Tree of Hope Fundraiser

Hello friends,

As most of you know, I adopted my golden retrievers from Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue (GBGRR) out of Houston. This year, with the hurricanes, their group has had an influx of dogs either separated, deserted or surrendered by their previous owners due to hardships caused by the storms. For this reason, they are in more of a need for financial assistance.

Each year, GBGRR has an annual online fundraiser to help support the dogs that are under their care in foster placement until they find their forever homes. This fundraiser, called the Tree of Hope, is one of their biggest events of the year. Their goal last year was $5,000 and they surpassed that goal thanks to the generosity of animal lovers across the US. This year, their goal is $10,000.

Please consider making a tax deductible donation to this wonderful group. The wonderful thing about this fundraiser is that you can choose a pre-set amount or set an amount of your own. But, please consider helping. Take a moment to look at the beautiful dogs waiting for their forever homes, and you’ll soon understand why I love this group so much.

If you would like to help, you can see the email below or go to their website at www.gbgrr.org. Thank you so much for your support! Happy Holidays to you!!

Tammy

Chief and Scooterboard Tug of War

Chief recently learned how to use the "pull" command to do different things in therapy. Sometimes, we will play tug of war games. We have a child seated on a therapy ball and have Chief pull on a tug toy to encourage improved postural control, balance, and upper extremity strengthening. This behavior is also used by Chief to open the gym doors for kids in wheelchairs. Since learning this new behavior, Chief has really learned how to adapt the strength of his pull to accomplish different things. He almost instinctively knows that with some kids, he can tug a little harder than others. Of course, I am right beside him with my clicker, controlling the distance / duration of the pull, and in some cases, the direction of pull to accomplish different goals.

In this video, Chief and Braydon are working together in a training session. Braydon is the child Chief is pulling on the scooterboard. The purpose of this activity is to be able to use this new behavior on a scooterboard, so we can incorporate vestibular processing into an activity with the dog. Many of our kids also need upper body strengthening, in the torso and in the arms. I am very careful not to have Chief pull too hard with children who have very low muscle tone, but a gentle pull by the dog requires a counter pull on the child's part. When the child is counter pulling, they are engaging the muscles in their abdomen and back to maintain posture (so we are working on trunk strengthening) as well as upper body strengthening in the shoulders and arms. Additionally, we are working on dynamic sitting balance in this same activity.

So enjoy this video of Chief and Braydon perfecting the scooterboard tug of war game that we created. Braydon was having so much fun he was radiating!! As you can see, Chief enjoys this kind of play, too!

(And yes, as you can see, I am 6 and 1/2 months pregnant and very much showing now!! Not the most flattering angle of me, I might add! LOL)

Clicker Training and AAT

Clicker training is a wonderful activity that can be easily incorporated into a therapy session with a dog. Clicker training is based on positive reinforcement, and teaches the child not only positive reinforcement techniques, but also how to communicate your needs to another "creature". In this photo, Braydon is working with Chief to perfect the "high 5" behavior.

Braydon has weekly visits with Chief, and during his visits, his primary task is to work on behaviors Chief already knows to teaching him new behaviors. Braydon understands and is learning clicker training, and he is a natural trainer! The therapeutic reasons we use this type of treatment activity are vast. Braydon has difficulty with fine motor dexterity. Using a clicker encourages FM control. Being able to move a piece of dog treat from the palm of his hand to his finger (known as palm to finger translation--a hand skill) requires significant dexterity skills. While Braydon is able to perform this skill, it does take him significant time to perform. However, when an anxious dog is waiting for his reward, there is an increased motivation to speed up this skill.

Additionally, as you can see by the photo, Braydon has very high muscle tone in his lower extremities. This makes standing, walking, and balance challenging for him. His physical therapist (not seen here because she doesn't like her photo taken..LOL) is facilitating correct standing posture while Braydon balances on the foam pad. Dynamic standing balance, which is applying movement during a functional task such as standing, is difficult for Braydon as well. So, I try to get him to work on behaviors that involve bending over, movement of his upper extremities, etc. to incorporate a dynamic component to this task.

