Autism service dog becomes local family's new best friend

By Paul Swiech

Matthew Lindsey, 4, no longer has 25 meltdowns a day. He may have two a week. Matthew, who has autism, is speaking in complete sentences. It’s harder for him to wander from home, but when he does, he’s found quickly.

His sister, Lauren, 8, who also has autism, was scared to go outside a year ago. Now she wants to be out, has friends for the first time, and walks to school with an older friend.

The big difference, according to the Lindsey family, is Brock, the autism service dog that the Lindseys got a year ago.

“He’s just a miracle in dog form, I guess,” said Hannah, 12, an older sister who does not have autism.

“It’s so much easier,” said mother Sharon Lindsey. “We’re like a normal family. We don’t have to stay inside hibernating.”

A dog helping to control autism symptoms may appear far-fetched. Then again, dogs help some sight-impaired people to get around in public.

Brock is a service dog trained through 4 Paws For Ability, a Xenia, Ohio-based organization that places trained service dogs with people with autism and some other disabilities.

When the family is walking in public — such as during recent shopping at Wal-Mart Supercenter on West Market Street in Bloomington — Matthew is tethered (harnessed) to Brock by using a vest attached to a short leash while Lauren holds Brock’s other leash. That makes it difficult for either child to run off and get into a potentially dangerous situation.

With a dog along, people who normally may shy away from two children with autism walk up and start conversation.

When Matthew unlocks the door and wanders out of the Lindsey family’s Normal home, Brock is able to follow Matthew’s scent and find the boy.

Sometimes, when either child is screaming and getting upset, Brock performs behavior disruption by nuzzling them and getting them to settle down.

“That usually calms them down pretty quickly,” Hannah said.

“The big thing,” Sharon said, “is he’s their best friend.”

Lauren hugged Brock.

“I love him so much. Sometimes, we play ball or go for a walk. He helped me to go into stores and restaurants,” Lauren said, listing restaurants and supermarkets in Bloomington-Normal where the Lindseys have taken Brock. Trained service dogs are allowed in any publicly accessible building under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“This is awesome compared to the way things were,” Sharon said.

Family history

Sharon is a full-time mother who separated from her now-ex-husband in May 2007. Hannah is a sixth-grader at Kingsley Junior High School. Lauren is a third-grader at Oakdale Elementary School and Matthew is in the early childhood education program at Colene Hoose Elementary School.

Three years ago, Lauren was diagnosed with higher-functioning autism. A year earlier, she was diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder; profound attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; speech apraxia, meaning that her brain doesn’t communicate effectively with her mouth; motor apraxia, meaning that her brain doesn’t communicate effectively with the rest of her body; and sensory integration disorder, meaning that everyday noises are amplified to the point that she can’t deal with them.

She took speech, occupational and physical therapy through Easter Seals; had a resource teacher who helped her at school; saw a psychiatrist; and took medicine to help control her impulsivity and hyperactivity.

Matthew already was in developmental, occupational, speech and feeding therapy and in a play group at Easter Seals when he was diagnosed more than two years ago with moderate autism, sensory integration disorder and speech apraxia.

Matthew repeats things he hears without always understanding what they mean. He has trouble communicating, and when he gets frustrated, sometimes he may scream and take it out on himself by biting, scratching or pulling his hair. He also wanders to calm himself and has no fear of the street, the stove and strangers.

“He loves everyone but he’s also in his own little world,” his mother said.

Sharon heard about 4 Paws for Ability in 2006, researched the organization and decided that a service dog could help Lauren and Matthew. She applied, got a prescription from the children’s pediatrician, underwent a background check and submitted a family video.

She sent letters to area service organizations, church groups and businesses and raised $12,000 — including $3,000 from Bridgestone-Firestone and its workers — to cover Brock’s training.

For two weeks in late 2007, Sharon, Lauren, Matthew and their grandmother were in Xenia, Ohio, to be trained on how to treat and use Brock. In December 2007, they brought Brock home.

About six times in the past year, Matthew has gotten out of the house and Brock has found him. For example, about two weeks ago, when Hannah and Lauren already had left for school and Sharon was taking a quick shower, Matthew decided it was time for him to go to school. He unlocked the front door and left the house.

When Sharon got out of the bathroom and couldn’t find Matthew, she put a tracking collar on Brock, said “Matthew’s gone, find him,” took hold of his leash and both of them took off, with Brock following Matthew’s scent. They found Matthew about two blocks away. He thought he was walking to school but he was going in the wrong direction.

When shopping, Matthew wears a vest with a leash that is tethered to Brock and Lauren holds Brock’s other leash to discourage either child from running off. Before Brock, both children had run off when they got scared in stores. Now they walk with Brock and the rest of the family.

“It’s God’s gift to be able to know your children are with you,” Sharon said. “Before, I would be in Wal-Mart for two hours, trying to hold onto them, and I would just be grabbing things off the shelves. Now, I can shop and look and compare prices. Everyone is calm and I can get done in an hour.”

Store employees and managers have stopped and questioned Sharon but they understand when she explains that Brock is a certified service dog and she shows them Brock’s service dog tag.

“I get a lot of questions from other customers: ‘What does the dog do? Where did you get him? Can I pet him?’ Most people are curious. A few older people have walked the other way but I’ve gotten few negative reactions.”

On Independence Day, the family — with Brock — was able to watch the fireworks at Miller Park for the first time.

“It was amazing,” Sharon said. “You’re like a normal family.”

Asked how she keeps going, even with a service dog, Sharon said, “My kids are my life. How could you not keep going for your kids? I take each day individually.”

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