Committed to a team approach, the Bouliers and their daughters Rylee, 8 years old, and Madyson, 12 years old, a cadre of service dog trainers, obedience instructors, behavior specialists and other training experts provide customized service dog training. The aim is to ensure the best match between service dogs and children with autistic disorder and Asperger’s disorder; physical disabilities resulting from muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis or injury; and psychiatric disorders such as post traumatic stress syndrome.
Incorporated in 2004, the center has a seven-member board of directors comprising professionals in the fields of psychology, special needs education, occupational therapy and service dog training.
autismdog.jpg
Service dogs are trained to aid in daily tasks, such as opening a door, flicking a light switch, undressing and picking up objects. For many clients, service dogs provide balance support, object retrieval and emotional comfort. For a child with autism, service dogs provide safety guidance, companionship and improved levels of responsibility and social awareness. They also decrease a child’s stress and increase a child’s sense of calmness, confidence, communication skills and ability to set boundaries.
“The right dog can be a valuable companion in the life of any child, regardless of the challenges he or she faces,” said Lynn, who is a member of a state task force to evaluate and recommend revisions on the statutory definition of a service dog.
“Service dogs offer assistance to people with disabilities according to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) law. They are trained to perform specific tasks for an individual, as opposed to a therapy dog that interacts with patients in a nursing home. By law, only service dogs have the right to public access.
“When Rylee was born, Rob and I were working for an organization where we trained service dogs for physically disabled children, but I never thought about training dogs to work with autism. Gradually, we observed some developmental differences in Rylee as she grew. I also noticed how she interacted with Triton. She would pull his lips and ears, lie on top of him and roll over on him, but he didn’t react; he tolerated everything. From the time he came into our home as a puppy, Triton knew what his job was. We just needed to figure it out.”
The Bouliers initiated an evaluation with an occupational therapist when Rylee was 18 months old. Since there are no medical tests for diagnosing autism, a multidisciplinary team of professionals collaborated in psychological, occupational, speech and physical evaluations until Rylee was almost 3 years old and diagnosed with autism.
According to the Autism Society of Maine, autism is a developmental disability that results from a neurological disorder and usually appears during the first three years of life. Children with autism often exhibit no developmental problems until they reach 18 to 30 months of age, when they begin to show delays in language, play or social interaction. Autism is described as a spectrum disorder, since it affects individuals differently and in varying degrees of severity, and may occur in combination with other disabilities.
“Our approach focuses on the variety of kids diagnosed on the autism spectrum who will benefit from a highly-trained, dependable dog,” Rob said. “For many kids, autism is like sensory overload. They’re hypersensitive to tactile sensations, sounds, tastes or smells. Consequently, they can be easily overwhelmed. They might have a meltdown, yell, kick, hit or run away. It’s extremely stressful for parents, especially in public, where they often are judged as not able to control their child. People can’t tell by looking that a child has autism; it’s an invisible disorder.”
Armed with the eyes and knowledge of experienced dog trainers, Rob and Lynn’s observations of Rylee and Triton led to multiple discoveries that formed a template for their service dog training for autistic children. For example, Rylee was unable to sleep more than two hours, but if she slept next to Triton on the floor or in his dog bed, she slept longer and more soundly. They also noticed that when she was upset or overwhelmed, she would flop on top of Triton and become noticeably calmer.
“I wondered why she wouldn’t lie on the bed with us, but she would sleep in the dog bed with Triton,” said Lynn. “Or why I couldn’t hold her and calm her down like she would with Triton. We kept a notebook, wrote about what we observed and shared it with our occupational therapist, who encouraged us to take advantage of what was happening. Rylee was changing in positive ways because of Triton.”
“Before we started our business, we were already training service dogs and seeing the miracles—witnessing the brilliance of what service dogs can do for physically disabled kids,” said Rob. “It was gratifying to work with the children, and to talk to parents and learn about their frustrations, issues and needs.
