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Good friends
- Author:
- COOK Ewen
- Journal article citation:
- Viewpoint, 115, March 2010, pp.26-27.
- Publisher:
- Mencap/Gateway
This article describes an Oxfordshire project that trains assistance dogs to support families of children with autism. It focuses on the story of Tom, a severely autistic child with a learning disability. Until recently, his challenging behaviour made it difficult to leave the house because of the anxiety it caused his parents, especially near roads. Wallis, an autism assistance dog, now provides both practical assistance for road safety and serves as a calming presence in the home. The article describes how, so far, 12 dogs have been trained since 2008 when Dogs for the Disabled launch a new initiative to train assistance dogs for children with autism, with 11 new dogs due to be placed by the end of 2010. Toms mother said “we used to get lots of negative attention and horrible comments because of Tom’s behaviour. Now people are very friendly – they see Wallis’s harness and want to know what the dog does. I think it will work for a lot of families.”