Ms Nuala Geraghty:

Ms Dutton has covered most of the benefits assistance dogs bring to families. I can only go on the feedback I get from the people who use our services, but it is really about the very simple things we take for granted like a trip to the local shop to pick up milk and bread. These activities can be very stressful for the parents of children with autism. I recall a parent telling me about the first trip to the shop with her child after the assistance dog had arrived. Her words were: "I get it now." The child was attached to the dog and could not run out onto the main road. The mother did not have to keep hold of his hand, throw her money at the cashier and run out of the shop. For the first time, she could stop, get her money out of her purse and talk to the person behind the counter before walking calmly out of the shop. It is those everyday activities which most of us take for granted that are huge for families which include a child with autism.

Safety, of course, is the most important issue. I am sure Ms Dutton will agree that parents find they are much more relaxed when they go out because the child is attached to the dog and there is no longer a requirement to hold onto the child's hand for dear life. That makes an everyday trip a relaxed event as opposed to being very stressful. Before getting the assistance dog, a lot of parents had stop taking their children out because it was simply too stressful. In many cases, one parent had to do the shopping, for example, alone, while the other members of the family stayed at home.

An issue that needs to be emphasised is the importance of early intervention. The younger the child is when he or she gets an assistance dog, the better the results that can be achieved. We do get good results with older children, but where we can place dogs with families from the time the child is four or five years, he or she will get used to going out and may not go on to develop some of the behaviours that make it very difficult for parents to partake in everyday trips.