Braydon also has difficulty managing frustration. Chief is the PERFECT match for Braydon, because he has this difficulty as well! When Chief is frustrated during training, he gets a little "mouthy" and will whine or vocalize a bit. Braydon has learned this is cue to help alleviate Chief's frustration by reducing the expectation or help him more. This cue is good for Braydon because it teaches him to also ask for assistance. If he doesn't know how to get Chief to do something, and himself becomes frustrated, he will look to me for guidance rather than have a "meltdown" (as was previously typical).

So, if you are looking for different activities that you can do with your dog during therapy visits, consider involving the patient in your dog's training process. It can be a learning, as well as therapeutic, experience for all!!

Pet Partner Evaluations in Houston, TX--January 11, 2009 (by appointment)

Hi Everyone!

Do you think you and your dog have what it takes to become a visiting therapy dog team? Are you interested in registering but don't know how to get started or where to go?

Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue and the French Alliance of Houston have teamed together with licensed Delta Society instructor/evaluator, Tammy Renaud (founder and director of national award winning program Jumpstart Therapies and owner of former GBGRR dog, Chief) to provide you with the opportunity to become a registered therapy dog team.

If you think you have what it takes and are interested, mark your calendars!! On January 11, 2009, Delta Society Pet Partners Team Evaluations will be hosted by the French Alliance in Houston, TX. Evaluations will be by appointment only from 9 am to 5 pm. Call or email NOW to reserve your spot!

If you are not familiar with Delta Society Pet Partners, please read below. We can walk you through the very easy, 4 step process to becoming a registered therapy dog team!

Founded in 1990, the Delta Society is a nationally recognized program that has trained and screened thousands of volunteers and their pets to become visiting animal teams. The Pet Partners program was developed to ensure that "both ends of the leash" were trained, screened, and prepared to provide animal assisted therapy or animal assisted activities to hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, schools, and other facilities.

Becoming a Pet Partner is easy, very cost effective and has some wonderful benefits! Besides the obvious benefits to those you visit, there are benefits to the volunteers as well!! The registration is national and is for TWO YEARS!!! So, if you move, your registration moves with you! Plus, Delta Society provides insur! ance to volunteers. For more information on the benefits of this program, go to this link: Benefits of Becoming a Pet Partner Team

The following are the steps to completing the process.

Step 1: Complete a Pet Partners Team Training Course. This can be done in either workshop or home study format. Home study courses can be purchased on the Delta Society website for $37.50. Click here to purchase a home study course or find a workshop near you.

Step 2: Complete a health screen with your veterinarian. The form for this screen is part of your registration packet and home study / workshop course book. Reasons why health screening is necessary.

Step 3: Complete a Pet Partners Team Evaluation. This is to ensure that the handler and animal are prepared and have the proper temperament for visiting animal programs. Click here to learn more about the evaluation process.

*** Please note that this is the only part of the process being offered at the French Alliance at this time!!! If you have not completed the Team Training Course, you will need to do that on your own prior to your evaluation.

Cost for evaluation at the French Alliance is $25 per evaluation. 1/2 of the proceeds for each evaluation will be donated by Tammy Renaud to GBGRR.

Step 4: Complete the registration packet and submit to Delta Society with fees. (FYI...the cost for one handler/one animal team is only $75.)

Once the process is complete, you will be prepared to join the 10,000 other Pet Partner teams across the U.S. and 15 other countries that are making a difference is so many people's lives.


So, if you are i! ntereste d in being evaluated with your dog, please contact Tammy Renaud at the following to reserve your spot today!!

Email: jumpstarttherapies@gmail.com


We look forward to hearing from you!

