Animals & Autism - Part 2 - Buttercup

Lois & Buttercup 

For part 2 of our series on Animals & Autism, we were lucky enough to have interviewed renowned Speech-Language Pathologist, Lois Brady, about her experiences in Animal Assisted therapy with her pig, Buttercup. 

Tell us a bit about how you met your pig, Buttercup. 
Because Buttercup has to travel with me, he has to be a true miniature potbelly pig.  I searched the internet for reputable breeders and flew him to California from Texas.  He was a hit from the time we picked him up from the airport.

How have you seen Buttercup impact children with Autism? 
Many students are naturally drawn to animals.  Some students with autism may have had a bad experience with a dog/cat (barking, scratching or jumping).  Because Buttercup is so unusual he draws their attention immediately and they have no preconceived notions or bad experiences students approach him and interact with him freely.   Many of my students ask for Buttercup and talk about him daily.  They remember his last visit, next visit, what he eats, where he lives, etc.

Have you seen changes in Buttercup since he started to work with you?
Buttercup has worked with children since he was 4 weeks old.  His demeanor is the same in a quiet or noisy environment.  He has always been a "rock." 
What does Buttercup like to do in his time off? 
Buttercup loves to sleep, lay in the sun, root, eat (of course) and sit by the fireplace on a cold day.

What is one of your favorite 'Buttercup Stories'? 
 My favorite story - Buttercup was visiting my high school Asperger's classroom.  Many of the students have difficulty making new friends, especially friends of the opposite sex.  On this particular day I encouraged one young man (Isaac) to take buttercup for a walk during passing period.  He was immediately surrounded by students (mostly girls) asking lots of questions.  Isaac had no choice but to talk to the girls and answer questions about Buttercup.  He made two new "girl" friends that day.

For more information about Lois and Buttercup, check out this article from Reader's Digest and the Proactive Speech Therapy Website.

If you are interested in how we use animals in our sessions at Kahlon Family Services, please contact us on info@kahlonfamilyservices.com

Animals & Autism: Part 1

Temple Grandin: Animals Make Us Human

For centuries, animals and humans have shared a special bond. Often it depends on what kind of animal we are referring to - most people associate animal bonding only with domesticated pets. Temple Grandin changed the face of animal welfare through a deep affinity for cattle, attempting to understand their behavior on another level. You see, Temple Grandin is Autistic and can uniquely relate to the sensory sensitivities of animals, which are more closely linked to the human experience than we realize. Though most city dwelling San Franciscans have limited access to cattle, at Kahlon Family Services we have discovered the benefits of using animals in our sessions for their excellent company and therapeutic benefits. We will be bringing you Part 2 of this series soon - about a therapeutic pig! (Stay tuned)

You may have read a previous blog post about Danny (click here to read the heart-warming tale) the adventurous Dachshund and his work with children on the Autism Spectrum. Animals provide a way for people with Autism to experience a less complicated version of social interaction, while learning about the living world around them. A 2004 study showed that assistance dogs could help Autistic children learn about living beings, feelings and needs (USA Today.com). In 2010, a study from a journal called Psychoneuroendocrinology stated that service dogs actually have a physiological effect on children with Autism. The introduction of service dogs significantly reduced the stress levels of the child, and simultaneously reduced the amount of disruptive behavioral episodes. 

We have seen these effects first-hand in our sessions with Danny, and our other pal, Jake. Our dogs have a way of making children with social differences feel welcome. We have seen the dogs act in embarrassing ways, and the kids deal with them in love. For example, one day Jake ate some unidentified old dog poop as one of our young (socially different) clients was walking him down the street. At first, everybody freaked out because we all know that dogs shouldn't do that. Then, a teachable moment was upon us. Do we still love Jake when he acts like that? Will we still be Jake's friend? Should we just let Jake eat poop if he wants to? Or should we let him know it's not a great choice and help him to make better choices? That day, the young boy could see why people were "always telling him what to do". He could see for the first time that when people were telling him how to act, it was out of love rather than bossiness. The boy was also quick to help Jake out the embarrassing situation, and could appreciate that others help him act appropriately when he does things out of the social ordinary. 

