
My Dad started it all! I used to be literally screamingly afraid of dogs, but when I was about 8-9 my folks bought a German Shepherd Dog bitch. Dad took Galiano to obedience classes in a park and after a few times out with him, I got interested in it all. I sat on the side, watching. Then when Dad and I would go out on the weekends to explore new parks and up in the mountains with Gally, he taught me to handle her properly. When she had a litter I asked for one of the pups and Baron was the first dog I owned, though not trained...we also had a tiny Chihuahua mix that I had trained to some extent. The problem was-Gally had been on Prednisone while pregnant and 3 of the 5 pups were either deformed (keloids on the face) 2 with the recessive long coat and two that were mentally deficient....yep, you guessed it! Baron was one of the mental cases! But I still learned so much from training him and he was the first one I taught service dog tasks along with everything else I could think of.
2. What made you realize that dogs could be of service to autistic people? I mean, was there some eye opening experience that made you realize that dogs could do service work for the autistic or did you just try it and it worked?
It wasn't till this year that I realized that all the dogs I've had over the years were actually doing things to mitigate my own autism and that of two children I had in my daycare in California. But once I heard of this I could look back and recognize what my GSDs (German Shepherd Dogs), Dobie and Chis have done in calming and focusing us, among other things. I have a great photo of my Doberman bitch Dixi with Travis one of my autistic daycare kids. They had been asleep with Dixi's muzzle across his neck....Travis couldn't settle down till she was with him when he was in a certain mood.
3. Can you explain to us how dogs can be of service to autistic people? What type of things can these dogs do that assist the autistic?
....hmmm, tough question! It depends on the needs of the individual what the SD (Service Dog) will be taught. Perhaps I can illustrate best by using Samara II, my son's SDIT (Service Dog In Training), as an example of some of what a SD can help an child with Asperger's Syndrome - a high functioning form of autism - with....
Control and manage emotion: Aric, as most kids with autism, has a great deal of difficulty with coping with the world in general and this builds up stress that is hard to regulate, much less cope with as neurotypical (NT='normal') children do. Without a SD, he tends to become aggressive and bullying to his siblings and rude and uncooperative with my husband and I. But with a SD, he can somehow use the dog as an 'emotional sink', much like using a lighting rod to direct a strike into the ground, rather than the house. When he gets to a certain level of stress, he instinctively seeks Samra out - or she follows him! - and has what we affectionally call a 'kid attack' on her. He swarms her with high pitched crooning, petting, rubs his face and hands over and through her fur, rolls his shoulders on her side, cuddles....all at high speed and intensity, while she returns all the affection equally with lickings, squirmings, silly paws waving in the air, tail whipping both of them in a delirium of ”More! More!” “I must have more of all this!” A 'kid attack' only lasts about a minute, at most, but somehow it manages to return him to a normal level of emotional stability and it's as if there had never been a storm brewing.
Focus of attention: Aric has difficulty with maintaining attention on something that isn't somehow related to something he is interested in and without the ability to focus he can't locate the 'path' out of his mind to the thing that he is trying to learn. All autistic have this difficulty - it's the root of what autism is. It is best likened to a maze that one has to thread in and out of the mind, compared to the 'freeway' that I call the road the NT mind uses to bring information in and out of the mind. But, with something near at hand that is a known quantity, tactile, calming, among other things, Samara helps Aric to concentrate better by keeping him on track with a quick lick, a tail thump, sometimes by just climbing into his lap and this is when he is showing the beginnings of stress and worry from the frustration of not 'finding the right path' to what he is trying to comprehend.
For tasks that we are presently working toward: To be able to go out alone with her, for walks around the neighborhood, to visit friends, to simply be able to go to the minimart for a coke as a little outing....this is not something we can allow him, because he can be so inwardly focused on something of interest to him that he is nearly oblivious to his surroundings and could all too easily walk out into traffic, or...even worse...strike up a friendly conversation with a stranger with dangerous tendencies. Aric is far too trusting and the usual training given kids in avoiding 'stranger danger' and that from those they think they know is not effective with him or other kids like him. You can tell them all this, they will repeat it back to you, tell you that, yes, they do understand it...but they do not comprehend it....again, the problem of autistic learning. Those with autism look and sound so 'normal' so often, but the comprehension and memory is lacking much of the time and when the thing is remembered,
it might be in a form that isn't applicable to a real life situation-extrapolation isn't always a strong point. So Aric would be protected by Samara's keener senses of scent and hearing that with her training in taking him away from those she has not been taught are safe for Aric would keep him out of danger. Dogs are very good at discerning a person's intent-even if someone is nervous about dogs that still comes across as different to a dog than someone who has ill intentions....the scent is very different, the subtle body language signals...all very different. A dog knows, even untrained so often, if someone means trouble.
A service dog provides a fantastic bridge between the autistic person-child or adult-and others, a physical barrier if need be (many autistic are very uncomfortable when in too close a distance to another person) a way to talk to others without having to look at them, eye contact being another common problem. The autistic can far more comfortably have a conversation when they have a SD because the dog is both a physical and emotional barrier between them and others, creating a setting in which they can feel safer, with the focus of the other person at least partially on the SD. And if things become uncomfortable, they can shift some of the weight of the attention to the dog, by bringing it into the conversation, 'What do you think about that, Samara? Is this good girl ready for a treat?' or whatever feels right at the moment.
