Brandy and Val

So, a few weeks ago marked the end of another school year helping out the kids afflicted with autism spectrum disorder.  We think we did a lot of good stuff and so saw major progress.  In retrospect, probably more progress than last year but we are sure it’s a cumulative thing.  Part of what goes on with these kids is that they like consistency in their lives and the fact that we are a regular part of their schedule makes them more comfortable.  The students know we are part of their routines and they love when we come into the rooms.

Brandy says: In the past, I spoke of two kids who I work with who were so afraid they would barely touch me and would often flinch away.   By the end of this year, both would take me for walks and would pet me on several parts of my body–from the head down my back.  They would also look at me and talk to me.  This was a very dramatic and uplifting turn of events.  With both of our classes, the kids had pictograph cards with multiple words or phrases.  By the end of the year, the kids had their “favorite” commands they would like to do with me, but, generally, by the end of they year, all could read and/or respond to the words and pictures on the cards.  With the more advance kids, we were able to do multiple word exercises like: “WALK” “SIT” “SHAKE” “UP” and walk back around the room.  It was fun to do a variety of tasks at one time and the kids really liked doing this.  It was more interesting to them than only doing one word commands.

Val says:  My kids are younger than the ones that Brandy works with so we like to play games that have to do with colors and numbers.  The cup game, where we hide food under a colored cup and then I get to “find” it by flipping the cup over with my nose is very popular.  The kids really think it’s funny when I find the treat.  One of the favorite activities, though, continues to be when they get to walk the hallways with me.  I think they feel important and empowered that they get to walk around the building with me and no one else gets to do that.  Also, people in the hall give us attention and we all like that!

We look forward to see where we are headed next year.  We have asked the teachers to come up with some expanded activities based on all we’ve accomplished this year.  Happy Summer!

Brandy and Val’s mission is to enrich the lives of others through their pet therapy duties and through the sales of their books and toys.  They hope to help the families, as well as the children, they work with and sales from their products benefit animal sanctuaries throughout the U.S.  To learn more about these special dogs, visit their website, Brandy and Val, LLC.

Following up on last week’s post, I went to see WRETCHES & JABBERERS this past weekend and was pleased to see the theater fill up to almost capacity.   The documentary did not disappoint and it was exciting and touching to be a part of Tracy and Larry’s world and world-wide adventure.  My husband, who did not attend the symposium with me two weeks ago, was as impressed with and surprised by Tracy and Larry’s accomplishments and achievements as was I.  We both clearly wondered how many of the kids with whom we work can achieve more than they are being given credit for?  Why isn’t more being done to  help this group forge friendships  amongst themselves and find employment in areas that don’t require strong verbal skills?

It was so emotional to watch Tracy and Larry interact with their peers who have autism, and watch them form friendships, socialize and have conversations as you and I would have.  Their abilities to type opened up their world of communication.  The people they met up with in Japan, Finland, Sri Lanka were thrilled to have met people just like them who were functioning at a high level in society .   My heart went out to all of them who clearly did not want Tracy and Larry to leave.    Tracy and Larry have become role models and world ambassadors for those afflicted with autism and I hope that the friends they met along the way who are also being misunderstood because they are non-verbal will make the cause their own in their own countries a la Tracy and Larry.

The film made me so curious to find out how people with autism are being assessed and tested in the country and what is being done to create opportunities for them.   How can I help the process move forward?  Will Brandy and Val and other pet therapy dogs have a role ?  I have a lot of reading to do!

Our mission at Brandy and Val, LLC is “to do good where good is needed.”  It is through our book and toy sales and pet therapy duties that we hope to enrich the lives of others and help animals in need throughout the country.  Want to comment or contact us?  We’d love to hear from you.  http://www.BrandyandVal.com

April is Autism Awareness Month and, as many of you who follow this blog know, Brandy and Val are pet therapy dogs who work with children who have ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder.  We blog from time to time about the activities we do with the kids and last year we provided a bunch of links about information on autism in our first Autism Awareness Month post.  Along the way, people have interviewed us about how we help and if we’ve seen progress;  I can categorically say we do.  I always wonder, though, if more couldn’t be done to socialize the kids, what goes through their minds  and how complex their thoughts are (or aren’t).

