Chief Wants More Treats, Please

Children with speech or motor delays may sometimes use augmentative communication devices to communicate their needs. There are many such devices on the market, varying in the skill level needed and communication ability.

In this video, the speech and language pathologist, Kerri-Lynn is working with Leya using a Dynavox(TM) to teach her how to push the different picture buttons on the screen to indicate her choices. Kerri-Lynn and Leya have been working with this device for several weeks now, and Leya is learning the concept. However, as is the same with other functional tasks, we are finding it difficult to motivate Leya to communicate her needs to us. She has demonstrated consistent ability to make choices when presented, and she has also used different vocalizations to indicate her needs. However, when she is getting ready to attend school, she will need to have more functional means of communicating, and Kerri-Lynn has begun to teach her that process now. Leya likes the Dynavox and enjoys being able to "say" what she wants.

Kerri-Lynn has programmed different choices related to the dog on the Dynavox. Some of the choices include "treats", "sit", "down", "pet", "paw", and "go get it". These are all behaviors that Chief performs well, except the "treat" selection. That is to tell us that she would like to give Chief a treat--one of her favorite things to do with Chief.

Chief is also using a communication device called a "Big Mack". This is a simple switch device that is activated when the large colored button is tapped. Typically, this is used with children who have motoric difficulties and need a relatively large target to hit. The Big Mack also allows for a message to be recorded to indicate choice or communicate to someone a specific need. The message recorded into the device for this scenario is "more treats please".

Our goal for this activity is for Chief to foot tap the Big Mack to indicate his need--that he would like more treats from Leya. Leya is to then indicate to me or one of the other therapists that she would like to give Chief a treat by choosing her button on her Dynavox. I am modeling this by offering Chief a treat each time he taps his Big Mack. As you can see, his training on this behavior has really progressed. The minute he sees the device, he is eager to offer the behavior. Additionally, earlier this week, Chief created a totally new behavior with the Big Mack by sitting next to a bench, where the Big Mack was sitting, and tapping it with his paw. This is now how we expect him to activate the switch.

What I find most fun about this video clip is Chief's enthusiasm to use the button and the appropriateness of his foot taps to activate the switch. When Leya doesn't respond quickly, he taps again, as if to get her attention and say..."hey, I really, really, really want a treat!!"

Watch, I think you will enjoy it as much as I do!! Make sure you have your audio turned up so you can hear the devices "speaking". That's what makes this a priceless video.

Again, I'm so proud of my boy!!
Tammy

Leya Spoils Chief with LOTS of Treats

This little sweetie is Leya. In this video, 3 different disciplines are co-treating with Leya. The physical therapist, Dana, is helping Leya with postural control. Her speech therapist, Kerri-Lynn, is helping Leya with communication, and I am her occupational therapist. We are working on getting objects out of large containers, grasping them, and releasing them. By having her reach across her body for treats, we are also working on crossing midline of the body. By sitting with her feet dangling off the bench, we are also addressing sitting balance. So many things are being treated with this one activity of feeding treats to Chief. THis is also the young lady we want to use the jelly bean switch with Chief.

Foot Target to Jelly Bean Switch

In this video, I am asking Chief to foot target to a "switch", which is an augmentative device that is used for several purposes. A foot target is one way that a dog can indicate a choice. It is basically a "touch" behavior, only using their foot instead of their nose. I am teaching this for other purposes, as well. For communication, devices like this are used to teach children to activate different electronics as a "cause and effect" mechanism. For a child who has difficulty controlling their motor movements or do not have adequate functional hand use, they can trigger this switch to turn on by hitting the large green button. There are some of these same type of switches that have the ability to have a small phrase or story recorded into them, and they are used as communication devices.

For this particular behavior, we are hoping to have Chief trigger his switch (one that will have a phrase recorded into it) that will say something such as "more treats". The young girl in the previous video is learning to use a different type of communication device called a Dynavox. We are hoping that Chief can model the behavior for her to trigger her communication device to say the same phrase. The reason: she likes to feed Chief treats but refuses to use her sign language for "more" to tell us her needs. Instead, we would like her to use a more functional approach to expressing herself by using her communication device. In the end, we are hoping that Chief can motivate her to use her communication device more frequently...as she LOVES Chief! Mom says she sees our sign for our building and starts to make sounds like a dog when she pulls into the parking space. A true testament to Chief's power to draw kids into his world...and he's still in training!!!

Congratulations, Jennifer and Annie!!

Way to go, Little Mamacita!!!

We would also like to congratulate Jennifer Pawling and her new Pet Partner, "Annie"! These two also successfully passed their evaluation to work in a pediatric environment today. Jennifer is a Speech and Language Pathologist with Kidz Therapeze. She hopes to use Annie with her children as a means of motivating speech and language development. I have no doubt in my mind that this will happen. Annie is a little bundle of confidence and love, just ready to share it with anyone and everyone!!! We are very excited about the potential for this team, as Jennifer is a very energetic therapist with lots of great ideas for working with children! I know these two will be a wonderful asset to the clinic's AAT program!!

