
CD Oakwood would like to spread the word about a program called 4Paws 4 ability!!!
Elopement occurs when a child runs or wanders from a safe, supervised environment. A 2012 study found (via parent survey) that 49% of the study children with autism eloped after the age of 4 and of these, 53% were away from supervision long enough to be considered missing. Elopement can happen in the home, school, or community setting.
4 Paws was the first agency in the United States to begin placing task trained Autism Assistance Dogs and the first agency known to place these assistance dogs with tracking skills.
4 Paws Autism Assistance Dogs can be trained in a variety of tasks to assist a child. These include behavior disruption, to distract and disrupt repetitive behaviors or ‘meltdowns’, tethering to prevent and protect a child from wandering, and search and rescue tracking to locate a child who has eloped, as children with autism are inclined to do. To learn more about applying for a service dog, please visit their website at http://4pawsforability.org/autism-assistance-dog/