The Roman Family with Hope and Jill Harris

Having Hope
by Beth Roman

I have never met a creature, human or animal, whos name fits them more perfectly than our dog Hope, because that is exactly what she has given our family. Before Hope came into our lives, we were concerned about our children's future. Having one child diagnosed with autism is difficult, but when your second child is also diagnosed, you really start to wonder what your future will be.

It was almost three years ago that my wife and I received a formal diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome for our daughter. Shortly after that, we received a smilar diagnosis for our son. At that time we didn't even know what the diagnosis meant. It was then that we started on the long road of learning and most importantly, figuring our what we needed to do to help our children. Autism is not similar to any other illness. Each child requires a different treatment depending on symptoms, learning what sensory issues affect them, what their learning strengths and weakness are and most importantly, what treatments work best with each child. Usually, treatment involves attacking the issue on a number of different fronts, at home, school and very often family.

In April of 2005 we learned about a program called Northstar that successfully used dogs in treatment of autism. The concept behind the treatment was that the dogs were trained to pick up clues in a child's behavior, and could then warn or redirect the child to a more appropriate behavior. Also, the dog could act as a buffer for the child in social situations which can initially be very stressful for an autistic child.

After calling countless agencies that simply said "We can't help you" we found Jill Harris at the United Disabilities Services, New Life Assistance Dog Program. She bravely decided to meet us and take a closer look at our situation. Shortly thereafter my husband and I had that first glimpse at what we were dealing with. Simply put we had found hope. At first our children were afraid of most animals, this included dogs. We embarked on a journey to not only conquer their fear but to turn that fear into love and companionship.

In September of 2005 we got the phone call. We had a dog. This was only if we had a perfect match. Our children met her and it was love at first sight. On October 31, 2005 she was coming home. There had been many other homes that graciously welcomed her into their homes and helped her become our HOPE. To them we are extremely thankful. But Halloween was our turn. From that day on she was truly home and we were truly blessed.

Almost immediately our daughter Angelina's tantrums went from 10-15 a day to almost non existent. She was calmed by Hope's presence and had a friend that would love her unconditionally. This was truly amazing. Bed time went from taking hours of back and forth deliberations to, if you go to bed, Hope can spend every other night in your room. There is so much more to our story but for now I will stop here but know that Hope has made a tremendous difference in life for our family.

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