A Guelph boy’s life has been forever changed with the help of a donation from the Fergus Lions Club.
Liam Barrett, 11, was diagnosed with autism when he was seven years old, and last fall he was matched with his first ever autism assistance dog.
Vico, a two-year-old yellow lab, was trained through the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides program.
“What Vico and Dog Guides has given to us, to Liam and to our family, is something we can’t even put a price tag on,” said Liam’s mother Michelle Barrett.
Before Vico, Liam said his life was “very hard.”
“Lots of difficulties at school and still is right now,” he said. “There was lots of bullying going on last year.”
Michelle said Liam was having trouble in school, making friends and feeling comfortable.
But dogs have always been able to help Liam calm down.
“He could have a meltdown and the dogs would either come to him or he would go and seek out dogs that were around and he would just lay there and pet the dog and he would be able to calm down more than we could have ever imagined,” Michelle said.
“We knew that there was something coming from the dogs that was helping him to relax and be able to verbalize what he was upset about as opposed to hour-long screaming.”
Liam said he remembers playing with a friend’s dog while camping in 2015 as the start of the family’s journey to Vico.
After receiving a letter of recommendation from Liam’s pediatrician and filling out an application in 2015, the family was on its way to receiving a dog, but they had to wait almost two years for Vico.
Trainers from the autism assistance program at Dog Guides came to the Barrett’s home to observe the family dynamic and the house and to assess the needs of the child. They also asked about the family’s main needs and goals for a dog.
“For us it was helping Liam sleep, to give him a best buddy … so he always has someone there for him and to keep him safe and the deep pressure (therapy),” Michelle said.
The trainers thought Vico was a potential match and began his training.
“The other thing that played a factor in his selection was that he builds a really strong bond with one person, but not as much with the other people around,” said Liam’s dad, Will Barrett.
“So because Liam has a sibling at home they knew he would build a really strong bond with Liam but tend to not (pay as much) attention to Kaitlyn.”
Once Vico was trained Michelle went to the Dog Guides facility in Oakville to learn to be his handler.
“We met Vico and immediately, even after spending a couple hours with him, I knew that he was the right fit for Liam,” Michelle said.
“It was quite something to see just how much thought goes into the process.”
On the last day of training Michelle said she was sitting in class when she found out that Vico was sponsored by the Fergus Lions Club.
Ben Collings, co-chair for the Fergus Lions Walk for Dog Guides, said the club raised money beyond the funds generated at the annual event and chose to sponsor an autism assistance dog.
The sponsorship covers a portion of the $25,000 cost to raise, train and place each dog with its handler.
“It was a really cool thing to just know that the people were kind of behind you,” Michelle said.
Now that Vico has been part of the Barrett family for almost five months, Michelle says their lives are completely changed.
“[Liam] was on his screen less, which is nice. He actually wants to interact a little bit more with the family as well,” Michelle said.
“So when he comes home from school if he’s stressed out or had a bad day, he will immediately go to Vico and just cuddle with him on the floor or whatever and he just is able to relax.
“He’ll talk to us more because he’ll just sit here and he’ll pat Vico and just talk. So it’s done a lot of things that we couldn’t have even imagined happening.”
Vico isn’t going to school with Liam yet, but the family hopes he will start either this spring or in September.
Another way Vico helps Liam is supporting him in public places. Michelle said they are now able to go to the movie theatre as a family.
“In movie theatres I usually get a lot of anxiety,” Liam said. “He just goes right up on top of me and just hugs and it makes me feel good and happy.”
Vico’s “hugs” are deep pressure therapy, something Liam needs to help control his anxiety. Before getting Vico, Michelle said she or Will would have to squeeze Liam or wrap him in a blanket to achieve the deep pressure affect.
Will noted Vico also helps Liam in stores.
“The other thing with Liam’s level of autism is going into a public place or any public area where there’s a lot of people. The sensory overload becomes a huge issue very, very quickly and he used to have really big problems with social situations, even going to the grocery store,” Will said.
He added Liam would often leave, scream or throw himself down to get out of the situation.
“So having a companion with him now actually seems to help him deal with the sensory part of it,” Will said. “And he’s always got his dog to turn to for comfort …
“He realizes he’s got somebody there with him so he’s not as focused on maybe people looking at him or the noise going on in the store or at the car dealership or wherever he happens to be.”
Michelle said people are very welcoming to Vico in public places.
“We’ve just had nothing but positive experiences when we’ve been out,” she said. “People love to ask questions; the stores and stuff we’ve been into, there’s been no issues as far as access goes and anything like that, there’s just a lot more understanding and empathy I think when we’re out which is really nice.”
Another big way Vico helps Liam is at night.
“Liam used to take five hours at night to fall asleep – five if not more – just because we’re dealing with some changes right now,” Michelle said.
But with Vico, Liam is able to stay in his room and try to get to sleep.
“And we actually get to sleep for the majority of the night … knowing he’s safe with [Vico] and we know he’s awake and he’s kind of chatting … to his dog. Like they’ll have full conversations, which is quite something.”
Vico is also trained to drop and not move on command in case Liam’s parents are worried Liam might bolt (the boy and dog are tethered together), allowing them to keep Liam safe while providing the independence of not having to hold his parents’ hands.
The goal is to have Vico as a service dog for eight to ten years.
“It was quite the process just to see and decide if this was going to be the right thing for us or not because it is a big undertaking,” Michelle said.
“You are taking a dog around everywhere with you, and you wonder is it going to be as great as you hope it’s going to be.
“Thankfully for us it has worked out better than what we could have ever imagined.”
For more information about Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides visit www.dogguides.com.
