Chief Facilitates A Visual Sequential Memory Task

Visual Sequential Memory is a perceptual skill that allows you to remember the order or sequence of items you see. For example, remembering the order of letters in a word or the order of words in a sentence. Children with visual sequential memory difficulties will experience difficulty copying from the board, learning to read, & remembering what they have read. Spelling is often difficult for this child, as are developing simple sentences. If a child can't remember the sequence of letters/words, these tasks are almost impossible to complete without assistance. Children with dyslexia often have difficulty with this visual sequential memory.

This young man is Gary. For the last year, we have focused a lot on his handwriting, as this is an area he needs significant work. His overall performance is definitely affected by visual perceptual deficits, visual motor integration difficulties, and motor in-coordination. We have worked specifically on copying sentences and words for many reasons. Besides having difficulty with visual sequential memory, he also has difficulty with spatial awareness, letter formation, and letter identification. Until this last year, he could not write letters from dictation, nor could he accurately spell his last name. His overall digit span (how many digits he can remember when asked) is 3-4 letters, and this is not always consistent.

In this activity, we are working specifically on visual sequential memory. The goal of the activity is for Gary to remember the order in which Chief touches the colored spots on the floor. Just below the spots you will see an index card. On the first index cards, we wrote letters and had Gary write the letters he remembered in the order in which Chief touched them. We advanced this activity to words, and Gary was then expected to write the words in sequential order to form simple 4-5 word sentences.

What was not addressed specifically in this activity was spatial awareness. Typically, Gary needs cues from me (pointing to each word/letter on the sentences he is copying) to guide his awareness of spacing. Most sessions, I have to point at each letter to help him visually track his place and follow his eyes across the line of text. However, in this activity, Gary did not need this cuing. He was able to use the visual spacing between the dots/words on the floor as his cues for spacing. In fact, he needed no prompts at all for spacing (a first for Gary!!). The dots provided enough of a visual cue for him. Even with the words scrambled on the floor in no particular order, Gary was able to remember the order in which Chief touched the dots to write sentences. Lastly, the paper that I usually have Gary copy sentences from is typically placed directly above his writing paper. As you will see, in this activity, Gary has to look to his right at Chief to copy words, much like he would be expected to copy from a chalkboard in a classroom. This is also a large improvement for Gary.

We've done this activity with 2 kids now of different ages with visual sequential memory difficulties with excellent results.

Chief, great job with the foot targets, Buddy!!!

Thanks to Our Pet Partners Helpers!!

I would like to recognize a few people for helping make this last weekend possible. We would like to extend a personal thank you to Kelly Barr, owner of KidzTherapeze. She graciously opened her doors to us and volunteered her time to help this weekend with Pet Partners Team Training and Evaluations. Many thanks, also to her family, Kim, Jessie, and Travis for also helping. Travis, you were one of the best "crowd" I have ever seen!!!

I would also like to thank Kathy and Jennifer of the Woody Pet Therapy Program from Dell Children's Hospital in Austin, TX. They joined us to assist with the team evaluations and also to lend the assistance of their dog, Tess, who was our neutral dog. Many thanks to these ladies for their expertise and assistance!

Pet Partners Team Training and Evaluation

Jumpstart Therapies hosted a Pet Partners Team Training and Evaluation this weekend at Kidz Therapeze in Killeen, TX. Pet Partners, a training program of the Delta Society, is structured to train volunteers and their pets to conduct visits in health care settings. The registration that participants receive upon completion of this course and evaluation is a 2 year national registration. Individuals who successfully complete the training are prepared to conduct visits in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and other health care facilities that may be interested in receiving such services.

Participants this weekend attended a 2 day training course and then an evaluation in which the team (the person and dog) is assessed for skills and aptitude. Temperament, obedience, appearance,and attitude of the potential therapy animal and interactive skills, appearance, and aptitude of the person are the general areas being assessed. Teams going through the evaluation participated in a modified Canine Good Citizenship Test, in which each exercise of the test represent potential situations a visiting team may encounter while working in different settings. Tammy Renaud, of Jumpstart Therapies, has been an instructor and evaluator for the Delta Society since 1997.



Included in the exercises are basic obedience skills of "sit", "down", and "stay", as well as loose leash walking, "leave it", and taking a treat gently. Above, Joe and "Darla" are demonstrating the "stay" command while the evaluator attempts to distract the dog. Basic obedience exercises show that the dog's behavior can be redirected and the handler has good control of the animal. When a dog has good "manners" during a visiting animal session, it shows the dog has respect for others, is in control of their behavior, and the handler is aware of their animal's behavior at all times. And, we all know how much we appreciate good manners!