This past Wednesday, I was completely blown away by a lecture I went to sponsored by The New York Times.  Called “Changing the Face of Autism” the discussion revolved around two men, Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette, who are the subjects of a new documentary by Academy Award winning producer-director Gerardine Wurzburg.   Tracy, an advocate for people with disabilities and his friend Larry, also an advocate in addition to being an artist, happen to have autism.  They see their mission as one of  ”mopping up audiences’ old beliefs about autism” (Larry’s words)  and they want to emphatically state that:

• Even though they are non-verbal, they HAVE THOUGHTS AND IDEAS just like those who speak.  They are just unable to express them through speaking
• They are very aware of the uninitiated’s views on autism and people with autism.  They are extremely frustrated and deeply affected by it.
• People should be defined by their passions not their disabililites

Larry and Tracy were lucky enough to have found programs that enabled them to learn to type, thereby allowing them to communicate freely with the rest of us.  With today’s technology, including voice activation software, the audience was able to see and hear their thoughts as they typed them.  Their eloquence and sense of humor is amazing and their thoughts on what needs to be done in terms of autism awareness, expansive.  They also made mention that the iPad is starting to revolutionize how non-verbal people communicate.   There’s an app for that!

The president of the Autism Society of America, Lee Grossman, was also on the panel and what really struck me after listening to Larry, Tracy and Lee was the realization there are a lot more people with autism that are not being given the opportunity to be productive citizens solely because they are non-verbal.  Lee elaborated that it is unknown how many non-verbal people can function at high levels because programs and opportunities like Larry and Tracy’s aren’t widespread. He believes that it is incumbent upon us as a society to find ways to recognize the talents of this population group so that they can obtain jobs and make meaningful contributions to their communities.

I was so saddened to think how many ASDers are shut out of having an active life, how aware and frustrated many of them are.  With so many programs, a grass-roots effort to change the way we look at remedying the circumstances is being glossed over due to lack of funding.  Tracy commented that, as a young boy he knew he was different and that “not being able to show people I understood what was going on around him was a jail sentence, so I would throw tantrums.”   How heartbraking.

Lucky for us that Tracy is free from  his jail and  in addition to promoting the movie (which is a MUST if it hits your city) he mentors students with autism at his old high school.  He and Larry have undertaken a truly worthy mission and we need to help them change the face of autism.  For more information, please visit the Autism Society website and absolutely check out the WRETCHES & JABBERERS website where you can also find links to Larry and Tracy’s blogs.

Do you have experience working with ASD children or adults?  Are you personally affected by someone with ASD?  We’d love to hear your story.  Please comment.  Our mission at Brandy and Val, LLC is “to do good where good is needed” and it is through our pet therapy participation and sales from our children’s board books and toys that we hope to benefit the lives of children and animals.

Can you believe Thanksgiving is upon us?  Families will be coming, going, gathering and eating and we will all be giving “thanks” for the blessings we have in our lives.  Then the craziness known as the “Holiday Shopping Season” will be upon us fast and furious.  But, before we get to that, a few things:

Brandy and Val, the dogs, finally got to meet Zachary’s mom a few weeks ago.  See our Facebook page for photos!  It’s hard to believe that even though Zachary provided the inspiration for writing the Brandy and Val series, neither he nor his mom have been out to visit since the pups became a part of our family!  We hope that a visit from Zachary will now be in the making.  While we are on the subject of giving thanks and “doing good where good is needed” (our mission), did you know that sales of our books and toys benefit Prader Willi Syndrome Association, the disorder that Zachary is afflicted with and, which, to date, has no cure.

Since our sales also help several animal sanctuaries and rescues throughout the Country, I’d also like to mention Help Save A Stray, an organization that provides a nationwide network of connections betwen animal lovers and shelters.  Kudos to all the work they do–they also have an online store where profits go to shelters of your choosing!  Now through December 15, if you order from us and mention Help Save A Stray, we will send you a FREE mini-Brandy or mini-Val toy.

Our Blog, “What We Are Barking About” also talks about causes that we support in addition to giving pet therapy updates.  We work with children/young adults suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder and we are very pleased that in the past week, one child who, for one entire year would not go near Brandy, has now brushed and pet her for two weeks in a row AND says Brandy is nice.  We’re also thrilled that two of our other non-verbal, non-emotive students “high-fived” us and smiled with us.  We can only hope that these positive developments can be extrapolated to greater happines in these kids’ lives and with their friends and family.

We hope that you will include our books – BRANDY AND VAL, BRANDY AND VAL’S FAVORITE THINGS and BRANDY AND VAL’S SPECIAL STORY - and toys on your gift lists for any pre-schoolers you have in your lives.  They’re affordably priced, heartwarming and gifts that give back.  Thank you for your support.

Ilene Fine, Author

Brandy and Val, Real Dogs with Real Tales

We just wanted to share with you some of the new exercises we’re doing with our students since they are a bit more advanced than those we did last year.  That’s a good sign of progress then so that’s a good thing.  For those of you who are new to the blog, welcome!  Here’s a little background so you know where we’re at in the pet therapy conversation.  We work with children/some now young adults, afflicted with Autism Spectrum Disorder ranging in ages from grade school through 21!  They run the gamut as to the extent of their disability; some have motor skill challenges, many are non-verbal; some have both motor skill and cerebral deficits.  In any case, we love to visit and play with them in hopes of helping these kids lead happier lives that allow them to interact more freely and socially with their friends, family and the people they meet along the way!

