On Your Mark....Get Set....SCOOT!!!

In this video, Chief is racing 2 children on scooterboards. Both children are working on upper extremity strengthening and are using their arms to move their scooterboards. The challenge for each child is the resistance of the carpeting and the distance...approximately 20ft. Hannah, the girl who is in the orange, had already raced Chief 5 previous times. It's not heard here, but at the end of the race, Hannah stands up and says, victoriously, "I finally beat the dog!!"

Motivating Speech In a 3 year old With Significant Delays

This video clip is of a 3 year old who I am seeing for Sensory Processing difficulties and developmental delays. His name is Cody, and we have been working together for a year. When I first started working with Cody, he had significant difficulty with most areas of sensory processing. He is a sensation seeker, always on the move, crashing, jumping, running, spinning, and has very low muscle tone. Children who are sensation seekers tend to need much more sensory input than other children and usually try any means they can to find that input for their central nervous system to function properly. Often, there are emotional and behavioral responses to sensory needs, because the child has difficulty understanding what is happening in his/her body. Acting out and emotional outbursts are not uncommon. Because of these sensory issues, Cody is delayed in many of his motor skills, another thing that is not uncommon for SPD children.

One of the goals for speech therapy is for Cody to say the beginning syllables of words, as well as put 2 words together. Until 3 months ago, Cody was not speaking in more than utterances of "uhhh uhh uhh" or "mmmmm mmmm mmm". This is how he communicated his needs to everyone around him, including pointing and gesturing for what he wants. However, in the last 3 months, a "light bulb" went off in Cody's brain. He's received speech therapy, and they have worked together diligently. He is now saying simple words and the last syllables of most words. It's quite remarkable!!

I invited Chief into our therapy session for a socialization training session. When I introduced Cody to Chief, he immediately went to him (Cody loves dogs) and Cody said "--ief" while petting him on the head. Cody was very interested in doing things with him. He grabbed his dog toy and dangled it in Chief's face for him to take or threw it across the room. Chief mainly wanted to relax and lay in the room (which is also significant telling me he was attempting to help calm Cody.) At one point, during the session, Cody said to Chief..."--ief Up!" trying to get Chief to stand up. Previously, Cody would have given up trying to say words and reverted back to is utterances. However, because he was so motivated by Chief, he was willing to try something very difficult for him.

As mentioned earlier, Cody is a sensation seeker and always moving. He has trouble focusing on table tasks unless his body is "prepped" for such work by providing him with therapeutic techniques to give his body the sensory information it is seeking. However, with Chief, it was quite different. Cody was able to lay on the ground, next to Chief, and relax for several minutes at a time. While Chief was in the therapy room, Cody was able to sit at the table (Chief next to him) and complete a full task for 5 minutes with very little redirection to task. I felt the occasional pat on Chief's head was appropriate and not a diversional tactic. Rather, it was the child seeking out sensory information, receiving it, and returning to work.

Although our session was only 30 min. in length, much was accomplished in that time frame. The wonderful thing...it was a natural interaction that so many parents can utilize at home with their children with sensory needs. Many families don't realize they have a built-in home program just waiting to be utilized. It just has 4 legs and is another member of the family. :) Tammy
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Just Relaxing....

Dog Toy Choice Can Facilitate Therapy

When planning a session with a therapy dog, don't overlook the value of the variety of different dog toys. You can facilitate goal attainment with your client simply by choosing the right dog toy for them to use during an interaction.

When I go shopping for dog toys for therapy sessions, I not only consider the dog's interest, but I also consider how the toy can work toward client goals. As an occupational therapist, I am looking for toys that will facilitate hand and finger strengthening, fine motor dexterity, visual motor coordination, sensory processing, self care skills, and more. The wonderful thing about AAT is that one toy or game with a dog can tap into so many areas of functional performance without the client's knowledge, in a fun and motivating way. For many of our clients, they think they are just playing a game with a dog. However, from my professional perspective, I am watching the client increase their range of motion, improve their grasp pattern, reduce their overall muscle tone, and challenge their balance (simply by throwing a toy for a dog to catch/retrieve).