Look for updates on Little Orphan Annie in the near future!! Congratulations, you 2!!!

Tammy

Congratulations Sean, Paula, and Zeus!!!

Help us welcome a Pet Partners family, Sean and Paula Morganti, and their Bull Mastiff, Zeus!!! They successfully passed their Pet Partners evaluations today, and we are very excited to officially add them to our AAT team. Zeus and Paula, COTA (certified occupational therapy assistant) have been doing work with special needs children at Kidz Therapeze and are just amazing to watch! Zeus is "rock solid" and extremely excited to be around people. His patience and tolerance is amazing!! Paula and Sean have done an excellent job in preparing Zeus for this line of work, which is obviously his "calling" in life.

We're excited to also include Sean in our AAT team. He shares his wife's love and passion for working with children with special needs, and it's wonderful to see this family in action!! We look forward to seeing more from them in the future!!

Congratulations!! We've all been "Zeus'ed" (If you don't know Zeus, this typically means he's slobbered on you...but in this case, it means his wooed us with his charm!!!).

Welcome, officially, to the team!!
Tammy

Zeus Accepting Crowded Petting During Pet Partners Evaluation

Congratulations Karin and Lucas!!!

Karin Smith and "Lucas" are just one of Jumpstart Therapies newest Pet Partner team members. They passed their evaluation today and are in the process of completing their registration now!! Lucas is a Great Pyrenees mix, and just one big bundle of happiness!! Karin is Office Manager for KidzTherapeze, in Killeen, TX, and is very excited about sharing her passion and love for children and animals with children with special needs. More to come on them in the very near future!!

Please help welcome them to the Jumpstart Therapies team!!

Congratulations, Karin and Lucas!
Tammy

Lucas Gets Congratulatory Pet Following Evaluation

Ring Toss Game

Here, I am teaching Chief to take, hold, and drop a ring near a ring toss game stick. At this point, I am only asking him for dropping it near before I am click and treating his behavior. I will soon ask for more precise drops onto the stick as this becomes more consistent. I am hoping this behavior can be used for children to throw the different colored rings for Chief to retrieve and bring back. He can place the ring on the stick or give it to the child. We can ask the child to ask for specific colored rings or other specific tasks related to the game. I think this can be a fun game for Chief, as he really likes to retrieve.

Watch Closely Chief...Which Cup Is It Under??

This is our version of the "shell game". A treat is hidden under one of the cups. Chief is supposed to select the correct cup. 6/10 times, he chooses the correct one. Watch his eyes, because he is watching the whole time.

Dog Painting 101: The Basics of Holding the Brush Correctly

As an Occupational Therapist, I work with children on visual motor coordination, which includes such skills as handwriting, drawing, painting, and other such activities, that involve controlled motor movements. As I was thinking of activities an OT does in therapy, I was asking myself how to incorporate Chief. Then, I remembered working with other species of animals who paint. I have a painting from a dolphin, a camel, and a walrus hanging in my living room. Why not teach Chief to paint with the children?? So, this has been my new behavior of the week. The first step of the process was trying to figure out how to hold the paintbrush in his mouth. Since Chief is a ball fanatic, I figured it was the most likely thing he would willingly hold in his mouth. We cut a hole in a tennis ball and inserted a paint brush. This video is of Chief learning to take and hold (briefly) the ball with brush in his mouth. The next step of the process is to get him to hold the ball/brush in his mouth without mouthing it for a prolonged period of time. When he is doing that reliably, I will start to position a paint canvas near the end of the brush. This will progress to a slightly wet brush and encouraging head movements. And, finally, the last step will be to get him to make strokes with a fair amount of paint on the brush. I'm very excited about the prospect of this behavior, as it can be a wonderfully engaging thing for a child, who is reluctant to participate in such activities, to do something like this with a dog. Who knows...we may have the first painting therapy dog in Texas... Stay posted for updates on our little Picasso.... Tammy >

Obstacle Course

I have been working on training obstacle courses with Chief for therapy sessions. We frequently use obstacle courses in therapy for several reasons. We teach children concepts of over, under, through, etc. while going through the course. We also address strengthening and other sensory issues with these courses. I think this will be one of Chief's strongest assets in our clinic, as he really enjoys agility courses. As you can see, we've been able to link several different behaviors together to get a pretty nice little course. Even though he is going through the tunnel 2 times in this video, by placing it at the beginning and end of the behavior chain makes it a new behavior for Chief. Not featured in this video is another step to the course I trained today--going up a foam wedge, jumping off, then going through the tunnel.