Chief Wins G.R.A.C.E. Award for 2008 in Education and Animal Assisted Therapy

On September 22, 2008, Tammy Renaud and Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue president Cil Henson, traveled to Providence, Rhode Island to accept an award given to Tammy's four legged therapy partner, Chief. This national award, the G.R.A.C.E. award, is a prestigious award given to golden retriever rescue groups across the United States. The purpose of the G.R.A.C.E. Awards is to recognize Rescued Goldens that have accomplished something significant and exceptional. G.R.A.C.E. stands for Golden Rescue and Community Excellence and awards are given for four categories of service: service dogs, military/law enforcement, animal assisted therapy, and education.

Nominated by his rescue group, Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue of Houston, TX because of the work he is doing at Kidz TherapEZE in Killeen, TX, Chief was found to have "outstanding skills" in the field of education and animal assisted therapy, according to Deb Orwig, President of Rescue A Golden of Arizona, the group who sponsors these annual awards. Chief was awarded the first ever dual award, for the categories of Education and Animal Assisted Therapy.

Taken from G.R.A.C.E Award Ceremony Brochure: "A day care center staff member arrived at work on November 2004 to find two 6-week old Golden puppies in a cardboard box on the front steps. Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue was contacted. The pups, then known as Desi (who became Chief) and Lucy, were riddled with intestinal parasites and had demodetic mange. After getting cleaned up and cleaned out, Chief was adopted by a family who loved him very much. However, after 2 1/2 years of trying unsuccessfully to train Chief not to chase after their rare-breed goats, they surrendered him back to GBGRR. He was then adopted by Tammy Renaud, who had been looking for a dog she could use in her work as an occupational therapist.

Chief award has both an educational and therapeutic aspect. During therapy, he plays educational games with children, and these games are designed to stimulate and improve various physical movements, decision making, perception and dexterity. In one activity, a dog biscuit is placed inside a dog puzzle by the child and given to Chief to remove. The child needs to have dexterity and visual motor skills to place the piece of food into the apparatus. In other activities, Chief assists with visual perceptual skills, such as sequential memory, touching different objects for the child to later remember in sequential order. Chief even paints with the children by grasping a paintbrush holder in his mouth.

Chief has helped children with a variety of developmental delays, sensory processing dysfunction, and social and emotional delays improve their life skills. It is with great honor that Chief is awarded the G.R.A.C.E. Award for 2008 for his work in education and therapeutic activities."

Way to go Chief!! We are so proud of you buddy!!

Help Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue Win $10,000

Vote for Golden Beginnings as America's Best Shelter and help them win a $10,000 donation. This group of dedicated volunteers have spent countless hours rescuing golden retrievers and helping them find wonderful forever homes.

I am a Golden Beginnings Adoptee. Three of my dogs, Chief, Abbey, and now Cami have been rescued by this group. Chief, once surrendered by his owners, is now a national award winning dog in Animal Assisted Therapy. Abbey, a personal pet, was adopted after her mother, Elsa, gave birth to 15 puppies after being dumped on someone's doorstep. Cami, my newest addition, was a hurricane Ike survivor. And these success stories are directly due to the unwaivering dedication of these volunteers who just want to give these dogs a new leash on life.

Vote for them today!! Your vote could help thousands more dogs be rescued and placed in their forever homes.

Thank you for your support!!
Tammy

Pet Partner Evaluations Scheduled for Austin Area on October 11, 2008

Tammy Renaud, licensed Pet Partners Evaluator, will be holding Pet Partner Team Evaluations in Dripping Springs, TX on October 11, 2008.


Evaluations are open to new and renewal Pet Partner teams. Tammy has experience evaluating dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, llamas, miniature horses, and other small animals for the Pet Partners program.

Evaluations are by appointment only--no walk-in appointments please.
Cost per evaluation is $25.

Location is:
Texas Hearing and Service Dog Training Center
4925 Pond Springs Road
Dripping Springs, TX

For more information, please contact Tammy via email at jumpstarttherapies@gmail.com

Leya Walking With Chief

Chief is Painting!!!