As you can see in the background of this photo, Chief has a large toy collection already. Each toy has been selected for a specific reason. The toy he is playing with is a bone with removable rings that he can pull off. The reason I selected this toy was based on child development. We've all seen the ring stacker toys that toddlers use to learn visual motor coordination. This is a version of that toy. I envision this toy being used in the following fashion. The child (or dog) removes the rings and throws for the dog to retrieve. The child then places them back on the bone. It can also be used by older children for throwing accuracy, color recognition, to improve grasp (holding onto the ring), etc. This one toy has multiple purposes.

I've also selected different colored tennis balls or soft toys so that we can work on color discrimination. The child will be instructed to choose and throw a specific colored toy for Chief to retrieve. Other squeaky toys have different levels of resistance. Some are very easy to squeeze while others are made of more durable rubber and are therefore, more difficult to squeeze. The difference in resistance can be used to facilitate hand strengthening by having the child squeeze the toy to "catch" the dog's attention. Some of the soft toys have different textures on them, making them more useful for children who have difficulties with different textures. If soft and tickly textures are bothersome to this child, we can use toys that have these textures on them to encourage the child to work through this sensory issue in order to engage in activity with the dog.

As you can see, when you choose toys for your therapy session, so much goes into the decision making process. Although it may seem that Chief is very spoiled (which he is...LOL), each toy has been selected for a purpose. At Jumpstart Therapies, no aspect of the therapeutic process is overlooked, even down to the tennis balls!! :)

Tammy

Therapy Dog Identification

Therapy Dogs are considered working dogs, just as a service dog is considered a working dog. However, there are very distinct differences in access to public areas for the two classes of working dogs. Access laws only grant service dogs the ability to full public access. Therapy dogs do not have this access. For therapy dogs, the facility in which they are visiting must grant that team access to specific areas (designated by the facility). For this reason, therapy dog teams must wear proper identification to demonstrate they have been granted access to a facility. Again, therapy dogs DO NOT have the same access rights that service dogs to.

It's very important when working with a therapy dog that you show proper identification for yourself and the dog. This provides the facility and families with information that your team is properly credentialed to be working in that environment. When a dog is in training, it is also important to notify others of the dog's status. At Jumpstart Therapies, our dogs, even those in training, wear vests identifying them as either a "Therapy Dog in Training" or a "Therapy Dog". Since Jumpstart Therapies is affiliated with Delta Society's Pet Partners program, (www.deltasociety.org) once a dog is registered as a Pet Partner, they will be required to wear a Pet Partners vest when working. For dogs in training, we have found these vests at Active Dogs on the Internet. (www.activedogs.com).

There is a definite difference between a dog in training and a registered therapy dog. Expectations for behavior are similar but with a dog in training. Dogs in either situation are expected to maintain an obedient and respectful attitude toward their handler and people with whom they interact. They are also expected to demonstrate self control in distracting situations, as a registered therapy dog would be expected to do. However, with a dog in training, there is the added knowledge that the dog is learning how to respond to different situations and that lapses do occur. In neither situation, should the dog act or react aggressively toward another dog or person. In all situations, the dog is continuously being evaluated for reactions and predictability.

As I work with Chief, I am learning more and more about how he will potentially respond in certain situations. If there is something I know is challenging for him, it is my role as the handler and trainer to provide opportunity for Chief to work through "scary" situations or to avoid the potential for a negative response to occur. Whenever possible, I try to guide Chief through uncertain situations with lots of positive reinforcement, calm, and reassurance. Chief, as I have mentioned before, is a very bright boy. He quickly learns, when guided, that things that once seemed so scary were, in fact, not.

Chief and Sammy

Therapy Dog in Training Motivates Handwriting Assignment

One of the biggest assets of using a dog in therapy is that they motivate the clients to participate in activities. Over the years, I've seen clients who normally refuse to participate in traditional therapy become completely animated and involved in a therapy session with a dog. This same person, who would normally avoid traditional therapy techniques to increase their range of motion will take a brush and brush a large dog from head to tail (accomplishing the task but in a motivating way!). It's quite inspiring to watch!!

