vody/> RCM - Revitalizing Community Membership: Empowering Independence: 9-Year-Old Boy with Autism Relies on His Service Dog to Keep Him Safe and Calm While in the Hospital

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

9-Year-Old Boy with Autism Relies on His Service Dog to Keep Him Safe and Calm While in the Hospital



Where James Isaac goes, Mahe follows – even into the boy's hospital bed.

The 9-year-old Wellington boy is autistic and relies on the black Labrador to keep him safe and calm.

James cannot speak, and recoils from touch and eye contact with his family.

But he will curl up happily with Mahe.

“And for Mahe, James is his best mate, he is all about James," mum Michelle Isaac said.

So important is the bond that Mahe was allowed to join James at the Wellington Children's Hospital as he underwent an MRI scan to diagnose the cause of his seizures.

As he went under general anesthetic, Mahe watched with concern, nuzzling his master's face.

"He was just looking at James, and looking really worried."
As Michelle waited in the hospital cafe for the scan to end, Mahe sat beside her, calming the mother as he had calmed the son.

"I was really shaken, it was pretty stressful watching James struggle."

Life for the Isaac family has improve immensely since Mahe came into their lives, 2½ years ago.

Michelle said going out into public with James used to be nightmare. He was likely to run off and lose the plot in any unfamiliar or over-stimulating involvement.

"We couldn't even go to a cafe as a family. James would get very anxious and want to leave immediately. But when we got Mahe, James would just sit there waiting for us to finish our coffee."



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