Dog is ‘magic leash’ for boy with autism

By Bobbi Mlynar

Life has gotten easier for Andrew Smith since he got a magic leash with Ava, a non-shedding, hypoallergenic Goldendoodle, at the end of it.

Andrew, 6, had struggled with autism and its accompanying symptoms. His tendency to try to escape from stores and church and school worried his family, because he had a talent for slipping away quickly without being seen. Andrew’s disappearing act is a common symptom in autistic children, who may feel compelled to get away from crowds and other situations that overstimulate them.

Ava, a service dog trained for autism, has changed that behavior.

Ordering the dog, waiting for her to be trained and spending two weeks in training themselves was not a simple task for the family. The service dog plus training from 4 Paws for Ability, based in Xenia, Ohio, was expensive — $13,000.

A drive to raise money began in October 2007, with a drive-through restaurant in the parking lot of the family’s church, Messiah Lutheran. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans provided matching funds, and the Jones Foundation added more.

After the money was in hand, Andrew’s mother, Janice Schade, took videos of her son at home, at church, in school and in other settings to send to Xenia so officials there could choose a dog that would be compatible with Andrew’s personality.

In September of last year, the pair went to pick up the dog and spent two weeks in training to learn how to work with her.

Andrew didn’t take to Ava immediately.

“At first he wanted nothing to do with her,” Schade said.

He adjusted to her as a leader, though, and has responded to her guidance.

“It took some time,” Schade said this week. “By the second day he accepted her, but the bonding wasn’t there until about a month ago.”

Ava goes wherever Andrew goes, with a tether or a leash forming the physical connection between them. He seems to rely on her as a stabilizing force.

“Only once did we go to Walmart without her,” Schade said. “I will never do that again. All the time, he was like, ‘Where’s Ava? Where’s Ava?’”

At school, Ava acts as a comforter that calms Andrew when he is agitated or loses his temper.

“She can either lay her head on his lap or reach over and touch him,” Schade said, describing Ada’s ways to calm the boy. “Sometimes she just lays completely over his legs. That pressure calms him. It’s like he forgets why he got upset.”

When he tries to take off and run, Ava immediately lays down; the tether between the pair keeps him from escaping. And should he manage to escape, Ava has been trained to track the boy.

Ava’s help is much appreciated by Julianna Schmid, who teaches Andrew and five other autistic students in the intensive skills class at Neosho Rapids Elementary School.

“We’ve noticed with Ava’s presence, Andrew’s outbursts have calmed way down,” Schmid said. “All we have to do is take Ava to Andrew and say, ‘Got to have the leash.’ We call it ‘the magic leash.’”

When Andrew becomes really angry, he curls up with Ava for a few minutes, and the anger passes. The dog has become so familiar with the boy’s school routine that she automatically leads Andrew toward the next room when it’s time for a classroom change.

Schmid, too, sees the settling effect Ava has on the child, as well as the other children in the classroom.

Schade alerted the school district and its students that Andrew would be coming to school with a service dog. She wanted everyone to know what to expect and to allay any uneasiness the other parents and students might feel.

She needn’t have worried. The district accepted the service dog readily. In fact, Ava went to work immediately — helping another child.

On that first day at Olpe Elementary, where Andrew attends afternoon classes, a young girl ran out toward the playground instead of toward the school.

“She stopped me in my tracks and took off after that little girl,” Schade said.

Schmid said Ava has taught another child, who was exceptionally fearful of animals, not to be afraid.

“She’s the first animal I’ve ever seen that he’s touched,” Schmid said. “It was always, ‘Get away from me.’”

Ada also has darted across the room to extend a comforting paw to an autistic classmate of Andrew’s, and later rushed over to nuzzle a girl who had begun to cry.

“Ava helps with the behavior and safety of the other kids, too,” Schade said.

Unless there are special activities or events, evenings and weekends are time off for Ada and for Andrew. He often heads down the hall to entertain himself on the computer, and Ava is free to do whatever she likes. Sometimes that includes romping outdoors with the family’s malamute, Dog.

Because one of Ava’s jobs is to help Andrew socialize, children and adults are allowed to approach and pet the dog.

Schade calls ahead to make sure that business owners are aware she and her family plan to come in, and carries photocopies of the service-dog statute in case people have questions on whether a dog can be allowed inside their buildings.

“I don’t like showing up without giving advance notice,” she said.

Ada’s equally at home in restaurants or at church, where she stretches out under a table or pew until the activity is over.

She’s accompanied Andrew to the altar at church and mimicked his actions by putting her paws up on the padding.

“She even bows down at the altar,” Schade said.

Ava will get more church experience in May, at Schade’s wedding to Mike Smith.

“She’s going to be a ringbearer with Andrew,” Schade said.

Source: http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2...sh_boy_autism/

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