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Day in Health
by Lisa Collier Cool
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Therapy dog Boo with his trainer Lisa Edwards. _________ Boo, a 12-year-old black Lab mix, isnt very smart, but hes helped disabled kids learn to readand even to speak. Before meeting Boo, Marc Oliviere, then 6, had never said a single word. If his mom April, said, Good morning, Marc would just stare. Meals were a guessing game as the Mahopac, NY mom held up various foods and waited for him to point to his choices. And when he came home from kindergarten with cuts on his back, April had to call the school to find out what happened. It turned out that another kid had bitten him during recess. But Marc wouldnt tell her who did it, or if he was in pain. Know When to Consult a Psychologist
We had no idea what was going through his little head, April told me. It was sad and frustrating not to know what he wanted or how he felt. A therapist diagnosed him with selective mutism, a childhood anxiety disorder in which kids clam up in certain settingssuch as schoolor dont talk at all. After speech and behavioral therapy failed to help, the Olivieres enrolled Marc in a program for kids with learning disabilities. Marcs teacher, Penny Weiser, had never had a student with selective mutism before. Even in textbooks for educators, I couldnt find any treatments to help Marc break out of his shell, says Weiser, who hoped working with a therapy dog would help. I thought, Maybe the healing power of an animal would help Marc get the words out. 7 Simple Ways to Keep Your Pet Healthy
An Amazing Breakthrough
Boo and his trainer, Lisa Edwards, volunteered to work with the class once a week. During the first session, the kids nudged each other when Edwards explained that something was wrong with Boos brain: As a puppy, he was such a slow learner that it took him two years to master simple tricks, like sit or stay. I could see the kids making the connection that Boo had disabilitiesjust like them, recalls Edwards, who has written a memoir, A Dog Named Boo: How One Dog and One Woman Rescued Each Otherand the Lives They Transformed Along the Way. As Marc hugged Boo and rubbed his face gently against the dogs soft fur, Edwards saw the second grader mouth the words, Good boy.
Speechlesswith Joy
When Marc got off the school bus that afternoon, April could see that he was bursting with excitement. Did something happen at school? asked the mom, who thought the therapy dog was scheduled to visit the following week.
Marcs eyes sparkled. Boo, he whispered, then his voice grew louder as a torrent of words spilled out. I petted him! I brushed him! I love him! The little boy raced into his bedroom, grabbed his Scooby Doo toy, and acted out the entire therapy session, using the stuffed dog as a prop. For once, it was April who was speechlessfrom joy. It was so amazing I couldnt believe my ears, she recalls. It was as if a door had opened and we could finally see what was inside. Thank goodness for Boothat dog is a miracle worker. That night, Marc slept with a photo of the therapy dog under his pillow, fondling it like a security blanket. Since then, the shy little boy has blossomed both socially and academically. Hes now in mainstream classes in middle school and has a dog of his own, a terrier named Black Jack. Now that he can finally tell us how he feels, we discovered his personality, April told me. Hes still a very sweet, loving boy, but now hes a talking sweetheartwith a lot to say.
happened next, recalls Erich. Hes very kind and helped me be a better reader.