Here, Prima is taking her dog, "Kenya" out for a walk. This demonstrates that she has control while walking her dog on a loose leash. This is very important in visiting animal situations because you want to ensure that at all times you have leash control of your animal. A dog that is not controlled can be a potential fall or "trip" hazard to people they may encounter.



When working with people who have mobility challenges, therapy animals have to learn to accept many different types of equipment that they may encounter in health care settings. Most commonly, this includes equipment like wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and crutches. It also includes other things that they may be in and around in hospitals, such as IV poles, hospital beds, and other medical equipment. Other visual distractions include such things as flowing hospital gowns, lines from the IV poles, and anything in the environment that may cause potential stress in the visiting animal. We assess how a dog tolerates these visual (and auditory) distractions so that we can predict how the animal may react in a real-life situation. In the scenario below, Kathy (in the gown) and Jennifer (using the walker) are having an argument as Jenna and dog, Schooner, approach. It is not uncommon to be around people who are emotional, which is the purpose of this scenario. Note the dog's interest in the hospital equipment. He is obviously curious, but does not seem to be bothered by the angry yelling going on around him or by the visual distractions. Instead, he is engaging in interaction with Jennifer and is guided through this potentially stressful situation by his handler, Jenna.




We also assess how the animals respond to groups of people petting them. It is not at all uncommon to be crowded during a visiting situation, especially when first arriving on the scene. So many people are interested in seeing the animal and rush over to say "hi". This is not at all uncommon when working with children. We want to ensure that the animals are "okay" with having so many people around them. This scenario shows how much these dogs love people. As you can see, Darla is eating the attention UP!!



Appearance and grooming is very important to maintaining health standards for therapy animals. Through proper preparation the handler is ensuring that their dog is in 100% health and that all precautions are taken to make sure that their dog has not introduced any zoonotic diseases to the people they visit. Prior to the evaluation and subsequent visits to health care settings, the handler is responsible for bathing their animal, checking their teeth for cleanliness, and trimming/filing nails. In this photo, "Meeko" is being evaluated on his overall grooming and appearance. He has sparkly white teeth!!!



One test not included in the overall evaluation but definitely necessary....how many pounds of Great Dane can a volunteer hold in her lap at one time???




Jumpstart Therapies would like to welcome the 11 new Pet Partner teams to the Delta Society family. Congratulations to each and every one of you!! We truly hope that you enjoy doing this work as much as we do.

Additionally, we would like to welcome our two newest teams to our facility at KidzTherapeze. Congratulations to Kathy Warren, SLP-CCC and her dog "Abby" (photo to come) and to Dr. Isabel Cantu, PT and her dog "Oscar"--photo below. We welcome these two therapists and their 4 legged therapy team mates to our ever-growing AAT program. Congrats to you all!!!



For more information about Pet Partners and upcoming Pet Partners events, go to the Jumpstart Therapies home page and go to the "About Us" section. We have an events calendar with listings of upcoming events. Or you can find events in your area on the Delta Society webpage.

Our next Pet Partners event in Killeen, TX will be April 11, 12, and 13th. Evaluations will be open to renewing Pet Partner teams if space is available.

Chief Reunites with Foster Parents

Today was a very fun day for Chief. He got to go to the park (one of his favorite things). But best of all, he was reunited with his foster family from Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue, Chat and Bethany. Chief spent 3 wonderful weeks at their house, resting on the couch with Chat, happily greeting Bethany each day as she walked in the door, or playing with their 2 goldens. I've never seen 2 people who knew a dog better than these two did. When I went to pick him up from their home, they knew all of his likes/dislikes, his typical behaviors, and even where he prefers to sit when riding in the car. And they were right about all of them!!! To this day, just as predicted, Chief likes to ride in between (or in) the front seat, with his head rested on my arm or behind my shoulder. Occasionally, I get the paw on the arm or leg...which can make for some daredevil driving if I'm not ready!!

It was a fun reunion, and best of all, Chief got a cool new toy from them!!! (Chief says thank you!!!)

Chief enjoyed himself, Chat and Bethany, and he welcomes you up this way again!!

To learn more about Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue or to look at their dogs available for adoption, go to www.gbgrr.org

Hey, Look at My Cool New Toy!!!