Having a child with autism is not necessarily a simple situation to manage for parents on a daily basis. It can be painful to see a son or daughter isolated and witness the difficulties they have in exchanges with others.
It has been proven time and time again that housepets are a precious therapeutic aide for children with autism and they incontestably contribute to their emotional development. This was the proof behind a poignant image of a mother in tears with her autistic son laying on the floor next to his service dog.
Source: Facebook
The young woman is in fact moved to tears thanks to this tender moment initiated by her son (something sufficiently rare to be emphasized) proving that he forged a real connection with his furry friend.
Like many others, this "service" dog, was trained by a foundation specialized with the goal of accompanying autistic children and enriching their daily lies. It permits them to have another form of exchange than just verbal, and they're there to help the child traverse adversity and every day life.
That's exactly what this Golden Retriever, named Tornado, trained by the association 4 Paws for Ability attempts to do - obviously successfully - for this little five-year-old boy.
Source: GIPHY
For his mom, who suffers seeing him encounter problems socializing, this small gesture is highly significant and represents a huge victory. She writes on the foundation's Facebook page located in Xenia, Ohio:
This picture captures the face of a mother who saw her child, who she can't hug, wash, dress, snuggle and touch freely lay on his new Service dog of his own free will, with a purposeful unspoken attachment. This is the face of a mom who has seen her son experience countless failed social interactions on the playground in an attempt to have a friend. Any friend. Any kind of connection. She has sat with her son while he has cried at night for months because he has no consistent connections outside of the family no matter how hard he tries and no matter what he works hard on in his Autism therapies. It doesn't transfer to the natural occurring world for him. And now she is sitting behind her son silently watching this moment, with the air sucked from her lungs, and no words to say. Holding her mouth and silently crying because she doesn't want to distract him from the moment and break him away from a pure, honest, and truly fulfilling moment for her son-of his own free will. This is truly magic. Words cannot explain it.
This moving testimony shows to what point service dogs for children with autism revolutionize the day-to-day for numerous families. According to Autism Service Dogs of America "a child who connects to a dog, is a child who is connection to the world."
If you would like to donate to the 4 Paws For Ability organization click here.
H/t: Chien.fr
