Autistic Archives - ILoveDogsAndPuppies

This Boy Had No Friends Until Kind Strangers Got Him One He So Desperately Needed

Mr.Dog — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 23:00:14 +0000

Evan has always had a hard time making friends. Often bullied and ignored because of kids not understanding why he might behave a bit differently, school life has been tough on the autistic child.

This all changed when Hazel came into his life. The golden retriever is a qualified service dog who was gifted to Evan and his family by kind strangers. They hoped the pup would help him bond with other kids in school. Not only is Hazel a trusty friend to Evan, but kids have started coming up to him at school to pet her, connecting with Evan at the same time.

My heart goes out to Evan and any other kids that have had to go through bullying. It’s nice to hear that he has a trusty friend now who loves him just the way he is.

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Autistic Boy Never Felt Loved Until This Pit Bull Changed His Life

Mr.Dog — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 01:24:10 +0000

From the time her son was only 3 years old, Joey’s mother knew that there was something different with her son. As she would make advances to show her son love and affection, he would turn away and deny her love, even throwing extreme temper tantrums. Joey didn’t want to want to give or receive affection, and it pained his mother a great deal that her son didn’t have a desire to feel loved. Once he reached grade school, Joey was diagnosed with high-functioning Asperger’s. He always preferred being alone, until one truly special dog changed his life forever. His mother took a chance on a pit bull named Roxy, despite her preconceived notions that pit bulls were “scary” or “mean.” And by taking a leap of faith, this was all that was needed to change her son’s life in ways she never thought possible:

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Dog Gives Mom of Autistic Child an Amazing Gift

Mr.Dog — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 00:51:14 +0000

Autism is a very difficult disease to have. Not just for the person with autism, but also their loved ones. Depending on where someone falls on the autism spectrum, symptoms can range from ones that if you weren’t a doctor with a specialty in autism you’d never notice them, all the way up to some pretty extreme emotional and behavioral disorders.

Joey Granados was diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. It is a higher functioning form of autism, but still has very noticeable symptoms. As one could imagine, getting this news from doctors was a tough thing for Joey’s mom, Amanda.

With Asperger’s, a severe dislike of physical contact is common. Sometimes, physical contact with someone with Asperger’s can result in violent outlashing. Behavior and social skills don’t come easy to those with Asperger’s, and for some can be the worst part of all.

The worst part of any of this, for Amanda at least, was that she couldn’t have that physical contact with her son. To never really be able to kiss, cuddle or love your child like every good mother wants to by nature is crippling to some, and can cause long term damage mentally and emotionally speaking.

Amanda thought that it was just going to be an impossibility. That is until a few months ago when someone new came into Joey’s life. This someone’s name was Roxy. She was tall, had a silly disposition and was covered in gray fur. That’s right, Roxy is a dog.

“I get emotional thinking about it,” said Amanda in an interview. “For all those years, he wouldn’t hold my hand, he wouldn’t hug me — it was all part of the autism — but this dog has taught him how to give and show affection. He holds my hand now! He hugs me! The first time I got a kiss on the cheek was when Roxy came home.”

Joey is now 14, and things do seem to be getting a bit easier for him. He gives the credit to Roxy, his best friend, for showing him how to love, and for helping him to pick up on those social cues that those with Aspergers’ just seem to have so much trouble with.

“I didn’t have too many friends growing up, but then we got Roxy and I’ve been able to make friends ever since,” said Joey. “At home, I’ve been able to hold my mom’s hand, kiss her, hug her and do a lot of things that I hadn’t been able to do growing up. She’s opened up my heart.”

Thanks to the incredible power of love and friendship, Roxy has taught Joey many things that without her, he might have never known.

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