“It increased our compassion so [that] we could create the training environment we knew we would need to ensure we could successfully train service dogs that could go out in public—to the dentist, the doctor or a restaurant. Our knowledge base was building, which increased our ability to pay attention when Rylee was a baby—to observe and notice what she and Triton were doing and how they interacted.”
Like every future service dog at the Tail Waggin Training Center, Triton began his basic obedience in puppyhood. At the same time, Lynn and Rob paired him with Rylee to work with her occupational therapist on mastering basic life skills.
“He was her motivator,” said Lynn. “We would tell her if she brushed her teeth she could brush Triton’s teeth, or if she washed her face, then she could wash his face. If we put him in the bathtub with her, she would sit and take her bath.”
“Most children are motivated by dogs, although it’s sometimes a mystery how or why,” Ron said. “I have yet to see a child who doesn’t respond to a dog at all. Some of the physically disabled kids we work with won’t do their exercises unless a dog is present. In autistic children, the level of response depends on where they fall on the spectrum of the disorder.
“For example, we’ve placed dogs with children who are nonverbal or have limited speech. When parents or therapists can’t get them to engage at all, we’ll watch them react and follow the dogs with their eyes. Whether it’s walking up to the child, nudging them or dropping a ball at their feet, dogs elicit response when people can’t. There’s a spark inside these children that only the dogs ignite.”
“Higher functioning, more verbal kids with Asperger’s disorder understand how to manipulate parents, which can be very frustrating,” Lynn said. “But dogs embrace repetition; they’ll do something over and over without feeling frustrated. For example, autistic children often have difficulty crossing midline, or crossing sides, which means using both hands to do something or brushing their teeth on both sides of their mouth. So we taught Triton to retrieve the ball and bring it back; then we worked with Rylee to help her learn to throw the ball with each hand for Triton. He would chase the ball regardless; for her it was just a matter of us taking her hand, putting the ball in it and telling her to throw with that hand. Again, Triton motivated her to learn.”
Lynn dove into research and learned about an organization in Canada that was training service dogs for kids with autism. Immediately, she identified with something they specified as most important: the issue of safety for autistic children and the need to tether a child to a service dog.
“Safety is a huge issue for autistic children,” she said. “They’ll just bolt. And they have no fear—whether it’s running into the street, hiding in a shopping mall or climbing up a tree and thinking they can jump. It’s extremely stressful for parents, who often end up feeling isolated and homebound because they avoid the risks of going out in public.”
For the Bouliers, learning about tethering was the tool that broke their isolation. They created a system for Rylee and Triton, which they perfected and use for all service dogs and children trained at their center.
“We believe in tethering, rather than teaching a dog to chase a child down,” Rob said. “If a child isn’t tethered and runs away toward a busy street, and the dog is taught to chase him or her, then both the child and the dog are at risk of getting hurt. We train the child to wear a belt with a bungee-like cord, approximately four-feet long, which is attached to the dog. If the child runs, the dog is taught to hold—stand, sit or lie down—so the child can’t get away no matter how hard he or she pulls. This interruption is a positive intervention, which then allows a caregiver to talk to a child about the dangers of running into the road. Each intervention presents a learning opportunity.”
“The hold command—when a dog is taught to stay while someone pulls on the tether—is the final task we teach our service dogs,” Lynn said. “Before a dog is ready to do this, we need to ensure they are fully grown and that their growth plates are solidified, which is not until they’re at least 14 months old.”
Service dogs at Tail Waggin Training Center also wear vests that have a customized handle for a child to hold, so the child has an option not to use the tether—depending on his or her level of functioning and understanding, as well as circumstances and the environmental situation.
The Bouliers were told Rylee might never be verbal. She also struggled with motor skill issues—walking, running and going up and down stairs. Again, Triton made a difference and became a template for their service dog training for autistic children.
