Tracey Stoll and Assistance Dog Gleason spoke at the opening of the NEADS Breeding Center. What follows are excerpts from her remarks:
Gleason and I were matched in March of 2021. As a testament to the thorough vetting process of NEADS, we were an immediate fit. Gleason came into the room full of life, love, and energy that would match perfectly to both my work environment, my family personalities, and myself.
Shortly after our extended week of training, Gleason and I began our work together at two organizations I run for individuals between the ages of 2 years old and 30 years old challenged with social-emotional learning disorders and autism.
Gleason’s skills as a highly trained Assistance Dog have a profound effect on my clients, on my colleagues, and the environments in which we work. At Learning Solutions, LLC, Gleason and I work on social skills and behavior either individually or in small groups with students up to age 22. These students struggle with anxiety, perspective taking, understanding non-verbal communication and being able to build successful relationships with others. Gleason provides unconditional love to all, a soft, caring presence without judgement, and a playmate who provides predictable responses to certain gestures and requests. Gleason is both patient and responsive.
Gleason and I are able to model for our students what it means to follow the thought of another by finding kibble hidden in a maze; to follow the directions of a play plan by playing get it with reciprocal turn taking, and to read body language and faces by following eye gaze in order to understand what another may be thinking or wanting. One especially fun activity for young learners is to tach them that Gleason sometimes needs to use his “wait brain” too, even when he wants something right away.
At The Common Room, where Gleason and I now spend most of our time, we work with young adults between the ages of 18 and 32 years old, challenged with high cognitive autism and similar social profiles. These young adults participate in scheduled social-recreational activities within the community, through virtual platforms, and, in the near future, at a Club location. Gleason provides our Common Room members with a calming presence, a fun topic of conversation to connect with another around, and the comfort of another presence when they are feeling lonely. He normalizes being out and about walking and engaging with others. Gleason is always the first one to greet a member at the door or bring over a toy to initiate some time together. He is well loved and looked forward to by each member who meets him.
Gleason and I have presented in collaboration with NEADS to share specific Animal Assisted Education and Intervention experiences with other teachers and providers. Being able to demonstrate the positive effects a Highly Trained Assistance Dog has on learners, their community, their familie,s and their school team is a unique experience anywhere it is offered. There is a natural curiosity around such well-behaved and connected handler teams. Observing a NEADS Assistance Dog team working together highlights the stellar training and competency that goes into truly preparing a working dog to be around groups of people. By maintaining our training and skilled rapport, Gleason and I exemplify the positive aspects of animal intervention and assistance, versus the potential disruption a non-highly trained dog may cause.
