When Guiding Eyes Forthe blind asked me if I would let the News come to our house to interview us about
Sam and Hagrid I didn’t have to think to long about it. Of course I would! How
could I say no to an organization that has changed our lives so much? I couldn’t
and I wouldn’t. I have made it a mission of mine to spread the word about
Guiding Eyes – Heeling Autism and what a wonderful program they have. I also
like to raise awareness about Autism and Autism Service Dogs.
The morning came and I was so nervous. I was trying to keep
my house clean and more importantly have Sam clean and keep his clothes on. He
has this nack for knowing when someone
will be at the house about 5 minutes before
they arrive. That’s usually when he will throw his food all over then
take his clothes off and want to take a bath. Well this morning Sam was being
awesome! They were supposed to be at the house at 10 but they were running
late. I knew the later it got the more annoyed Sam would become. He didn’t understand
that anyone was coming over but he did understand that things were different. I
am sure he could feel my stress plus I was following him all morning with the
broom.
Caroline and Michelle from Guiding Eyes arrived to the house
first. Rob and I saw Michelle carrying a box of Munchkins from Dunkin Donuts
and PANIC set in. Sam LOVES Munchkins. He will only eat the powdered ones but
he must go through the entire box. He eats one and the next he will crumble
into sand and throw it around, eat another, crumble another…etc…In other words
he make a freaking mess!!! I ran to the door before Sam could see them. I was
actually very rude now that I think about it. I pretty much opened the door and
ripped them out of Michelle’s hand and told her I am hiding these now!! I’m not
even sure if she brought them for Sam or for herself. Well Sam didn’t see the box but he smelled
them. He was searching the house for them. I finally gave in and gave him a few
and sure enough as he was eating them the News showed up.
It was Dr. Jay Adlersberg from WABC Eyewitness News. I was
nervous because I wasn’t sure what they were expecting to see. Sam won’t sit
with us and chat or sit with us while we chat. Sam doesn’t sit still much. Plus
he gets very on edge whenever there are new people in the house. Dr. Jay had
asked if Rob and I could sit on the couch for the interview but we figured it
would be best if we were interviewed one at a time so the other could keep an
eye on Sam. Sam isn’t the type of kid that can be left along – ever!! He needs
to be watched pretty much at all times. He likes to put stuff in his mouth, he
will try to touch electrical outlets and he will get naked!! We decided that I
would be interviewed first and Sam was standing next to be – They asked me to
play with Sam on the couch for a minute while they filmed. Talk about unnatural
– I asked Sam for a kiss, he gave me one, and then started to pull down his
pants lol. Rob took him in the other room. They interviewed me, then Rob. I
took Sam outside while they were with Rob. Next they interviewed Caroline. Then
they took Hagrid and Caroline outside. After Dr. Jay sat with Hagrid filming
his intro….Then finally the time I was waiting for – To tether Sam and Hagrid
and go for a walk!! I told Dr. Jay in the beginning if we went outside and
walked while doing the interview then all 3 of us would be in it at once. Sam
and Hagrid are flawless outside as a team. But he wanted to do the interviews
inside. I was happy though and so was Sam to get out for a walk. He was getting
a little upset because they kept having us walk just a few feet then turn
around and walk more. Sam doesn’t like constantly being turned – he likes to
know where he is going….which usually when we walk we go right down the block.
We then sat in the driveway and Sam was getting hungry – we told him we would
take him for some McDonalds as soon as we were done….We wrapped it up and Sam
ate 20 chicken nuggets and some ice cream!!
Here is the link to the News clip - How pets help kids with Autism
Remember the camera adds on 10 lbs.…..lol…..I saw this and
realized I need to start my New Year’s diet.. A little late or a little early
however you want to look at it.
Anyway it was about Pets helping kids with Autism and I kept telling him Hagrid isnt a "Pet" Dog he is our Service Dog.....there is a difference. But all in all I think it came out good and hopefully raise more awareness for Autism Service Dogs and Guiding Eyes For the Blind - Heeling Autism.
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| Sam and Hagrid enjoyed watching themselves on the News!! |
Anyway this wasn’t the first time we had the cameras in our
face. Back in January we were approached by the BBC and were asked if they
could film us for an Autism documentary they were doing. We said sure! Rob didn’t
want any part of it but I felt like we had too. If we could help one person who
saw it then it would be worth it. (Kind of the way I feel when people tell me
they are now on the list for an Autism Service Dog after reading my posts J )
They came to our house for 2 days. This was before we had
Hagrid and Sam was at his worst! It was 2 looonnnggg days. They watched us eat,
hang out; play, and they interviewed us. That wasn’t the end though. They
filmed Sam at school several times. They came with us to Sam’s Speech and
Feeding Therapy for 2 hours and filmed. They also spent a day with us at the
Local Aquarium…Yes filming the entire time. It was stressful but I was glad I
did it. They went back to London to edit it. We had gotten the call several
weeks later that they took a different direction and we weren’t going to be in
it!!! UGH!! Imagine that!!! All that filming for nothing!! They sent me a copy of the DVD that they made
and I quickly realized the direction they went in…..Older Verbal kids with
Autism. They clearly didn’t want to show all the faces of Autism, only the ones
that could talk to them.
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| The BBC crew were filming us when the Giants won the Superbowl.Well not during the game I mean that time of year. We had gotten them shirts to bring back to London since my boys and hubby are huge Giants fans. In this picture is from left to right - Louis (interview guy), Jamie (camera man and director), Sam, Freddy in the back (sound guy) and Marco (the guy who sets it all up). They were all very nice. |
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