I've been seeing a young boy, named Sammy, for over a year now for difficulties with fine motor skills, visual motor coordination, spatial awareness, and motor coordination. Some of the biggest things we are working on involve handwriting and the coordination needed to recreate a design that he sees. Sammy has difficulty with spatial awareness, which translates to difficulty with orientation to the writing baseline or spacing in or between the letters of words. When we started, Sammy reversed many of his letters and didn't even know how to form his letters. he is now writing simple sentences on adaptive paper to help him with spatial awareness.

Over this time, Sammy and I have struggled to get him to the point where he enjoys to write. Previously, handwriting was very difficult for him, and he had difficulties with reversing his letters. After months of visual motor activities and visual perception, we are finally to the point of getting ready to discharge Sammy. But, writing is still one of his least favorite things to do, so I have to find ways to make it interesting for him, so he will do it. I've been letting him choose his own topic, which gives him a sense of self in the assignment, and I've also asked him to increase the number of sentences he writes. We started at 3 sentences, and initially it took him the full 30min. session to write these sentences. Gradually, over the last several months, we have increased the number of sentences and tried to decrease the time, as his parents report that homework takes him literally hours to do. Sammy is easily distracted from task, which is why things often take him so long.

However, when he arrived on Thursday, I asked him if he would mind if Chief joined us in the therapy room. Sammy is a BIG animal lover, and of course, he was very excited. We did the formal introductions between Sammy and Chief, got the excitement for the 2 contained, and then started to work on Sammy's writing. Sammy immediately told me he wanted to write about Chief. He quickly decided the sentences he wanted to write and began his story. After 10 min., Sammy handed me his finished product (pictured above). It was AMAZING!! I had to help him very little with sentence development or even noticing when he made a mistake. Sammy found his OWN errors in his writing (another big feat!!). The only assistance I gave him was spelling unknown words (such as Golden Retriever and Saluki...).

The bottom line of what happened, Chief was inspiration to Sammy to write. Sammy was excited about the dog being in the room and had a story he wanted to share. Because he was interested in the topic, Sammy's focus and attention to task was significantly improved. Research has shown that when we are interested in a topic, we are better focused and more learning occurs. Then, because I had promised him he could do something with Chief when he was done, Sammy was determined to get his assignment done in a timely manner, so he could enjoy some quality time with the dog.

I think Chief had a profound impact on Sammy's therapy session. Good on you, Chief!!! :)

Tammy

Chief's Beginning Agility Training

This video is of our training session where I am teaching Chief to jump over the agility jump and to crawl under it. My future goal for these behaviors is to have him participate in obstacle courses with the kids or to have the child instruct Chief on the concept of "over" and "under". If we really want the child to experience these concepts, we will have the child perform this alongside Chief as he is doing the behavior. Of course, there are other ways we can utilize these behaviors, but those are the easiest to explain in written format.

This last week has been slower than before, mainly because I was out of town. But, I have to say, Chief is one smart little cookie and remembered much of what I did with him before the break. At present, Chief knows several behaviors: spin, "place" (go to your bed), over (jump over the jump), under (go under the jump), up (get onto a piece of furniture), touch (place his nose onto an object), "go get" (retrieve an object), "drop it" (release the object), sit, down, stay, close (walk close to handler), scoot (get on belly and crawl forward), tunnel (go through an agility tunnel), paw (give paw to handler), jack (pick up his soft toy jack), ball (pick up his ball), and he is learning more and more each day. Chief learns things quickly, and within several repetitions, has the behavior with about 75% accuracy. If he performs the behavior several times a day, including in a new environment, he has it mastered within several training sessions.

I think the funniest thing about working with Chief is that he is very much like a child with ADHD. He gets bored quickly, likes things fast paced, and gets a little upset if he has to do the same thing more than 5-6 times. On several occasions, he has literally whined and barked if he is bored with a behavior. This is usually when I know...HE's GOT IT! It's very much like him saying..."oh my gosh lady...not again!!" I don't really want him to do this (but I can't help but chuckle to myself as it is happening). Meanwhile, outwardly, I am not reinforcing the barking, with hopes that it will not continue without reinforcement. Many thanks to Becky at Texas Hearing and Service Dogs for this pointer...because I was reinforcing it without realizing it, thus creating my own little nightmare!! :)

Tammy