One with, One without: Ruby..the therapeutic dog

S was Diagnosed in 2003, when he was 3, with High functioning autism. Now he comes across as any other boy, makes jokes, plays games and watches spongebob. Its not apparent he has a difficulty so people either think he is naughtly, has odd ways, or do not take us seriously.
He is like any other boy...and he has autism.
E was born in 2005, and does not have autism. He acts in ways that I had no idea about, laughs at my jokes, acts like a clown, plays with toys and watches spongebob too.
He is like any other boy...just like his brother
This is my musings, experiances, and anything else as the mum of one son with autism, and one son without it. I hope it makes a difference.

Ruby..the therapeutic dog

Ruby is a Yorkshire terrier. We have had her since December and she is now 6 months old. I got her for 2 reasons.

1. company for me when the kids are staying at their dads some weekends and just company in general and
2. for S...so she is also a therapeutic dog.

I thought it would help S to show emotions, if that's the right phrase...I'm not sure, it makes him sound Vulcan!!

Put it this way if I want a cuddle from him or a kiss I literally have to pin him down and hold on to him for dear life and cuddle him, with him loosely putting his arms half way around me for 5 seconds then letting go. All very emotional less. His 3 year old brother E on the other hand is always cuddling me and kissing me and likes nothing better than to hold hands while we watch the TV...a complete contrast!! *(the contrast and how different it is now, having a non-autsim child is another blog post!)

So I thought a dog would help S to show his feelings and it has worked!!

hurrah...one mission accomplished!!

He cuddles her and plays with her and likes to have her sitting on his lap and he does show emotional towards her....to the point now where he wont leave her alone!

He still never cuddles me, I have to ask for a "limp" cuddle but I'm used to it. Its just good to see him actually taking an emotional interest and showing that he is capable of it, in his own way.

Ok one minute he can be all over the dog, then the next its as if she isn't there...its never contestant like you or I would be with a pet but....its worked and he loves Ruby, as we all do.

6 comments:

Kirsty_H_99 said...: Another friend of mine has an autistic boy and she said that she got a dog and it helped him. I am not sure what scale his autism is on as its one of "those" questions that everyone is always afraid to ask. I will try to broach the subject with her when i see her next and se if her son is the same with the dark too.; 18 May 2009 at 13:26
Anne said...: awww Ruby is so cute :-) I'm glad she's having some effect that's good. I've found with Craig he's never taken to any of our pets. He does do hugs though, when he wants to even if you don't and they are bone crushing (well he is over 6ft). I noticed the differences almost straight away because by the time Craig was 17months old I already had is sister. They are so different, but they do look out for each other. Don't know if I told you this but I suspect my 3 yr old has ASD too, no diagnosis yet.; 18 May 2009 at 13:27
tracy_tp said...: Thanks Kirsty its would be interesting to know. when sam was younger I would say his autism was far more severe...these days it still affects daily life but I would call him severly autistic. Thought Id say you incase you, or others, were afraid to ask!; 18 May 2009 at 13:38
tracy_tp said...: Hi ya Stonea. You didnt say anything and do you know what, sometimes my 3 year old does stuff and I think "ahh autsim alert"!!
Cos he is nothing like sam I doubt he has it...he can speak play socialise etc all perfectly well, but he does do somethings that really remind me of sam!!

Are you going to go see anyone about your 3yr old? let me know :0); 18 May 2009 at 13:41
Rebel Mother said...: Hi Tracy, I have an award for you over at mine. A Lovely Blog Award. Hope you like it. RMx; 18 May 2009 at 19:27
Wasted Potential said...: Lovely picture. I am convinced of the benefits of pets to children with ASD. Both my boys are on the spectrum, although for many years CJ, the younger, was thought to be ADHD, and we have always kept animals. We have had cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and a dog.
We have found that CJ in particular has always related better to the pets than he has to other people. I think it probably because the animals expect nothing from him that he is unable to give. People expect emotional connection and responses, the pets just accept that CJ is CJ.
With regards to the sibling behaviour that you and stonea mention, please be careful. Sibling ASD is very common but so is copying. We had concerns about CJ for nearly two years before we had the confidence to speak to a professional about his behavior and even then as he was so different to Dominic, his older brother, we were content to accept the original diagnosis of ADHD. It was only two years ago that we found a paediatrician prepared to give an ASD diagnosis; 22 May 2009 at 22:38