At Kahlon Family Services, we do not use well-mannered service dogs. We use family pets - humble dogs rescued from the pound. We work with dogs who have been through a lot, and their back stories really engage with the lives of kids with behavioral problems. These dogs teach empathy, forgiveness, unconditional love, patience and endurance. The dogs calm us down, and bring something extra to the emotional environment in our sessions. If you think that your child could benefit from sessions with a behavior specialist and a dog, please contact us so that we can match you with the perfect fit. You can email info@kahlonfamilyservices.com or visit our website www.kahlonfamilyservices.com for more details. 

Stress Less (Part 3) - Feeding Your Soul

fun

  [fuhn]  Show IPA

noun

1.

something that provides mirth or amusement: A picnic would be fun.

2.

enjoyment or playfulness: She's full of fun.

ad·ven·ture

  [ad-ven-cher]  Show IPA noun, verb,ad·ven·tured, ad·ven·tur·ing.

noun

1.

an exciting or very unusual experience.

2.

participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.

3.

a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.

hob·by

¹  [hob-ee]  Show IPA

noun, plural hob·bies.

1.

an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a mainoccupation: Her hobbies include stamp-collecting and woodcarving.

(We thought we'd start off this post with a few words you may have forgotten about. Please revise these terms/commit them to memory.)

When was the last time you had fun? Did you know you can actually work playfulness into your everyday life - with your kids in tow? If you think the only way you can (personally) enjoy life is when the kids are asleep/with someone else, think again! Maybe it is just time for a paradigm shift.

What feeds your soul?

As a parent, your life is now totally about the well-being of others. It has been said that people can not give away that which they do not possess. Therefore, without having time for yourself you are unlikely to have stores of calm, patient niceties to give to others. Your anxiety, your mood and your attitude affect your entire household. If you want to raise kids who see life as an adventure, yet you model the constant, never-ending drudgery of the daily grind - you will probably not be too successful in your goal. You don't need circumstances to change before you change. Your days may be packed to the rafters with activity, work and errands. Your days may be so similar that they all seem to meld into one boring weekly snowball. You may think that adulthood stripped you of the ability to have fun.

Life doesn't have to be monochrome. Let's add some color!

(1) Take up a hobby.

You don't necessarily need tons of time or money to have a hobby. You just need to choose a sensible hobby for you lifestyle. If you're an office-bound CEO and you decide your hobby is storm-chasing, it's probably not a great match time/availability-wise. (But if you can do it on the weekends, go for it. It's your life.) Joining an interest group is not always realistic (time-wise) when you have young (or special needs) children, but the internet has endless forums that act like interest groups for your hobby. Taking photos, making things, hiking, playing board games, baking - these are all hobbies that can be done individually or as a family. Think of something you like.

(2) Find ways to make boring things fun. 

You've seen Mary Poppins! While her ability to sing and have the toys put themselves away may be far from your skill set, she showed us all that, "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun... and snap! The job's a game!" If you make an effort to add fun to tasks, you may find your kids more willing to participate. Try making pack-up time into a game, by adding a song. You could play a song aloud from your phone (the same song each time for an auditory cue) and the game is, "Let's see if we can pack everything away by the time the song is over." Of course, you may need to add boundaries like, "The song will be paused if you're not helping. I will only play the song if you are packing up." You could also try making up songs with your kids about the items on the shopping list, errands that you're running or your to-do list. You have permission to be playful! Making up funny rhymes will make your kids laugh, and will also help them understand the form of narrative. You can actually make your kids smarter by being silly with them.

(3) Get out of the house. 

You don't need tons of money or time to get out of the house, either! If you usually drive from A-B, take the kids on a bus or train from time to time. You have no idea how much it means to a child to have a wide range of different experiences. Go to the beach and write in the sand. Climb a hill. Visit a museum. Visit friends and relatives. Go to a coffee shop and reconnect - sometimes we even see parents with kids (usually over 5 yrs old) at coffee shops, doing their own thing and teaching their kids to do their own thing too. Bring an iPod, a coloring book, a picture book, a game - you can have time with your child and with your own brain. Life is about balance - spend uninterrupted personal time with your kids, then feel free to show them that you can love them with or without conversation.

If you find your life seeming like that movie Groundhog Day, make an effort to restore the adventure that life brings. Be the parent that you want to be, not the parent that you think you should be.