Well maybe he isn’t mature enough now, but in 5 or 10 years’ time, he might be, mightn’t he? There is no rush and I am sure far less able/competent people than him are trained with dogs. Mel. From: J Kimbell Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2002 11:46 PM To: guidedogchat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [guidedogchat] Re: Heyas fI know but coupled with Autism? It sounds madness. We havenjt actually said my son cant have a guide dog, only that a dog is a full time responsiblity as we all know and is he mature enough to take on that responsibility? And a younger child, I dont know the extent of this kid's autism, I could understand an autistic support dog as I know someone who's daughter has one, but she has only recently taken on more rsponsibility of this dog and is not allowed to take it out alone. Untill recnetly she had to had a double lead attached so her dad would also be holding it. Not sure how the hell this blind child with austism would work a dog!! Its a live animal we are dealing with here. And kids with mental issues are not always fully aware of this. Julia ----- Original Message ----- From: Vincent Thacker To: guidedogchat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Monday, April 07, 2014 10:40 AM Subject: [guidedogchat] Re: Heyas More young people in the UK are getting dogs now, too, which hasn't met with universal approval, but I'd say circumstances alter cases, and if everyone can make the handling of the dog work well, good luck to them. Some surprisingly old people are also getting dogs. I did hear of a 96-year old getting a new dog, which must be a new definition of optimism! On the other hand, there are unacceptable delays in getting a dog for working-age people very often, which is the downside. Vince. ======================================== Message Received: Apr 06 2014, 09:15 PM From: "Nadine Lattimore" To: "guidedogchat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" Cc: Subject: [guidedogchat] Re: Heyas Makes much more sense now, hi Katie. Of course everything changes when dealing with a young dog handler, like you said it always seems to be playtime, never mind adding a dog to the equation! I guess attention towards the dog does not have to mean full on playtime. Recess I think you call it could be a great time to burn off some extra energy for all. Then quiet calm interaction such as gentle rub, maybe eye contact or good boy/girl is enough to let dog know you are still there during class. This is just a general idea of how I manage college lectures. It will really depend on how the handler and dog interact in general. How long has the unit been working together? High school would that be changing rooms every 45minutes? Here in Ireland the age has dropped recently from 18 to 16 and I am personally not in favour of this. Nadine Lattimore On 5 Apr 2014, at 23:38, Katie Moncelsi wrote: >> >> A blind child with a guide dog thats attistic? Are you serious? How old is >> this child? My own son is blind and mildly autistic but a guide dog is the >> last thing I'd consider suitable for him until he matures more. > He's very high functioning, I'd guess you'd call him asperger's instead > of autistic. He's 17 years old as well. I probably should have mentioned > the school is a high school as well. > > Katie > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.930 / Virus Database: 2425.1.1/5035 - Release Date: 05/31/12 07:34:00