My Aussie for Autism: Journal # 3

Our Purpose

My only child, Matthew James, is a very special little boy. Born in November of 1999, I lost him to non-verbal Autism in February 2001. He's the greatest joy of my life, although my heart still aches with hope for his life.

Matthew lives on the periphery of our world, only interacting with me or other members of our family when he wants to, or when he needs something. He's a very good little boy, but I long for him to be able to engage with his us and other aspects of our world more appropriately and comfortably.

Inspired by the idea of Animal Assisted Therapy, especially those dogs who are now being trained for children with Autism, I felt strongly that this complimentary therapy could make a difference in his life.

Unlike other families who wish to obtain an Autism Service Dog that has ALREADY been trained, and therefore a much more significant investment upfront, I felt the best option for our family - most specifically the best option for my son, was to get puppy that could grow and learn WITH him.

I knew I could inspire Matthew's interest in a dog more successfully, if he's given a longer period of time to become accustomed to one. From the day to day acclimation that would be required, he'll come to understand that a puppy learns and grows as he does - and can become a valued member of our family!

And so, I'd like to introduce you to Amistad's Falen aka "Pippi" our special dog for our special needs.

Why an Australian Shepherd?

Aussie's are known for their high level of intelligence and their strong desire to "work." I fell in love with the breed when I worked in an Assisted Living community and met "Buddy," a four year old Australian Shepherd who belonged to one of our residents. He still lives with her at the community in the special wing dedicated to residents with memory impairments. He has a wonderful personality, and it was evident that he thoroughly enjoyed visiting with all of the many people he came into contact with everyday.

In an article from Psychiatric Times, "Therapy with children now part of a dog's life," (which I've also included in our blog's navigation to the right) Child and adolescent psychiatrist Rachel Fleissner, M.D., has two trained dogs assisting her in therapy with children diagnosed with mental and developmental disorders. Those dogs are Australian Shepherds!

Because Australian Shepherds are "sight dogs," they are masters at reading body language, said Fleissner.

Having a child who is non-verbal means having to suffer through a crash-course in reading body language! After much research on the topic of Autism Service Dogs, I knew that the Australian Shepherd breed was going to be a good fit for my son and me.

During the days before Falen's arrival - I was doing my best to prepare Matthew for the change our little household would endure. He doesn't have much of a regard for my parent's dogs, or my cats for that matter. So her introduction and acclimation was going to be more trying on HIM that it was going to be for Falen.

When visiting my parents one day, my dad surprised me with the new name he'd thought of for Falen. Specifically because she has one particularly long white stocking on her left leg and more specifically because her color happens to be what's called a Red-Tri Autistralian Shepherd. Obviously, her name should be Pippi Longstocking! I LOVED it, of course. It seemed to be the perfect name for her, except for the fact that well.....she already had a name. Falen! Again, in my dad's enthusiasm, he phoned Judie - her Montana mommy - and shared his great idea with her. She suggested that we use that as her registered name but keep her call name as she's already gotten used to it. That made complete sense to us and that was going to be our plan.

HOWEVER - in the days leading up to Falen's arrival - I was working with Matthew to prepare him, as best I could, for her introduction into our little family. Matthew happens to be a child whose with Autism and happens to remain non-verbal. He can not speak at all, except for his attempts to sound out words - although only tonal syllables can be made out at best - and THOSE, only when asked of him. We worked on the sign for dog, and I tried my best to get him to say "Falen...Fah...Fah...Fah" but he has a very difficult time getting his mouth to work in such a way as to say the "Fah" sound. So, when I was showing him the pictures of the "Puppy" - it dawned on me that I could at least get him to try and say THAT word and immediately started working with him to say...."Pup...Pup....Pup."

I was thrilled because he WAS able to successfully say "Pup" and that's all the inspiration I needed for what I knew would be long journey. I ALSO had an ePIPhany! (Do you like my attempt at foreshadowing??) I realized that I was going to have to bite the bullet and rename this puppy, against the better judgement of her breeder, Judie. My ultimate purpose for getting Falen was to work to create a postive impact on Matthew's life, his independence and engagement with the world around him. This was essentially going to be all about HIM,HER and US. So we definiately needed her to have a name that he could say. AND since he was successful with "Pup" it wasn't a stretch to get him to say "Pip" or "Pippi."

When I put this idea to my parent's and the rest of my family, they agreed that although I was sad about disappointing Judie - I knew I needed to do what would be best for the relationship between my son and our dog. And besides, I could honor her original call name with her registered name. So Falen became Pippi, and her registered name will eventually be...Amistad's Falen of Warner and Koda. A nod not only to her beautiful birth name, but to her doggie parents as well. All is right with our world!

My Favorite Quotes About Dogs

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went
~Will Rogers

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
~Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
~Josh Billings

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
~Andy Rooney

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made.
~M. Acklam