Therapy dogs improve life for special-needs students

NORFOLK — Botelle Elementary School librarian Maryann Beauchene has a lot to celebrate this year. Chosen as the Norfolk School District’s 2012 Teacher of the Year, she has also gained recognition for her extensive work with therapy dogs, brightening the lives of both children and adults with her friendly poodles Remington and Buddy.During a morning session at the school Thursday, Jan. 19, Beauchene brought the father-and-son dog duo for a weekly appointment with special-needs students in the Shared Services Bridges I autism program. Remington, nicknamed Remi, has a curly white-and-gray coat. He is the father of Buddy, his darker gray counterpart. The friendly canines walked together calmly in unison, requiring a minimum of commands, and had no qualms about stepping on and off an elevator to get to the school library.Beauchene explained that therapy dogs help students develop social skills that are required for learning in other classes.“The job of the dogs is continuously changing,” Beauchene said. “Originally, as a librarian, I would have the students come to the library and read to the dogs. The dogs are non-judgmental, and they’re always paying attention to what the kids are doing. So we started off with reading therapy. Now the ideal thing to do with therapy dogs is to have a goal-oriented program.”Beauchene said students learn to calm down around Remi and Buddy and are offered the reward of free time with the dogs if they learn to control their behavior. Simple tasks such as hooking a leash to a dog’s collar can be difficult for autistic children, and the development of motor skills required to walk the dogs up and down the school hallways is considered a significant achievement.“We had one student who came in as a pre-kindergarten student. When the dogs walked in, he headed toward the door, screaming. Now that kid is in fifth grade and he’ll actually come up and touch the dogs,” she said. “For someone to go through life being that afraid of dogs and then being able to overcome that is a big deal. He may not love dogs, but at least he’s not having a panic attack.”Students who came to see Remi and Buddy last Thursday had a range of autism-related issues, most often exhibited through hyperactivity. Beauchene had them sit with the dogs for reading time, and even had one student lie down next to the dogs with a blanket for some quiet time.“It’s animal-assisted therapy,” she said. “And it doesn’t have to be dogs.”In fact, sitting in a cage across the room was Chicago, a golden tabby with an unmistakably mellow demeanor. A couple of the students found time to visit quietly with Chicago and read with him in a corner of the room. After visiting with the dogs, reading to them and walking them through the school hallways, the students had all visibly settled down, which Beauchene said would hopefully make it easier for them to learn in the academic classes.“Most of these kids can read,” Beauchene said. “And if they can read, think of how much of the world that opens up for them. Most kids with autism are not low-functioning, and when I look at them, sometimes we have little accomplishments, and I think to myself, ‘that opened up the world for them.’” Now in her 18th year as the Botelle librarian, Beauchene has chosen to retire at the end of this year, but she is finishing on a high note. She took home the Norfolk School District’s 2012 Teacher of the Year award for her years of work at the school and said she is looking forward to building a new career with animal therapy. She brings Remi and Buddy to visit adult residents at Community Residences Inc. on Willow Street and to another adult living facility in East Hartford. Beauchene said she believes special-needs students in Norfolk are in good hands at Botelle Elementary School and that her animal therapy with Remi and Buddy has served to complement an already successful program.“These are students who will probably always have special needs, but their condition will improve,” she said. “I think that because Botelle School is such a small school and all the teachers know all the students, I couldn’t think of a better place to put kids with special needs. They make a lot of progress.”