我認(rèn)為我們所有人,有養(yǎng)狗的人,都知道我們的狗天生能了解我們的感受。所以如果我們回到家,而且我們心情很好,狗兒直覺地注意到--你心情很好。那代表你會陪我玩。但如果我們心情不太好,而且特別是我們感到低落又沮喪時,狗兒會感受到:你看起來有點低落。我想我還是安靜地過來在你旁邊坐下吧。
So they can pick up our feelings and emotions. What that means is that there's mute communication between the two species. You don't have to articulate in words the way you and I have to talk about things. Dog will understand how we feel, because it just picks up something about our body language.
所以他們可以了解我們的感受和情緒。那所代表的東西是有種無需言語的溝通存在兩種物種之間。你不必用像你和我講事情那樣的方式來用言語表達(dá)。狗兒就會明白我們感覺如何,因為它就是了解關(guān)于我們肢體語言的一些東西。
Nowhere is this more important than with service or assistance dogs.
沒有任何地方比這里對服務(wù)犬或協(xié)助犬來說更重要了。
Unlike other service dog and guide dog providers, when you're dealing with autism, you need dogs that are very, very calm, very quiet, very laid-back. So we, over the last sixteen years, have been working towards breeding really calm, very relaxed, easygoing dogs.
不像其他服務(wù)犬和導(dǎo)盲犬的提供者,當(dāng)你處理的是自閉癥時,你需要非常、非常沉著冷靜、非常安靜、非常自在的狗。所以我們在過去的十六年中一直致力于培育十分沉著、非常放松、好相處的狗兒。
Chester joined our family six weeks ago. And he's from National Service Dogs, so he is officially NSD Chester. He is two and a half years old, and he's a lab retriever mix. Max was diagnosed with autism at the age of thirty-two months. When we got Chester, one of the first things I really look forward to doing with Max was going for a walk. Because at the age of six, I've never really been able to go for walk with Max; because what he does, like many children with autism, is he bores. So, for him, it's a very fun game to run away from you. With Chester's vest that he wears, he has a hookup, and there's a handle that Max holds on to.
Chester 在六星期前加入我們的家庭。而他是來自全國服務(wù)犬協(xié)會,所以它是正式的 NSD Chester。它兩歲半,而它是只混種拉不拉多犬(注一)。Max 在三十二個月大時被診斷出自閉癥。當(dāng)我們得到 Chester 時,我非常期待和 Max 一起做的首要事之一是去散個步。因為從他六歲起,我就從沒真正能和 Max 一起散步過;因為他做的事,就像許多有自閉癥的孩子一樣,是他覺得無趣。所以,對他來說,從你身邊跑走就是個非常好玩的游戲。有了 Chester 穿著的背心, 它有一條狗鍊,而那有一個 Max 可以握住的把手。
So the first time we went out for a walk by ourselves, Chester was an all-star, and Max was just so thrilled to be out with his dog. He never dropped the handle once. One other thing that Max does to cope—when he's frustrated, or express his frustration—is to strike out. And, you know, it's hard, you know, to have your child striking you. We brought Chester home, and that aggression and frustration just disappeared. Now that we have Chester here for six weeks, and Max has stopped.
我們第一次自己出去散步時,Chester 像是個大明星,而 Max 就是超級興奮能和他的狗一起出去。他從未扔下把手一次過。另一個 Max 處理事情會做的事是--當(dāng)他感到挫折,或表達(dá)他的沮喪時--是他會用力打。而且,你知道,這很難受,你要知道,讓你自己的孩子打著你。我們把 Chester 帶回家,而那種攻擊性和挫折感就消失了。而今我們有 Chester 在這六星期了,Max 就停下來了。
Do they still have outbursts? Yes, but there are fewer. They're less intense, and they die down faster. Many of the dogs, once they're bonded with their kids, will anticipate those anxiety levels building.
他們還是有情緒爆發(fā)嗎?有,但比較少了。那些爆發(fā)比較不激烈,而且它們平息得較快。許多狗兒會預(yù)測到那些焦慮程度增加,一旦它們和它們的小朋友建立起情感來。
Chester sleeps with him. And since Chester came home, you know, we don't get outburst in the middle of the night anymore. So Max stays in his bed, and he's got Chester there. Now that he has Chester, he doesn't call out. He might be awake. I don't know, because I am asleep, which is fantastic. And I don't really...I don't worry about Max, because I know that Chester is in there. I didn't really understand what a blessing Chester would be to a family, and not just to Max, but, you know, he very much is a healing balm for a family.
Chester 和他一起睡。而且自從 Chester 來家里后,你知道,我們不再在大半夜碰到情緒失控的狀況。Max 待在他的床上,而他有 Chester 陪著。現(xiàn)在因為他有 Chester,他就不大叫了。他可能醒來。我不知道,因為我睡著了,那真是太好了。而我不完全...我不擔(dān)心 Max,因為我知道 Chester 在那里面。我那時并未真正了解 Chester 對一個家庭來說會是一份多大的福氣,而且不只是對 Max,而是,你知道,他算是一個家庭的療愈慰藉物。
Over the last sixteen, seventeen years, we focused on our autism program, and have recently expanded out to train dogs for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder, specifically veterans. And we're developing a new program that will put Canine Assisted Intervention dogs into facilities, partnered with doctors, physicians, therapists, so that they can use fully trained service dogs in helping all of their patients, or a collection of their patients in various forms of...whether it's addiction therapy, mental health issues, behavioral issues, and...so that will expand out the role of our dogs in the coming year.
在過去十六、十七年中,我們專注在我們的自閉癥計畫上,而最近已經(jīng)擴(kuò)展到為有創(chuàng)傷后壓力癥候群的個人來訓(xùn)練狗,特別是為退役軍人。我們正在發(fā)展一項把犬只輔助介入計畫的狗兒們放置到各個機構(gòu)中的新計畫,將狗兒和醫(yī)生、治療師、理療師搭擋,他們就可以用受過完備訓(xùn)練的服務(wù)犬來幫助他們所有的病人,或他們各個不同類型的病人們...無論是成癮治療、心理健康問題、行為問題,還有...那會在來年擴(kuò)展我們狗兒的角色。