Adalyn’s Clare By Kari Dunn Buron – A FIDO Book Review
August 01, 2013 • Product Reviews
FIDO is pleased to share this review, of Adalyn’s Clare By Kari Dunn Buron
Adalyn’s Clare is an insightful read recommended for children in grades 3-6. Any older child or adult would find this peek into the mind of an intellectual girl with sensory issues and difficulty containing her feelings educational. The lead character, Adalyn, is extremely sensitive to smells, sounds, and crowds. She experiences “big emotions” of anxiety and fear. It is difficult for her to make friends. Adalyn is given a therapy dog (during school hours) who senses when she is upset and calms her.
This fictional account of Adalyn’s experiences (actually Adalyn is a composite of several students with whom the author has worked) allows the reader to understand how our increasing population of people with autism feel and think. Adalyn is a brilliant science student whose best friends are the animals in the science lab. She has a pop up tent in the school where she takes refuge during challenging times. It is part of her “bail out plan” to leave a room when her worries “get too big.” She has been taught the mantra “I am capable” and reminds herself to breathe and compose herself when she gets excited. Many of us aren’t aware of the effort it takes for an anxious person to reel themselves in when consumed by situations that wouldn’t bother others. They need an arsenal of “calming tools” to function in society so they won’t lose control when frustrated or overwhelmed by anxiety and fear.
Mrs. Kelly is the kind teacher who helps Adalyn. She brings Clare, a yellow Lab puppy, to school to help Adalyn make friends. Clare discusses how to best help Adalyn with the guinea pig, Motmot bird, turtle, ferret, and rat in the science room. They all love Adalyn because she is kind to them and understands them better than any other human. They launch a perfect plan to help her to be happier and feel calmer in and out of school!
The author, Kari Dunn Buron, is a teacher who has written several books for teachers. She has studied anxiety and how it affects a child’s ability to cope with social difficulties in school. She has a therapy dog named Clare who helps the children with whom Ms. Buron works.
Elise Phillips Margulis, FIDOFriendly Contributing Writer and mother of a 6 year-old son with Autism (and a dog & two cats) shares - Autism Service Dogs and Autism Therapy Dogs: According to Autism Speaks, Autism is a neurological disorder that now affects 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys. Relating to others rather than retracting into their own world is a major challenge for people with Autism. Many respond well to dogs trained to help them. There are two types of canines involved in aiding people with Autism. A service dog lives with their person and has been trained to assist in daily functioning. The dogs can redirect repetitive behaviors, improve sleep, help the child to become more social, assist in making the child more independent, and increase her/his vocabulary!
Therapy dogs are trained to relax people with autism. They remain calm during tantrums. Therapy dogs are brought to treatment centers and residential schools. Canine therapy utilizes the human-dog bond to calm the patient and create a bridge from the person to other individuals. In some cases non-verbal people who communicate via pictures are motivated to speak to the dogs and say their first words to them! Dog handlers bring treats, toys, leashes, water, et cetera for the patients to use to interact with the dog.
