Ms Lean Kennedy:

Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind was founded in 1976, since when it has been training guide dogs for people who are blind and vision impaired. People know that guide dogs are essential to their vision impaired owners and it is the same with the assistance dogs we provide for children with autism. We speak to families every day who tell us how the dogs have changed their lives. As other speakers have outlined, many people were not able to go out together as a family for fear the child with autism would bolt or have a meltdown.

They had to reorganise their lives completely. Sometimes a parent would stay at home with an autistic child so that the other parent could bring the other children out to do a family activity. Now the family is united because the parents do not have to think about it any more. They can rely on the assistance dog; their child is attached to it and it keeps the child safe and acts as an anchor so that the child cannot bolt. The dog is also an aid to keeping the child calm so that he or she is not over-stimulated by noise and everything that is going on in public places. We would not pick up on those things so much but children with autism are very sensitive to them. The dog gives the child confidence and calmness. Everybody in the family can get on with their lives knowing that the child is safe. It is absolutely life changing.