A
boy's best friend
By: JESSICA
SINGLETON
In the
blink of an eye, Cameron was gone.
He had
wandered away from home while playing outside. Not knowing where
your child is can be scary for any parent, but more so for Chad
and Ann Carter because Cameron is autistic. Ann said Cameron is
not able to see when a situation is dangerous.
She said
it is hard because people think he is like all the other children
playing in the neighborhood.
However,
it would be very easy for him to get distracted and wander away
from home and get lost.
Now his parents can breathe a little easier, because they have
another set of eyes to watch over their son. Help arrived in the
form of a service dog, donated by Bently Bush.
The puppy
is living with the family and bonding with Cameron. They are currently
training the puppy to be a tracking dog. The dog’s responsibility
will be to watch over Cameron.
He named
the puppy Zoey, after a character from Sesame Street.
Ann said
the dog will also learn how to calm Cameron and defuse stressful
situations.
One difficulty for parents of an autistic child can be getting
an accurate diagnosis. For Ann, it took nearly two years.
When Cameron
was two years old, he was tested for autism and doctors said he
did not have the condition.
Ann said
he began to show more symptoms as he grew older. By the time Cameron
was four years old and in preschool, his teachers saw what the
doctors missed.
“It
is hard when there are not many specialists in the area,”
Ann said. “But the teachers knew what to look for.”
On the
second round of testing, doctors confirmed what Ann had suspected.
Her son was autistic.
She said school has worked to connect the family with different
resources.
One resource
was learning to ride a horse at Gatewood Arean. Unfortunately,
they have had to stop the lessons in order to cover the puppy’s
training costs.
Ann said
Cameron is a very happy young boy.
“People
assume children with disabilities are sad,” she said. “But
he is full of happiness and laughter.”
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