Imagine you’ve dropped your car keys on the floor but you can’t reach them as you cannot bend over without putting your health at risk. Or that you are a ten-year-old and you can’t have any time by yourself, as your condition means that someone always needs to be there to help you.

Imagine not being able to go anywhere as a family, as one of your children just can’t cope with life outside because he has autism, and finds lots of environments too overwhelming and just wants to run away.

The Dogs for the Disabled Charity have changed these scenarios by offering a sense of independence through creating partnerships with assistance dogs. Each assistance dog is trained to undertake a range of practical taskwork including opening doors, retrieving items that may have been dropped or are out of reach, push access buttons outside shops, or bark on command to raise the alarm, if help is needed. In addition, autism assistance dogs are trained to act as a calming focus for children with autism, enabling each child to remain calm in places they may have previously found distressing.

All puppies brought into the scheme are socialised by a volunteer team for the first 14 months of the puppy’s life. This is so that each puppy can grow and develop in a caring and nurturing environment, giving them the right start to their career as an assistance dog. Each puppy is placed with a volunteer puppy socialiser at around the age of seven weeks. With the support of the puppy co-ordinating team, basic obedience such as walking quietly to heel on the lead, sit, down and stay will be developed during this stage of the dog’s life.

Socialisers will ensure that the puppy has been well socialised in a range of environments.

These include schools, town centres, shops and restaurants or travelling on public transport — any place where they will likely go with their partner, once they become an accredited assistance dog.

Once a partnership has been created through a matching assessment, the volunteer will carry out regular aftercare visits to ensure that both the dog and the client are settled and working well together. Dogs for the Disabled offer three assistance dog programmes: assistance dogs for disabled adults, assistance dogs for disabled children under six and children with autism (aged three to ten). Anyone with a physical disability or a parent of a child with autism can apply for an assistance dog.

Some referrals come through GPs or recommendations from other service providers. Details of how to apply, including an application form, can be accessed through their website: www.dogsforthedisabled.org

For more information about becoming a puppy socialiser, call Tracey Brewer on 01295 252600.

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