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Autism Service Dog Brings Peace of Mind to Local Family Delta, B.C….A golden dog named Forest is making the impossible possible for the family of a five-year-old child with autism. The two-year-old Labrador Retriever, is the first Autism Service Support Dog trained by BC Guide Dog Services and the child’s mom says the dog is already making a huge difference for their family. “Our child’s safety is always our prime concern,” says Kim Harding, Max’s mom. The two-week long training course with Forest “has been a wonderful experience and we are completely amazed at the difference already,” she says. “A recent shopping trip to a mall involved crossing a very busy road. We just never would have done that before the dog arrived, but with Forest along, things are so much easier.” “The dog is very aware,” Harding continues. “We’ve had dogs before but never like this. His training is just incredible.” Max, like many children with autism, is very quick and unpredictable,” his mom says. “He could dart out into traffic in an instant but Forest, who is attached to Max via a belt around the child’s waist, prevents that from happening. Forest also has a calming influence on her son, Harding points out. Max likes routines, and tends to get upset at even little variations. Recently while grocery shopping, the shopping carts were not where they usually were, and Max found that small irregularity upsetting. “He started hitting himself,” said Harding, something that some children with autism sometimes do. “Instead, we told him to pat Forest and it worked. He calmed right down and everything was fine after that.” The dog’s personality is very “laid back and when he’s not on duty he’s asleep,” Harding laughs. It’s vital to form a strong bond between the child and dog, Harding says. “Max is really enjoying having Forest and is actively seeking him out now.” When Forest first arrived Max called him “Boris” but now the dog’s real name has become a part of the child’s ever-growing vocabulary. The family’s other son, eight-year-old Beau, isn’t allowed to play with the dog yet, but he’s happy Forest will be able to help his brother. Beau gets to help with things like feeding the dog, Harding says. And speaking of feeding, she laughs, Forest isn’t going to starve anytime soon. “He knows how to bring his own dish when he’s very hungry and he demonstrated that on the first day of training.” The team of Max and Forest is sponsored by the Victor and Anna Kern Foundation. For further information about BC Guide Dog Service’s Autism Program or to find out more about Max’s story, please call 604-940-4504. Congratulations to Jaime Arnup, the Instructor in charge of this graduating team.
Empowering Ryan, a Life Story.
There are no “Problems”
in life. I readily admit to having a number of “Yet to be
Found Solutions”, but I no longer have any Problems. Some mistakenly
think that this means the same thing. They
are wrong!
The main difference between problem
solving and solution
finding is that the latter forces new
thinking. Problem solving is about the
correction of some particular condition. Solution
finding is the creation of the
conditions that the end result requires.
I recently jumped upon the opportunity to
teach a blind youth to drive my racecar. I love a good challenge.
Last night was the training and familiarizing event. I think there
were eight blind young men and women out for the practice. I was
assigned to have Ryan as my driver, with me acting as
his guide.
Ryan can see bright colors, but that is about is. His hearing is
only slightly better, so if I wanted a challenge,
I almost overdosed. For daily living, Ryan
has a very good-looking Black Labrador Retriever to “guide”
where he is going. He also has a portable microphone device that
teachers and others who need to talk to
him use. Ryan has hearing aids over the ears as receivers. These
devices are designed for use indoors in a quiet environment. They
are not intended to be racecar communication radios. This will soon
show to be something that even I
perceived as a “Problem”.
As far as I can tell, Ryan is a bright,
enthusiastic young man, who is challenged with
both sight and hearing. We had a normal conversation when I
familiarized Ryan with my car, demonstrated all the safety equipment
and got him tied into the five-point racing seatbelt used in racing.
I had installed a passenger seat and an extra five-point seatbelt
for me. On with the helmets, we went out
on the Edmonton International Raceway banked, paved quarter mile
oval track.
We were the first of eight cars out on the
track, and added more and more speed, lap by lap. Ryan could still
hear me. He is a smooth driver, with calm movements and does exactly
as instructed. That lasted until more cars got onto the track. The
combined noise from my engine, wind and other cars started to
overpower the microphone. Some would call
this a “Problem”. It may be a bit of an acute health hazard to be in
a car with a driver who is both blind and deaf at over 40 mph (65
kmh). We missed the solid concrete outer wall. We missed the
anchored tractor tires that form the inner wall of the track. We did
not miss a few other cars and did exchange a bit of paint, but that
was at only perhaps 15 mph. Nothing to worry about.
Here is the issue. I was incapable
of communicating
with Ryan at racing speed for this event. I almost got into “Problem
Solving” mode. I started to think about
how my mere five different commands could be altered to make them
easier for Ryan to understand.
He did fine. I was the one who
needed improvement.
There were several Guide Dogs in the pit area. I had noticed how
calm and relaxed they seemed. These dogs did not get bothered by
other dogs, people or any noise. I noticed that
none of them were barking.
When they were called upon, all they did was to walk where they
needed to go, directing their owner by movement. I
realized that I was the assigned Guide Dog
for Ryan in my racecar.
It took me until the drive home from the track to understand the
beginning of the Solution. If I am the Guide Dog, I should not bark,
but rather direct by movement. The idea
behind this race is to showcase how well blind youth can get along
in common situations. I must not touch any car controls, steering
wheel or pedals, just direct by signals. Ryan is the driver, I am
there to “guide” where he is supposed to
go. My task in this event was to
empower Ryan to drive my racecar.
Following the spirit of the event, I came up with a few simple
moves. I kept my left hand on Ryan's right
knee. When I pressed my little finger
against the left side of his knee; that meant
that he was to push on the brake pedal.
When I pressed my
thumb on the right side of his knee; that
meant that he was to accelerate. My right
hand tugs Ryan's right sleeve --- a
straight sideways draw meant to keep the
steering wheel where it is, a push forward
meant turn left, and a pull back
meant turn right.
Problem solving would have me practice
unique sounds. Solution finding created
conditions that will work in any situation we may encounter on the
track during Saturdays race.
Will Ryan win the race and help me to honestly earn the right to
call myself the Top Dog? Time will tell.
The final results in racing are always determined by everybody else.
The only thing a racer can control is his
own performance. The final ranking is determined
by a mix of good luck and how well everybody else is racing
that day. There will be as many real
winners as Drivers in the Blind Behind the
Wheel event. They have all been empowered to drive a racecar without
being able to see where they are going. Ryan will also be empowered
to do this without hearing more than a wall of noise. I am deeply
humbled and gratified by being allowed to take part in this
extraordinary event. Alar H. Aksberg, Edmonton, Alberta Editor's Note: This race was not held due to inclement weather, but will be held in the future. We will update the story when it is concluded...
THE JOYS OF GUIDE DOG MOBILITY "freedom to go anywhere at any time"...."freedom to go alone unescorted"...."companionship"...."a motivating influence engendering wonderful feelings of empowerment, self-confidence and high self-esteem"...."wonderful - I have more independence, more confidance"...."I'm willing to do more things:...."with him I'm motivated. He's a wonderful guide"
"My Friend" reproduced with kind permission from Violet Pick and her Guide Dog "Quetzel" |