After many training sessions of shaping this behavior, we finally have Chief's first piece of artwork...and yes, it is going to be framed!! This whole process has had many small steps of learning specific skills, such as just holding a paintbrush. Who would have known that getting a retriever to hold something in their mouth would be so difficult, but actually it is.

When you have a dog, like Chief, who is very "mouthy" with toys, asking him to hold a paintbrush for a long period of time was very hard. We started with him taking it from my hand, and when he would hold for a second, he would chew the holder. So, that method didn't work. I decided to teach him just to hold objects, so many sessions focused on this behavior alone. Next, I had to decide what would be the best type of thing for him to hold in his mouth. The paintbrush alone was too small, so I tried a tennis ball (WRONG idea!!). After discussing this with professional trainers at Texas Hearing and Service Dogs, I learned my rookie mistake. We switched to a piece of foam that OTs typically issue to increase the diameter of handles for utensils, and that was the key!! This was something he could sink his teeth into but that wouldn't be something he would be interested in tearing up. It was perfect.




After many sessions of making the paintbrush "hot", I then began to add the cue "get your brush" for him to pick it up. I would toss the paintbrush across the room and have him retrieve it to encourage him to want to walk with the brush in his mouth. This then turned into "over here" cue for him to approach the canvas. The next chain of behavior was "get your brush/over here/touch" which translates to picking up the brush, walking to the canvas, and then touching the brush to the paper. The end product was a few strokes of paint on a piece of construction paper..Chief's very first piece of artwork.

Just "Nosing" Around the Therapy Room

When planning a therapy session with animals, remember that the toy you select to engage both the child and the dog can have therapeutic qualities. As I am purchasing toys for the program, I am constantly trying to assess what functional performance areas the toy could facilitate. Many of the toys can facilitate grasp, fine motor skills, visual motor coordination, and sensory integration.

One such toy is this, called "The Eog Fighter" by Nina Ottosson. This toy can be purchased directly on her website (but it is in Swedish) www.nina-ottoson.com or it can be found on Karen Pryor's Clicker Training website www.clickertraining.com. This toy is an educational toy for dogs. Snacks can be hidden under the wooden blocks and inserted into the puzzle. The dog must then figure out how to remove the blocks to retrieve the treat.

Therapeutically, this toy addresses many things. The blocks must be picked up using a 3 chuck jaw grasp pattern (thumb, index, and second hird digits) while the last 2 fingers lie against the palm of the hand. To insert a piece of treat, a pincer grasp (thumb and index finger) is used to pick up and drop the treat into the hole of the block. Visual motor skills of inserting the block into the slot addresses simple shapes for puzzles or motor control to insert a peg into a hole. Sliding the peg into position addresses visual motor control and for small children, imitates the pre-writing stroke of a horizontal or vertical line, depending on how it is positioned in front of the child.

Once the treats and pegs are in place, let the dog try to figure out how to remove them. It's fun for all!!

Here is Chief trying it for the first time.

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!!!

Merry Christmas from Chief

Chief and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

May Santa bring you all the bones and squeaky toys your hearts desire (a personal note from Chief).

Happy Holidays

Hey, Mom..Is That My New Toy???

Just a Swingin'

In Sensory Integration treatment (SI) for children with sensory processing dysfunction, we often use swinging on different mediums as ways to stimulate the vestibular-proprioceptive system. Vestibular processing gives our central nervous system information about our position in space, balance, and postural control. Often, children who have difficulty with vestibular processing have low muscle tone throughout their body, which means their overall endurance is low for activity (although strength for short duration muscle activity may be adequate). We often use swings, such as this platform swing, in SI to address these areas of function. The child may be positioned in standing/sitting/quadruped on the swing and the swing moved in different planes of movement (for example linear or orbital) depending on the child's needs.

Sometimes, the swing can be used to help calm children who are over stimulated. Linear and rhythmical movements tend to have a calming effect on us. Often times, if I have a child who needs to calm themselves a bit, I will place them on the swing and move it slowly. (Think of how many mothers have used rocking chairs to soothe a child...same concept).

In this video, I am teaching Chief to get used to the moving platform swing in preparation for him sitting on the swing with one of the kids. My goal is for him to be comfortable with being on the swing independent of me and the child either sitting or laying with him.

This is only the 3rd training session on the swing...and this was after having a week off from training. Shows you how quickly Chief has learned to trust me and enjoys his training. He really has an enormous amount of trust and self esteem that has developed through his training.

Tammy

Chief....Sit on That Child :)

No, Braydon is not in trouble and Chief is doing what he's been asked to do.

Our clinic works with many children who have sensory processing dysfunction. Many of these children have difficulty regulating their sensory systems, which means that all of the sensory information that they receive in their central nervous system is processed incorrectly, usually resulting in behavioral and/or emotional reactions. A child can be hyper or hypo sensitive to sensory information. One way that we help our kids to regulate their systems better is to provide opportunities for calming their systems. What I mean by this is that we provide the child with activities that will help the child receive sensory information to the joints in their body, which has a calming effect. This is usually done through deep pressure, such as given them a bear hug or providing joint compressions.

This photograph illustrates a way that the dog can be incorporated into sensory integration therapy to provide deep pressure for calming. Normally, the therapist would be laying over the child. The pressure is dispersed across the surface area of the bean bag chairs and provides pressure to more areas of the child's body.

Chief has now been taught to help with this very important SI activity...and quite frankly, he likes it!!! Braydon commented that he could feel the vibration of Chief's panting through the bean bag...and that he thought it felt good on his body.

Since teaching Chief to do this, we have used it with several of our children who were needing some calming strategies, all with a positive response following this technique.

Looks like Chief has a new behavior to add to his "toolbox".

Tammy

Ecuador Learns About Therapy Dogs

While most of you were sleeping from the triptophan from your turkey dinner this Thanksgiving holiday, I was on my way to the southern hemisphere with my colleagues from Fundacion Bocalan (based out of Madrid, Spain) to introduce the concept of service dogs and therapy dogs to Ecuador. I think, subconsciously, I was smelling turkey every where I went.

This was an exciting trip for me, as we are doing ground-breaking work in Latin America, and to be asked to be a part of something so large was an honor. Much of South America have very few laws protecting animals, let alone opportunities to provide such a wonderful resource for persons who have mobility challenges. Lead by Bocalan president, Teo Mariscal, we presented information on the importance of the human animal bond, the benefits of service dogs to people with disabilities, and the wonderful and exciting work of therapy animals. Our mission was to provide learning opportunities to interested healthcare professsionals, university students (which included veterinary students), and dog trainers so that programs may be started in Ecuador. A group based out of Quito, Ecuador, called Can y Cultura, is the group leading this expedition, and they are very excited about the possibilities.

Some observations that I made as an OT really impressed upon me the importance of Bocalan's work. In South America, it is very evident that the environmental barriers for people with disabilities are immense. Looking at the streets of Guayaquil, where the conference was held, I noticed very few people in wheelchairs. I also noticed that few streets had accessibility for wheelchairs. Then, as far as moving safely around the community, the traffic in Guayaquil was scary! Pedestrians do not have the right of way...not at all!! Imagining a service dog trying to assist their human partner across the street sent me into an anxiety fit.

But this is offset by other quaint towns, such as Cuenca, where you see curb cuts in the street and pedestrians are respected. In this town, I could see service dogs working.

I think it will be a long road for such programs and laws protecting these dogs, as well as changing the mindset...but I think it can be done. And, with Bocalan and Can y Cultura working together....I know it will be done.

I want to thank Fundacion Bocalan, yet again, for inviting me to help in this work. I look forward to more opportunities.

Tammy