One of the new games we’ve introduced is bowling.  The pins are made of soft cushions with bright numbers and colors on them.  The participants first have to set the pins down according to number or color.  This helps, obviously, with number and color learning.  It also helps with motor skills because the kids have a chance to get up, walk, focus on a task, hold on to the pin until it’s set in place.  THEN, here’s the fun part!  They get to take a “Nerf-like” ball and roll it down to hit the pins.  Everyone takes turns but our favorite is when we get to go since we knock the pins down with our noses.  Instead of rolling a ball, we look for a treat that is hidden near or under a pin.  Everyone thinks it’s funny to watch us do it.  We just like the treat.

In the first pet therapy post of this school year, we talked about having pictographs with commands on them that the kids can use and point to or speak out to us.  Well, now, we’ve added a twist:  we COMBINE commands, so, for example, instead of a kid asking us to “sit” they may now have to add 2 more to the sequence like “sit” “stay” and then “come.”  Pretty neat, huh?

So, now we’ll do this for a while because people with ASD like routine so we want them to get used to this.

In case you didn’t know, our mission at Brandy and Val, LLC is “to do good where good is needed.”  Not only do we participate in pet therapy programs in our community but we also have a series of children’s board books and toys that look like us.  Profits from the sales of our products help animal rescues and children’s causes throughout the country!

We encourage EVERYONE to participate and contribute to our blog and give us new ideas that we can do in pet therapy or add to the causes that make a difference in the lives of others.

Alas, for Brandy and Val, the swimming season has ended and the days are now filled with cornering chipmunks and squirrels followed by periods of rest amongst the piles of leaves.  For the rest of us at Brandy and Val, we continue focusing on “doing good where good is needed” where, through the sales of our books:  Brandy and Val, Brandy and Val’s Favorite Things, and Brandy and Val’s Special Story, we are able to benefit animal shelters nationwide.

My alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, published a profile about us in its’ October Magazine that truly captures the essence of what we at Brandy and Val, LLC are all about.  The pups’ recent appearance at the Character Counts social also provided an excellent forum as we help spread the word that good citizenship, character and empathy benefits society as a whole.  Apparently, the Senate and President Obama fell the same since this week has been nationally recognized through Resolution 658 as “National Character Counts Week”.

Pet Therapy continues for Brandy and Val as they work with special needs children (mostly those afflicted with Autism Spectrum Disorders).  Their continued participation in the Read to Rover library program advances the cause for literacy as children read comfortably, without adult intervention, to the dogs.  We’ll be updating our progress soon on our blog, “What We’re Barking About” so look out for it.

Now’s the time to start planning for Holiday Gift Giving.  In addition to our books, plush toys resembling Brandy and Val are also available individually, as a pair or combined with a book.  Your continued support of us helps others and we really appreciate that.

Regards,

Ilene Fine, Author

Brandy and Val, Real Dogs with Real Tales

If you don’t know already, our mission at BRANDY AND VAL, LLC is “to do good where good is needed” and not only do we donate a portion of all our sales to animal rescue causes throughout the Country, but we also blog about them to promote awareness.  We hope that through our prodding, those out there who sit on the sidelines will find a cause that interests them, get up and do something to help make the world a better place for all of us!  This week, there are three that are worthy of our mention.  They are not in any order of importance as we deem them all important!

A friend has discovered that it is SPECIAL EDUCATION WEEK.  I could not find any information about this online, but, regardless, he eloquently pointed out the importance of continuing, supporting and funding these programs.  Brandy, Val, their dad and I are active participants in a pet therapy program working with autistic children and so this topic hits home with us.  In addition, I was inspired to write and publish the Brandy and Val book series by a little boy named Zachary who is afflicted with Prader-Willi Syndrome.   As my friend so eloquently put it,  Children with special needs only want what we all want: to be accepted. Can I make a request of anyone willing to post this and leave it on your status for at least an hour? It is Special Education week, and this is in honor of all children made in a unique way and who learn a little …differently, but love with all their hearts.

October is BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH and there are events, fundraisers, merchandise for sale and companies participating and donating funds to help stamp out breast cancer.  Even the NFL is in the act—lots of pink was on the playing field this past Sunday to promote awareness.  Estee Lauder is also a big supporter through its’ foundation, too and who, by now, hasn’t heard of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation with their amazing walk/run fundraisers?!

