Children with Autism Find Miracles in Canada's National Service Dogs (NSD)

Miracles in the form of service dogs for children with autism are giving life to families with autistic children, not only in Canada, but now in Rochester, Minnesota.
National Service Dogs (NSD) is a registered charity in Toronto, Ontario. This incredible organization was founded in 1997 by Danielle Forbes and Chris and Heather Fowler, experts and trainers of service dogs for people with disabilities. According to the NSD website, the desperate mother of a 3-year-old boy with autism prompted the development of the NSD, which is the first and only such service dog program in Canada.

In 1995, 3-year-old Brodie was matched with the first trained service dog for an autistic child. The dog, a young black Lab named Shade, and Brodie were such a successful match that the NSD was officially founded two years later. The success of the match got the attention of not only the media, but also the Geneva Center for Autism in Toronto.

Shade and Brodie were constant companions. Shade took Brodie through the fourth grade and made family vacations possible, including a trip to Disney World. After several years together, Shade was retired as Brodie's service dog, and Shadow, another black Lab, stepped in.

I first became aware of the NSD in 2007, after learning from friends of a Rochester, Minn., family who received their miracle in May 2007. An NSD black Lab named Pudge was matched with 7-year-old Reece, after the severely autistic boy and his family had been on the waiting list for more than two years.

The success of the match between Pudge and Reece has been such that Reece is able to attend school, including riding the school bus. In addition to his working in his home classroom, Pudge has made it possible for Reece to also use the gym and the library. In short, according to those who know Reece's family, Pudge has given the family a life they were unable to have before his arrival.

NSD trains only Labrador and Golden Retrievers in their program. A service dog matched with an autistic child has a primary purpose of providing safety and protection. A dog can physically stop a child from darting into traffic, for example. The dogs are trained and able to slow down a running child or keep a frantic or overwhelmed child from tripping, falling or otherwise being injured. The calming effect of the dog has also been shown to be quite profound. It's also been shown that an autistic child responds better to being attached to a dog than having a parent holding onto or restraining him or her.

Using a leash and belt system, the autistic child is attached to his or her dog. The dog is trained to respond to commands by the parents or an adult. The child is taught they are responsible for their dog and that they're attached because the dog needs the child by his or her side at all times.

As a result, families and their autistic children have been able to live much more normal lives, with fewer outbursts and aggressive behaviors - all because of the calming effects of their NSD dog.

According to the NSD website, the organization intends to be able to service no fewer than 30 new families a year by 2009. Since 2005, service dog providers from across the U.S. have participated in NSD's Train the Trainer Program, and the NSD continues to be overwhelmed with requests for service dogs from families that have autistic children. The current wait list for a service dog is more than two years. Pudge is the first and only NSD dog in the U.S., but other American families are on the wait list.

Resource:

NSD; http://www.nsd.on.ca/