Several people told me when contemplating a service dog for Sam that he was too afraid of dogs in person. I knew that eventually Sam would grow out of the fear once he became familiar with Bubbles. He now is able to go to a dog class, play fetch with Bubbles, climb into Bubbles’ crate with her and opens the back door for her when she wants to come in or out of the house. Last week while on a walking trip he pet another person’s dog without any qualms. He actually approaches other dogs without prompting. Now our problem is we have to watch and make sure he doesn’t pet/approach another person’s dog without asking.
Trips to malls are usually kind of like doctors appointments with Sammy. He is attracted to exit doors, escalators, fountains and there is always the enjoyment of cutting loose and running away from Mommy, Daddy or Auntie as well. Although I do not always think Sammy is running off for enjoyment (sometimes it is for escape from something he fears), when it is in the mall I can tell from the way he looks back and the grin on his face that those moments are pure gratification for the boy. And sometimes I don’t even begin to know why he is trying to run off. Like in the middle of the night at 3AM when he awakens and runs to the front door or garage door and is almost mad in fear.
So when we showed up to the mall for a public access meeting/training session on this last Sunday, October 30th and a store employee offered Sammy a lollipop and said that that day was the mall’s Halloween pass out candy day, I thought to myself, “oh my” what are we in for today. With Rachel Friedman and her duagheter, Sophie, by our sides guiding us through the outing, it went very well. We got to sit by a fountain area; Sammy used a public restroom (with Bubbles by his side) and go up and down an escalator. This is video taken and edited by Rachel Friedman, and here is her blog post about the session.
Having to explain to every person at each house during trick or treating on Halloween that your son has Autism can be daunting. Sammy usually does not enjoy Halloween. He does not like costumes, he does not like most candy (believe or not) and he often wants to enter people’s home when you go up to the door. From his point of view, (think about if it is not Halloween, in normal everyday life) what do you usually do once you have walked up to a house, gone up to a front door, knocked on a door, somebody opens the door on the other side and you greet them? You usually go inside, right? So not going inside can be very confusing to Sam. So as we leave each house after being given candy, Sammy usually states, “I want to go inside”.
I have considered not doing Halloween with Sam and most years we just go to one or two houses because of the meltdown that happens whenever we try to leave for the next house. This year was better as Bubbles came with us. We made it down our street and around the block of our old neighborhood. Sammy didn’t even ask to “go inside” until fifteen houses. And his therapist at school had worked with him all week to get him to tolerate his costume. Go Sammy!!
We have had a problem with some creature getting into our garage and into our garbage, so Gary decided to put out a live trap in our garage to catch this said creature. Well sure enough the next afternoon I came home from work and was exiting the garage with Bubbles to take her for a walk when she noticed a mouse in the trap, still alive (yes it’s a live trap since we didn’t know how large this creature was). Well at this moment Gary pulled into the drive and got out of his car I told him he had caught a mouse in his trap and as soon as he said, “Don’t let Bubbles get too close.” I look over at Bubbles and she has knocked the trap upside down and the mouse is loose. Bubbles catches the mouse and I am completely mortified, Bubbles drops the mouse and begins to chase it to the side of the house where there is a vegetable garden. As Bubbles is trying to find the mouse, I hear Joyce exclaim from inside the house, “SAMMY GOT OUT”. (This is another prime example of how Sammy is able to pick the best opportunities to make his run.) Not being able to see Sam because we are at the side of the house, Bubbles is engrossed in her mouse finding activity, I say to her “Go get your Boy” and she had no qualms leaving her mouse to go get her boy. She runs back to the front of the house and goes to Sammy. He had only made it to the street by the time Bubbles and Gary had gotten him. Good Job Bubbles!
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