Learning the Ropes!
We have seen tremendous progress in many of Valen's charges: from the young boy who had an incredibly hard time controlling his movements and communicating with the outside world, to the emotionally (and physically) shattered young girl who needed an anchor on which to rely as she relearned how to walk.
Valen has an extensive vocabulary in three languages (French, English and ASL) and understands multiple variations of ASL depending on the mobility and dexterity of his young charges. He adapts to new "clients" at an incredible speed - instinctively knowing what they need, and how to provide it to them. He is patient beyond belief, and truly enjoys his work. He is highly attentive, and detects minute differences in sometimes awkward movements and can interpret those as commands or requests. He is hyper-aware of his surroundings, and can make sound decisions as to safety in traffic. I have learned most of what I know about occupational therapy and the use of animals in the therapeutic component of the equation through Valen. He brings smiles wherever he goes, and he has motivated many young folk who had "given up" on communicating with the outside world to try again. Nothing, NOTHING will ever come close to the experience we had with one young boy who was totally non-verbal and relied on a very small vocabulary of signs... He had started regressing and using less and less of his "words" as he was growing frustrated about not being understood. Well, after only 6 months of intensive work, not only had his vocabulary expanded exponentially, but he was actually tring to verbalise. His sound production was becoming more and more precise... and I'll never forget the day he was climbing up a staircase (a huge feat!) with Valen's help, and he turned around and did his best to actually say the words "good dog"... It came out more like "goh Dawff"... and that's why even today, we still nickname Valen "Duff".
|
 Valen the Working Dog |