Face of Autism:The Giancani Family
My beautiful soul; Charlie
Charlie, now a 7 year old boy was born with a rare diagnosis of 18 Q deletion of the long arm of the 18th Chromosome. Charlie has several health issues related to the 18Q syndrome. He also has complex needs.
He is hearing impaired and non-verbal. At the young age of 2, he was found to be growth hormone deficient and therefore requires a needle 6 nights a week in order to ensure he grows within normal standards.
He has fine and gross motor delays, poor eye contact, low muscle tone and poor reflexes. He was first diagnosed as being autistic when he was just 2 years of age.
Charlie has been attending E.C. Drury, Elementary School for the Deaf located in Milton for 3 years now. He has learned some ASL (American Sign Language) since his very first day of school. Unfortunately, due to his cognitive delay, he has only about 15 expressive signs and for the most part will use finger pointing and/or tantrums as an attempt to get his point across. There is no other way for Charlie to communicate at this moment.
As many children with Autism, Charlie has a strong need for routine and structured environments. A small change in his routine would create feelings of anxiety and fear. He is prone to outbursts and may have trouble with changes in his environment.
At times, he can exhibit serious behavioral changes. Charlie cannot express himself appropriately when he needs something or is feeling fear, anxiety, or stress. Therefore, his only way is to throw items around the house in order to gain attention. This has become a major safety issue within our home.
Charlie’s sensory perceptions are disordered. The environment in which he has to live in often seems hostile to him. He can be belligerent at times and that is basically his way of defending himself. For instance, Charlie does not tolerate going into many stores. Within minutes of entering a non-preferred store, he begins to cry, scream, kick and displays a high level of anxiety. We have had to leave the mall on many occasions because of the extreme meltdowns.
Charlie’s world is a combination of sensory input, loudness, tantrums and withdrawn behaviors.
I am a mother of 4 children. Charlie has 2 brothers and one sister. Chris is an active 14 years old teenager with dreams larger than life itself. Gian Luca is a 9 year old boy whom has a passion for Basketball and hopes to become a professional NBA player. Hope is a 4 year old little girl who believes to be the next Hannah Montana or a Pop Sensation as she enters her teen years. Charlie’s brothers and sister are able to express their dreams and passions. Charlie on the other hand, is unable to express his. I hope one day he will be able to do so.
Charlie frequently sees an OT, PT as well as a Behavioural Consultant, but something was missing. A consultant at E.C. Drury talked to us about Autism Dog Services and this is how our journey with Autism Dog Services began.
We knew the road to receiving a “guardian Angel” for Charlie was not going to be of an easy one. This was mainly because of the intense training involved, Charlie’s lack of patience at training sessions and our hope of being able to train his service dog for hearing impairment makes it that much more complicated. “Bring on the challenge”, I told Charlie’s dog trainer. “I am up for it. I will do whatever is necessary to ensure this training gets done!”
Service dogs are known to help autistic children with their anxiety issues.
Having an Autism Service Dog will enhance Charlie’s independence. Being deaf and non-verbal, Charlie requires both an independence and confidence level. We are highly concerned about Charlie’s future. His meltdowns, lack of communication and awareness of his surroundings limits his interactions with other people. His personal safety is also threatened.
Autism Dog Services can provide Charlie with help, confidence and hope that we thought would be impossible for Charlie.
We know Charlie requires continued supervision and companionship. An Autism Service Dog would provide companionship, guidance and even keep Charlie from getting into harms way. These dogs are specifically trained to improve a child’s safety out in public, something Charlie needs.
Charlie has been trying out one of the ADS dogs. He is a black Lab named Jasper. Jasper is currently 13 months old and still in training. He is a well mannered and well tempered dog. He has shown great interest in Charlie and Charlie has shown great interest in Jasper –something we had not noticed with a former trained trial dog.
Jasper will be trained to be a calming influence, providing a constant between home, school and other new places. We want Charlie to be able to experience more of life, and so far Jasper has shown us that his help to Charlie can do just that in the future. Jasper does not react when Charlie "throws a fit" during times of transition from one activity to another, or simply when things are not going his way. This calms Charlie much more quickly than usual.
When we first started working with ADS, our son couldn’t care less where the dog was and then all of a sudden comes Jasper the Black Lab and Charlie started requesting that Jasper be next to him by slapping his hand on the floor next to him. Jasper has only been here for a few days and already he knows the routine. We don't do anything without Jasper. Where Charlie goes, Jasper goes. Jasper sits by Charlie’s side at every meal, he will watch Charlie bathe and will lick the soap off his back. Charlie’s interest in a dog has grown leaps and bounds.
Jasper has become a wonderful addition to our family. He has become Charlie’s new world. He has allowed him to become a small part of society and has helped Charlie with his meltdown periods. Charlie is now petting Jasper, something he has never bothered doing in the past. He lays on Jasper and will sign “stay” to him when he does not want Jasper to follow him or move around.
It will be extremely hard to return Jasper to his trainer as he continues to progress with training sessions, but we now know that Jasper has done wonders for Charlie and our family. He is now the friend Charlie has waited for so long to find. My Christmas wish for my son is to be able to come up with the cost of the dog, which is $18,000 for its training and related costs.
I thank Autism Dog Services for their hard work with their dogs. Words can not express my gratitude for the service they provide to exceptional children in need.
If you are interested in learning more about Charlie, or if you would like to make a contribute you may visit his website http://sites.google.com/site/charliesautismservicedog/
or my Facebook page titled “Charlie’s Sentinel”.
1488
2nd Concession Road West,
R.R. #1
Lynden, Ontario
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