"Best Friends"

My wife found an article in Ladies' Home Journal (I don't normally read this magazine...) about a family who has two children with autism. The mother, Sharon Lindsey, said that her son, who was five when this was written, can undo any lock and be outside in no time. He has been known to take off and go missing on a few occasions which scares Ms. Lindsey. They live near a busy street and it makes her worry a little.
The other child with autism in the family is nine years old and is terrified of strangers. As a parent that is sometimes a good thing, but not all of the time. She sometimes had a hard time even playing in her backyard or leaving the house to go anywhere.
That was until they got an autism service dog named Brock. He is trained to watch for signs of meltdowns, which the Lindsey's five-year-old had on a regular basis. He has gone from around 25 a day to three or four mild outbursts a week. Brock has also helped the nine-year-old become more and more social. She is comfortable enough now to go to birthday parties and she even attended a summer camp.
It is amazing what animals can do to help all kinds of people. They can help blind people get around, they can help kiddos with autism become more social and less behavioral and even just provide comfort for those who need it.