I’ve recently been introduced to UP FOR PUPS, an organization comprised of artists using their varied talents to promote animal advocacy.   If you are an artist and want to find a way to join, have a great idea to execute, then contact them.  If you want to go to an event, check out their schedule. Best of luck to this new startup!  As a functional potter, I’m excited to explore the possibilities of contacting my fellow artistic friends and seeing how we can help.

Last, but DEFINITELY not least, October is ADOPT A SHELTER DOG MONTH.  Need I say more?  Brandy and Val are two of the very many lucky former shelter dogs who received a second, third (or more) chance.  The shelters are filled with such wonderful, loving dogs and cats.

So this past week we began our pet therapy sessions working back at the special needs school with autistic children.  It was good to see so many of the same faces and we felt immediately comfortable back with them in the classroom.   For those who have some form of autism along the spectrum, having a routine is comforting and so everyone responded well to seeing our familiar faces and wagging tales!  That they remembered us and were not afraid to see us was a promising start.

This year, we hope to encourage and develop more language skills and the teachers were nice enough to provide mom and dad with a sheet of pictographs they can use as guides.  On each sheet there are several pictures with commands/words and hand signals the children can use with us.  For example, “sit,” “down,” “walk,” “stay,” and “treat” are very popular words chosen.  We are happy to oblige, especially when it comes to receiving treats.  Some of the more advanced students know states and one of the classrooms has a big carpet with a map of the U.S. .  The states are also colored so not only can we walk to certain states but they can also be identified by color.  So, the kids learn geography, color and get a chance to move around with us.  Then they get to feed us a treat which helps their motor skills.

During the course of the school year, we’ll give updates on everyone’s progress.

For those of you who follow us, you are already aware that Brandy and Val works with autistic children in some of our pet therapy programs and working with special needs children is a project that is near and dear to us.   Recently, one of our staff members brought the Hiram Farms agricultural program to our attention since his brother is afflicted with the disorder and the farm is competing for much needed grant money that will help it expand its’ day program targeted at providing inspiration and meaningful work for individuals growth with Autism Spectrum Disorders.   The grant money will provide the Farm  with funding to build an activity center and farm office.

Farm work is therapeutic for people with autism.  Working with animals is calming and helps to develop skills related to respect, trust, contribution, commitment, self-confidence and responsibility.  Physical labor improves aerobic health, coordination and balance.  Since children and adults on the autism spectrum typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communications, social interactions and leisure or play activities, programs aimed at developing these skills enhance the lives and families of those involved as they benefit the overall community.

Speaking of community, as an added benefit, the farm’s 120 acres produces organically grown vegetables, meat and eggs for Hiram, Ohio!

PLEASE help Hiram Farms win this grant by voting on the Pepsi Refresh Everything website. The grant only goes to the top ten ideas so every vote counts. Learn more about the farm and how to vote for the grant on the Hiram Farm Facebook Page. ACT NOW!  VOTING ENDS JUNE 30!

Those of us at Brandy and Val, LLC have voted.  Brandy and Val, “Doing good where good is needed.”  Spread the word.

Since Brandy and Val participate in pet therapy programs with autistic children, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge       World Autism Awareness Day which already passed on April 2.  In the United States the entire month of April is designated as National Autism Month.   It is estimated that 35 million people worldwide are afflicted with some form or autism and it is hoped that by raising awareness of autism, the importance of early diagnosis and intervention will be encouraged and greater research funding will become available.  The jigsaw puzzle is the emblem for autism and major buildings in several cities worldwide will light up in blue in recognition of the month – including the Empire State Building in New York City, Willis Tower in Chicago, the CN Tower in Toronto, and Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia.  Airports, bridges, museums, concert halls, restaurants, and retail stores, are among more than 100 structures that will also participate, including Madison Square Garden in New York City and even NBA stores!

Most people don’t know (I certainly didn’t) that World Autism Awareness Day was formally adopted by the United Nations in 2007 and that April 2 is its’ designated day.  Autism is also only one of three diseases that have formal “days” specified by the United Nations.  The other two diseases, by the way, are diabetes and AIDS.   Autism Speaks and the Autism Society of America are the two primary U.S. based organizations responsible for disseminating education, information and news about autism, current treatments and where to get help.   It is estimated that 1 in 70 boys has autism, another fact that I did not know until recently.   In the classes I work in with Brandy, there is only 1 girl out of about 30 kids!  In addition, the NBA is teaming up with Autism Speaks this month promoting autism awareness in its NBA stores, in public service announcements and during its games.

To read more about how pet therapy assists in working with these children, please refer to our earlier blog posts: (Pet Therapy Breakthroughs, Pet Therapy Breakthroughs, contd.)  or our recent guest blog article on Imagination Soup.  Autism Speaks also has many informative videos about the subject, divided into categories:  http://www.autismspeaks.org/video/index.php