4. What have been you biggest struggles in training these dogs?
Several things: finding a suitable dog is always the first hurdle. Another is raising the SDIT without mishap that would have a detrimental effect on the training of child or dog - it is a constant adjusting of the course of training. Aric, at the moment, is a bit overwhelmed by Samara II's sheer size and strength and is a little intimidated by the idea of training her in public. So we have adjusted the training regime yet again, with my taking her out every day for socialization and training at a schoolyard, and his working on her commands at home that she has been learning with me. This gives them both time learning to work together and him confidence that he actually can handle this huge baby - all 65-70 lbs of her!
5. What has been your greatest success training these dogs?
In finding a way to be able to help myself, my son, and hopefully other families to find another way to cope with autism...to be led out of the confusing world of autism, where all the things you think you understand are all too often diametrically opposite from what the NT world expects from you. Though some rebel against the 'yellow star' that a service dog seems to label a disabled person with it can actually be a visual signal to others - 'I have some difficulty with managing, so my SD is here to assist me' and this cues others to accept that person on a different level of expectations than would be possible otherwise. It sets the stage in the favor of the disabled.
6. Where do you see the future of ‘DePorres Service Dogs For Autism’?
Again, I hope that DePorres can be a source of information and support for families and individuals with autism in the training and use of service dogs trained for assisting each in mitigating the effects
of their disability. Those of us with autism have far more to offer the world than is commonly understood....it is coming to light that most, if not nearly all, of the great minds of history and of our time have been on the autistic spectrum, meaning that they all had some signs of autism. Science, art, music, literature, training of animals, of breeding, of so many discoveries, most have been from men and women who all shared autistic tendencies....how much more the world will benefit with those presently unable to function in public without assistance out and about with service dogs to give that needed bridge to that freedom too long denied. The autistic are not 'retarded'....the greatest minds are locked away just waiting to walk out with their hand on the handle of a service dog's harness.
For more information regarding Service Dog’s for the Autistic please contact:
DePorres Service Dogs
Copyright © November 2003 by V. Norberg All rights reserved.
All photos copyright © 2003 G. Nichols. All rights reserved.
No unauthorized reproduction of this article is allow without the express written permission from the author.
Service Dogs for the Autistic
An Interview with Gail Nichols of DePorres Service Dogs
1. Gail, how did you get started in training dogs?
My Dad started it all! I used to be literally screamingly afraid of dogs, but when I was about 8-9 my folks bought a German Shepherd Dog bitch. Dad took Galiano to obedience classes in a park and after a few times out with him, I got interested in it all. I sat on the side, watching. Then when Dad and I would go out on the weekends to explore new parks and up in the mountains with Gally, he taught me to handle her properly. When she had a litter I asked for one of the pups and Baron was the first dog I owned, though not trained...we also had a tiny Chihuahua mix that I had trained to some extent. The problem was-Gally had been on Prednisone while pregnant and 3 of the 5 pups were either deformed (keloids on the face) 2 with the recessive long coat and two that were mentally deficient....yep, you guessed it! Baron was one of the mental cases! But I still learned so much from training him and he was the first one I taught service dog tasks along with everything else I could think of.
2. What made you realize that dogs could be of service to autistic people? I mean, was there some eye opening experience that made you realize that dogs could do service work for the autistic or did you just try it and it worked?
It wasn't till this year that I realized that all the dogs I've had over the years were actually doing things to mitigate my own autism and that of two children I had in my daycare in California. But once I heard of this I could look back and recognize what my GSDs (German Shepherd Dogs), Dobie and Chis have done in calming and focusing us, among other things. I have a great photo of my Doberman bitch Dixi with Travis one of my autistic daycare kids. They had been asleep with Dixi's muzzle across his neck....Travis couldn't settle down till she was with him when he was in a certain mood.
3. Can you explain to us how dogs can be of service to autistic people? What type of things can these dogs do that assist the autistic?
....hmmm, tough question! It depends on the needs of the individual what the SD (Service Dog) will be taught. Perhaps I can illustrate best by using Samara II, my son's SDIT (Service Dog In Training), as an example of some of what a SD can help an child with Asperger's Syndrome - a high functioning form of autism - with....
Control and manage emotion: Aric, as most kids with autism, has a great deal of difficulty with coping with the world in general and this builds up stress that is hard to regulate, much less cope with as neurotypical (NT='normal') children do. Without a SD, he tends to become aggressive and bullying to his siblings and rude and uncooperative with my husband and I. But with a SD, he can somehow use the dog as an 'emotional sink', much like using a lighting rod to direct a strike into the ground, rather than the house. When he gets to a certain level of stress, he instinctively seeks Samra out - or she follows him! - and has what we affectionally call a 'kid attack' on her. He swarms her with high pitched crooning, petting, rubs his face and hands over and through her fur, rolls his shoulders on her side, cuddles....all at high speed and intensity, while she returns all the affection equally with lickings, squirmings, silly paws waving in the air, tail whipping both of them in a delirium of ”More! More!” “I must have more of all this!” A 'kid attack' only lasts about a minute, at most, but somehow it manages to return him to a normal level of emotional stability and it's as if there had never been a storm brewing.