“It took us a while to figure out that Triton was adjusting his stride in reaction to Rylee’s motor skill problems,” Lynn said. “When she was out of position, he would stop walking; when she straightened out, he would resume walking. If she was upset and lying on the floor, Triton would go to her, lick her or lie down on her chest. Deep pressure on the chest has a calming effect. In fact, many parents with autistic children carry a weighted blanket for this purpose. Triton showed us that we could train service dogs to do what he did naturally and eliminate the need to carry a heavy blanket. He taught us to refocus from her behavior to his reaction, which then helped us to determine how and what we would train other service dogs to do.”
Today, Rylee is verbal and physically active. Her confidence has also increased because of Triton. “When I tell her we’re going out, she’ll get Triton dressed in his vest, his tether and his head gear,” Lynn said. “When she goes to the dentist or doctor, Triton lies on the floor beside her in the exam room. If she feels anxious, she’ll tap her hand and he’ll raise his head so she can pet him to calm herself.”
Puppies at Tail Waggin Training Center are selected and purchased by the Bouliers from accredited breeders of a variety of dogs, including Labrador and Golden Retrievers, Australian Shepherds, Standard Poodles and Springer Spaniels. Each puppy is tested for temperament and trainability when they are 49 days old. Traits such as acceptance, tolerance, willingness and confidence are important.
When they are 8 weeks old, pups come to live and train with the Bouliers in their home at the training center, where they get a lot of socialization, public access training and playtime with other dogs. “We learn a lot about the puppies—whether it’s temperament or ability—mostly because they live and interact with Rylee. She’s our best guide,” Rob said.
Puppies are examined and tested to ensure they are in excellent health to carry out the skills they need to learn and perform. They are observed and evaluated throughout their developmental phases. Training for basic obedience begins on day one. Trainers swap dogs to expose them to working with different people.
The Bouliers have trained a group of volunteers to use positive motivation techniques to work with the dogs and expose them to specialized games that develop a willingness to work and that increases their ability to perform. In Rob’s words, the dogs are “asked, shown and rewarded for what they do right.”
Families who apply for a service dog from Tail Waggin Training Center wait from 16 to 24 months. Detailed applications are reviewed by the board of directors. Parents are asked about their child’s needs and issues they want to mitigate, as well as what they want to address and what they think will benefit their child. The application also assesses a family’s living environment.
“Every child with autism has a caseworker and a professional team, so we often ask parents to sign a release so we can obtain referrals directly from their professional service providers,” Lynn said.
After about 12 months of training, most dogs are ready to be matched with a child. “We ask the family to come and meet the dog, and we observe the dog with the child,” Rob said. “Every autistic child is unique, so at this point, we need to determine a customized, advanced training program for this specific dog and child. All the service dogs we train to work with autistic children are taught to recognize international hand signals since many of the children are nonverbal. We also need to address every specific issue about each child and his or her needs, as well as the family environment and any other changes that might have occurred between the time they applied and got matched with a dog.”
For the next several months, the dog completes advanced training that involves working on specific tasks and skills with Rob and Lynn. At this stage, Rylee works with each dog, too. Finally, parents and children train and practice with the dog.
“No dog leaves this program without practical, real-life experience. Every dog works with Rylee for at least their last two months of training,” Rob said. “As a parent of an autistic child, I know what’s at stake. So I tell parents, ‘I’m not going to let you tether your child to this dog until I’ve tethered my daughter to this dog’. It doesn’t take long for her to show us whether or not a dog is ready. Every service dog that completes our program has passed the Rylee test.
“Through our service dog training program, Lynn and I have an opportunity to help and change families. We know what it’s like and we’ve experienced the solution. It’s all about unconditional acceptance, constant predictability and love. We want to make a difference—one dog, one child, one family at a time.”
More information about programs and services at Tail Waggin Training Center is available online at www.tailwaggin.net. Questions may be sent via email to tailwagn@roadrunner.com or addressed by calling (207) 884-7017.
Post a Comment