So how about I haven't blogged in over a year?!
Needless to say, a lot has happened- I will try my very best to keep this updated. I never did a good job with daily writing. Luckily for me, photo-taking devices record the day and time you take the picture, making it very easy to keep track of when things happened. =)
Where do I begin...?
How about September 2014.
After attending a workshop at Canine Assisted Therapy, I met Juliana, the mother of Gabriel, an autistic young boy. The workshop was to learn how to interact with people on the autism spectrum. It was very eye opening, as I had little experience with people suffering from autism.
Juliana mentioned to me that she was thinking of getting a dog for Gabriel but would like to see how he would do with a dog, first. I offered for him to meet Misha under the understanding that she is not children certified and if I feel she is stressed, I would remove her from the situation.
Juliana was more than understanding and welcoming; she wanted Gabriel to meet Misha.
We met at a park. Misha wore bows with Gabriel's favorite color, orange.
This meeting was...interesting. Gabriel was very happy to see Misha, but did not know quite how to react. This confused Misha as well. She didn't know what he wanted. I was trying to communicate to her that he was ok. I brought treats, as any nervous dog mom would do when bringing their dog into an unknown situation. "Make it a good experience" I said to myself. Treats, treats, treats. Gabriel was open to giving her treats but was not comfortable with the texture of the treats. He also didn't want to have Misha's mouth/tongue touch his hand. Juliana explained that he was very particular with certain textures. He didn't like to get rained on because the feeling of drops on his body bothered him.
Because he had no interest in feeling the treat or Misha's mouth, he would take the treat and quickly drop it to the ground. This would confuse Misha but she dealt with it - heck, at one point, she thought it a game! I could tell Gabriel was in a state of confusion as he desired to interact with Misha but was fighting his own sensitivity to touch.
Misha was tired from running around for her treats, but definitely allowed Gabriel to pet her! He would pet her lightly and then turn away, rubbing his hands on his jeans, again, overwhelmed by what his hands had just experienced. Then, it started to sprinkle.
To Juliana's surprise, Gabriel did not even notice....
Having Misha there completely distracted him from what he hated most: drops of water on his skin.
Juliana's eye began to tear - she was very happy.
Over all the meeting went well. Did Misha completely love it? Probably not, but she did tolerate it. Of course, her favorite part was chasing after treats and to her, Gabriel represented treats. She never showed signs of being uncomfortable but because he didn't know how to interact with her, she would become confused at times. Do I let him pet me? Do I walk away? Does he want me here? These are the kinds of questions I think Misha was asking herself.
I think she did well for her first time meeting someone on the autism spectrum. Gabriel is a great boy and we will be setting up another meeting. I had spoken to Juliana about a month after this event and she said that Gabriel would not stop talking about 'the dog he met at the park.'
Juliana said he would never want to talk to anyone but when his family came over to visit, he would not stop talking about Misha.
This filled my heart with joy. This dog made a difference in this little boy's life. =)