Focus of attention: Aric has difficulty with maintaining attention on something that isn't somehow related to something he is interested in and without the ability to focus he can't locate the 'path' out of his mind to the thing that he is trying to learn. All autistic have this difficulty - it's the root of what autism is. It is best likened to a maze that one has to thread in and out of the mind, compared to the 'freeway' that I call the road the NT mind uses to bring information in and out of the mind. But, with something near at hand that is a known quantity, tactile, calming, among other things, Samara helps Aric to concentrate better by keeping him on track with a quick lick, a tail thump, sometimes by just climbing into his lap and this is when he is showing the beginnings of stress and worry from the frustration of not 'finding the right path' to what he is trying to comprehend.
For tasks that we are presently working toward: To be able to go out alone with her, for walks around the neighborhood, to visit friends, to simply be able to go to the minimart for a coke as a little outing....this is not something we can allow him, because he can be so inwardly focused on something of interest to him that he is nearly oblivious to his surroundings and could all too easily walk out into traffic, or...even worse...strike up a friendly conversation with a stranger with dangerous tendencies. Aric is far too trusting and the usual training given kids in avoiding 'stranger danger' and that from those they think they know is not effective with him or other kids like him. You can tell them all this, they will repeat it back to you, tell you that, yes, they do understand it...but they do not comprehend it....again, the problem of autistic learning. Those with autism look and sound so 'normal' so often, but the comprehension and memory is lacking much of the time and when the thing is remembered,
it might be in a form that isn't applicable to a real life situation-extrapolation isn't always a strong point. So Aric would be protected by Samara's keener senses of scent and hearing that with her training in taking him away from those she has not been taught are safe for Aric would keep him out of danger. Dogs are very good at discerning a person's intent-even if someone is nervous about dogs that still comes across as different to a dog than someone who has ill intentions....the scent is very different, the subtle body language signals...all very different. A dog knows, even untrained so often, if someone means trouble.
A service dog provides a fantastic bridge between the autistic person-child or adult-and others, a physical barrier if need be (many autistic are very uncomfortable when in too close a distance to another person) a way to talk to others without having to look at them, eye contact being another common problem. The autistic can far more comfortably have a conversation when they have a SD because the dog is both a physical and emotional barrier between them and others, creating a setting in which they can feel safer, with the focus of the other person at least partially on the SD. And if things become uncomfortable, they can shift some of the weight of the attention to the dog, by bringing it into the conversation, 'What do you think about that, Samara? Is this good girl ready for a treat?' or whatever feels right at the moment.
4. What have been you biggest struggles in training these dogs?
Several things: finding a suitable dog is always the first hurdle. Another is raising the SDIT without mishap that would have a detrimental effect on the training of child or dog - it is a constant adjusting of the course of training. Aric, at the moment, is a bit overwhelmed by Samara II's sheer size and strength and is a little intimidated by the idea of training her in public. So we have adjusted the training regime yet again, with my taking her out every day for socialization and training at a schoolyard, and his working on her commands at home that she has been learning with me. This gives them both time learning to work together and him confidence that he actually can handle this huge baby - all 65-70 lbs of her!
5. What has been your greatest success training these dogs?
In finding a way to be able to help myself, my son, and hopefully other families to find another way to cope with autism...to be led out of the confusing world of autism, where all the things you think you understand are all too often diametrically opposite from what the NT world expects from you. Though some rebel against the 'yellow star' that a service dog seems to label a disabled person with it can actually be a visual signal to others - 'I have some difficulty with managing, so my SD is here to assist me' and this cues others to accept that person on a different level of expectations than would be possible otherwise. It sets the stage in the favor of the disabled.
6. Where do you see the future of ‘DePorres Service Dogs For Autism’?
Again, I hope that DePorres can be a source of information and support for families and individuals with autism in the training and use of service dogs trained for assisting each in mitigating the effects
of their disability. Those of us with autism have far more to offer the world than is commonly understood....it is coming to light that most, if not nearly all, of the great minds of history and of our time have been on the autistic spectrum, meaning that they all had some signs of autism. Science, art, music, literature, training of animals, of breeding, of so many discoveries, most have been from men and women who all shared autistic tendencies....how much more the world will benefit with those presently unable to function in public without assistance out and about with service dogs to give that needed bridge to that freedom too long denied. The autistic are not 'retarded'....the greatest minds are locked away just waiting to walk out with their hand on the handle of a service dog's harness.
For more information regarding Service Dog’s for the Autistic please contact:
DePorres Service Dogs
Copyright © November 2003 by V. Norberg All rights reserved.
All photos copyright © 2003 G. Nichols. All rights reserved.
No unauthorized reproduction of this article is allow without the express written permission from the author.
posted by LadyDeerskin And Her Service Dog | Friday, February 10, 2006
<< Home