Dylan’s fear subsided after one session
Dylan is a four-year-old that currently attends preschool at the Foundation for Blind Children. He has an eye condition called extropia that occurs when misaligned eyes deviate outward. In addition to attending preschool, Dylan and his family have participated in our Parent 2 Parent Program for the last three years. This program gives Dylan’s parents the opportunity to interact with other parents while Dylan gets a chance to receive extra attention from our teachers and therapists.
Over the last few years, Dylan has become very afraid of dogs. His fear prevents him from doing some of his favorite activities at home – like watering the plants and going on walks with his family. FBC recently invited a therapy dog to a Parent 2 Parent program. The dog’s name is Rufus. When Dylan came to Parent 2 Parent with his dad and sibling, he was very scared when he learned that Rufus would be there. Dad had to encourage him to go into the gym with the other parents and kids. Dylan kept his distance from Rufus most of the day. At the start of the day, the closest he would allow Rufus to get was about 15 feet away. By the end of the day, Dylan sat on another parent’s lap within a foot of Rufus. This was a huge improvement in a very short amount of time.
Rufus will continue to visit our students and their families at Parent 2 Parent meetings. Giving Dylan the opportunity to work through his fear and begin to trust Rufus will help Dylan improve his confidence in all areas of life.
