As many of you may be aware for the
last year and a half our family has been waiting to receive an Autism
Assistance Dog Guide for our son. The
prayers and support of this community have been such a blessing to our
family. One example of this blessing was
having students pray for Will’s dog even before we received our call for
training from Lion’s Dog Guides. At the
end of November my husband and I travelled to Oakville, Ontario for training
and we brought back Will’s dog guide, Gibson. Throughout the training process I was
continually reminded of God’s faithfulness in my life and our family.
During the training we worked with Gibson and
were amazed at the possibilities for support and intervention in Will’s daily
life. An Autism Assistance Dog is picked
especially for its calm, caring and consistent behaviour. They are trained as a support so that a child
with autism can go out without the family worrying about the child bolting into
harmful situations; the child is actually tethered to the dog and when he runs
into harm’s way the dog lays down to keep the child safe. Gibson was taught how to give deep pressure
to Will when he is feeling overwhelmed.
We were amazed to see this happen just two days after returning home. Will had become overwhelmed and frustrated
when we were out in public. Will sat
down in an isle very upset and Gibson came over and laid across him, giving him
“hugs”; he licked his cheek and made Will laugh. Already situations that were once full of anxiety
are now becoming bearable with Gibson by his side! Gibson will become his constant companion, a
reason to be confident and to communicate more with others. These are just a
few examples of how Gibson will help enrich Will’s life. This opportunity and Gibson is an answer to
many prayers. As Gibson and Will
continue to get to know one another and bond we are grateful to all who made it
possible for Will to have this opportunity.
Thank you for your continued
prayers and support. Sometime the Dog Guide will be crated in the class so that he get used to the environment. Please don’t hesitate
to ask me any questions that you may have about Dog Guides or Gibson.
