Scots mother rolls out her canine therapy to help autistic children

Published Date: 06 July 2008 A MOTHER who helped her autistic son communicate by using their family dog has launched a scheme to help other Scottish children with the condition. Nuala Gardner's son Dale was severely autistic as a child, but she encouraged him to break his silence by pretending her words were being spoken by the family pet, Henry. Now she hopes her successful method will allow her to break down the communi cation barriers in other autistic children using specially chosen gun dogs. Dale's autism was so severe that he suffered obsessive behaviour and rarely took any notice of his parents. However, when they bought him a dog, Henry, they noticed he immediately forged a connection with the animal and talked to it in a way he had never talked to his own family. Gardner seized the opportunity to talk to her son... [read full story]