Student shows love of life
Student shows love of life
Disability Awareness poster features Northview 7th-grader
Gretchen.Becker@Topics.com
March 9, 2006
Northview Middle School seventh-grader Conner Wantz, 13, hangs out with his 4-year-old assistance dog, Amali, in his bedroom at home.
Disability Awareness Month
• March is Disability Awareness Month. For more information or free activity packets, visit www.in.gov/gcpd
• The Governor's Council for People with Disabilities publishes a monthly newsletter. Send an e-mail to gpcpd@gpcpd.org to be placed on the mailing list.
• To learn more about Indiana Canine Assistant & Adolescent Network (ICAAN), visit http://www.icaan.net
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- Some days, Northview Middle School seventh-grader Connor Wantz can't move the left side of his body.
Other times, he's as active as any other 13-year-old boy, playing sports in the Carmel Dads' Club or Allisonville Little League Challenger Baseball League.
The teen suffers from Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood, a rare neurological disorder that's been diagnosed in about 100 people in the United States, said his mom Tami Wantz. It causes paralysis on the left side of Connor's body and seizures that are relieved by sleep.
"We don't make a big deal of it," his mom said. "He loves life."
That love for life shines through on Conner's smiling face as he and his assistance dog Amali lead a parade of children on this year's Disability Awareness Month poster for the Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities.
Connor has good days and bad, and his dad John Wantz compares it to a car with a broken gas gauge -- you never know when the fuel is going to run out, and some days it may never get out of the garage.
Some days, Connor, who was diagnosed at 18 months, has to remain in a wheelchair if he's lost the use of his arms, legs and speech. He attends physical, speech and occupational therapy.
Four-year-old Amali is a friend that never leaves Connor's side, John said. She is the first assistance dog to be featured on the state disabilities poster. Her trainer named her after the first African elephant born through artificial insemination that died at the Indianapolis Zoo in 2003, Tami said.
"Amali is Swahili for 'hope' and that's what she brings us," John said. "It's given him (Connor) more independence. We don't have to be as present as we once were."
Amali follows 80 commands that Connor repeats to her almost every day. She can hold CDs of his favorite artists such as Green Day or Good Charlotte while shopping in a store, or retrieve a blanket or a juice box at home.
Amali officially became Connor's assistance dog last March. She was placed with him through the Indiana Canine Assistant & Adolescent Network (ICAAN), but was trained by other trainers.
ICAAN trains most of its service dogs through jail trustys at the Indiana Women's Prison, said founder Sally Irvin. It takes two years to train them.
Connor will distribute the Disability Month posters to the women handlers at the prison during the next dog graduation March 16.
At Northview, the posters hang in the hallways. Connor has even signed autographs for some of his teachers.
Call staff writer Gretchen Becker at (317) 444-5574.
Student shows love of life
Disability Awareness poster features Northview 7th-grader
Gretchen.Becker@Topics.com
March 9, 2006
Northview Middle School seventh-grader Conner Wantz, 13, hangs out with his 4-year-old assistance dog, Amali, in his bedroom at home.
Disability Awareness Month
• March is Disability Awareness Month. For more information or free activity packets, visit www.in.gov/gcpd
• The Governor's Council for People with Disabilities publishes a monthly newsletter. Send an e-mail to gpcpd@gpcpd.org to be placed on the mailing list.
• To learn more about Indiana Canine Assistant & Adolescent Network (ICAAN), visit http://www.icaan.net
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- Some days, Northview Middle School seventh-grader Connor Wantz can't move the left side of his body.
Other times, he's as active as any other 13-year-old boy, playing sports in the Carmel Dads' Club or Allisonville Little League Challenger Baseball League.
The teen suffers from Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood, a rare neurological disorder that's been diagnosed in about 100 people in the United States, said his mom Tami Wantz. It causes paralysis on the left side of Connor's body and seizures that are relieved by sleep.
"We don't make a big deal of it," his mom said. "He loves life."
That love for life shines through on Conner's smiling face as he and his assistance dog Amali lead a parade of children on this year's Disability Awareness Month poster for the Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities.
Connor has good days and bad, and his dad John Wantz compares it to a car with a broken gas gauge -- you never know when the fuel is going to run out, and some days it may never get out of the garage.
Some days, Connor, who was diagnosed at 18 months, has to remain in a wheelchair if he's lost the use of his arms, legs and speech. He attends physical, speech and occupational therapy.
Four-year-old Amali is a friend that never leaves Connor's side, John said. She is the first assistance dog to be featured on the state disabilities poster. Her trainer named her after the first African elephant born through artificial insemination that died at the Indianapolis Zoo in 2003, Tami said.
"Amali is Swahili for 'hope' and that's what she brings us," John said. "It's given him (Connor) more independence. We don't have to be as present as we once were."
Amali follows 80 commands that Connor repeats to her almost every day. She can hold CDs of his favorite artists such as Green Day or Good Charlotte while shopping in a store, or retrieve a blanket or a juice box at home.
Amali officially became Connor's assistance dog last March. She was placed with him through the Indiana Canine Assistant & Adolescent Network (ICAAN), but was trained by other trainers.
ICAAN trains most of its service dogs through jail trustys at the Indiana Women's Prison, said founder Sally Irvin. It takes two years to train them.
Connor will distribute the Disability Month posters to the women handlers at the prison during the next dog graduation March 16.
At Northview, the posters hang in the hallways. Connor has even signed autographs for some of his teachers.
Call staff writer Gretchen Becker at (317) 444-5574.
posted by LadyDeerskin And Her Service Dog | Thursday, March 09, 2006
