19. Paws 4 Autism - How Dogs Can Help Your Kids on the Spectrum with Terri Wible
In this week's episode, I interview Terri Wible, an autism mom and founder and director of Paws 4 Autism, which provides autism service dogs and related services in the Kansas City Metro area.
Terri founded Paws 4 Autism in 2010 after seeing remarkable benefits of having an autism service dog for her daughter Adriana who has what Terri calls angry autism.
The transformation Grady, their first autism service dog, brought was literally overnight. Adriana slept through the night, for the first time.
In addition, since Adriana (now 15) got Grady, she’s only had two suspensions due to her outburst and behavior. She had six before December of her kindergarten year. Having Grady has given her somewhere to focus her energy.
Terri talks about 3 major things that autism service dogs can help with: Sleep, eloping, and repetitive behavior.
Paws 4 Autism also creates job opportunities for people on the spectrum by giving them training to be dog trainers, service dog trainers, and therapy dog trainers. Terri believes 80% of those on the spectrum have what she calls the dog-whispering gene, where they can communicate with dogs non-verbally on a level that she can only dream of.
"I bring them in and teach them how to use that God-given ability and use that for a profession so that they’re not so dependent on everything and everyone," Terri shares.
Terri tells us how Adriana is on a whole different level when she is working with a dog. She’s gotten so much confidence in herself that now they're looking at her going into a special program for welding.
Terri urges other moms out there to not give up. "There is always a way."
Tune in to this inspiring episode and learn how autism service dogs can change the lives of people living with autism.
Enjoy the show!
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Resources/Links
Paws4Autism https://www.paws4autism.org/
Twitter https://twitter.com/Paws4Autism
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/paws4autism/
Mother's Guide Through Autism Private Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersguidethroughautism