WHEN IT INVOLVES YOUR CHILD – ANYTHING IS WORTH TRYING
(Deana Wadsworth – Izaak’s mom)
While reading the province one afternoon I came across the article featuring BC's first ever Autism Support Dog 'Forest' and the child he supported, Max. I had no idea such an option was even out there. I contacted Bill Thornton immediately to find out how we could get on the long expected waitlist.
My son Izaak wasn't even quite three years old but we'd had his formal diagnosis of Autism for over a year and are always open to trying things that other families may or may not have found successful. When it involves YOUR child, anything is worth a shot. Izaak is now almost four years old, is still non-verbal, doesn't respond to his name being called and constantly takes off anytime we are out of the house in public if he's not strapped into a stroller or shopping cart. This has made simple daily tasks very difficult and stressful to complete, especially if I am by myself, so we don't do much without my husband, Shaun Wadsworth.
We were pleasantly surprised to hear from Bill quite soon and had our first interview this past summer. We met with him and Jaime Arnup. Jaime then did a follow up interview in which we found out that Izaak was going to be the second child to receive an Autism Support Dog and his dog would be ready for training with me in November. It was extremely difficult for me to be away from Izaak for that long when, as his primary caregiver, I hadn't even been away for one night, never mind a whole week! I was also six months pregnant with our second child and a little extra emotional.
The dog that Izaak was matched up with is a two year old black lab named Pyatt. It amazed me how different Pyatt could be when he was "working" in a jacket and how playful he was outside of his jacket. These dogs are trained so well, it's amazing what they are capable of. The night we came home I thought, Autism or not, my son would be so excited to see me. Well when he saw Pyatt he started jumping up and down and was up most of the night checking to make sure Pyatt was still sleeping on the floor at the foot of his bed.
Pyatt on the other hand doesn't seem to be all that interested in Izaak but we are hoping that will change as Izaak gets older and bigger and he can do more 'playtime' things with him such as throw the ball or frisbee farther than three feet. We have tried tocreate other ways for them to bond, for example only Izaak blows the release whistle for Pyatt to eat dinner and he's the only one to give Pyatt a treat. We also tried having Pyatt sleep with Izaak but Pyatt wasn't interested. He's been with us for three months now and is most excited to see or be with my husband. He is still effective when working in his jacket though and I guess that's all that matters. It's reassuring knowing that when Izaak and Pyatt are attached together there's a lot less worry and stress for us wondering if we will be able to run fast enough to catch him before he runs across a street or a busy parking lot.
Izaak will quite often get down on the floor or on Pyatts bed and lay with him or on him, with Pyatt being his pillow, and Pyatt just lays there appearing comfortable and unbothered by Izaak’s affection for him. He is such a sweet tempered dog,
Our thanks to everyone that had a part in training Pyatt, from his puppy raisers, Gerry and Mary Harder, to Jaime, Carla and Ashley at BC Guide Dogs, they have all done such a wonderful job making him the sweet, lovable boy he is today. We are very grateful to you for making it possible for our son to have this wonderful opportunity and such a special new friend.
Note: The primary goal of the Autism Support Dog is to provide calm and safe conditions for the child with autism when on outings away from home. Though we always hope that the child will bond with the dog and visa versa, depending on the chemistry between the autistic child and the dog, this is not always possible. In the case of Izaak, they did not bond initially when inside at home but there is a strong bond between the two when they are out walking together.
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