8:14 a.m., Sept. 16, 2009----They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but through a partnership with PAWS for People, children with disabilities at the University of Delaware's Early Learning Center (ELC) are receiving support services that address their specific needs and help them with day-to-day tasks, thanks to a group of specially trained dogs.

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Since the fall of 2008, volunteers from the Pet Therapy Team at PAWS for People have visited the ELC to work with children in group and individual settings. Laura Morris, associate director of the ELC, said approximately seven teams of volunteers and their dogs come to the Wyoming Road complex to work with the children.

Morris said that the ELC-PAWS alliance has provided new opportunities for teachers and therapists to address individual and group goals through meaningful and purposeful learning opportunities.

At a recent visit to the ELC, Hepsi Zsoldos, a volunteer on the PAWS Pet Therapy Team, and her energetic American yellow lab, Shadow, worked with Jessica, 5, and Brionnah, 3, two children with disabilities that affect their mobility and capacity to communicate with others. Accompanying the team was Tracy Stoner, a physical therapist at the ELC.

Zsoldos and Shadow helped the girls become more familiar with their new power chairs as they roamed through the halls of the ELC. The girls also played fetch with the dogs. For Jessica, this was her last time working with PAWS at the ELC, as her first day of school, with her power chair, was taking place the following week.

“I feel eager to help motivate the kids, to get them to want to move toward something,” Zsoldos said. “Watching the kids achieve the goal of cognitively putting it all together and having the desire to get from point A to point B is thrilling and it gives me a feeling of tremendous accomplishment.”

Zsoldos, a former teacher, said she thinks having the dogs accompany the young children is beneficial, since the dogs are non-judgmental. Morris agreed, adding that the dogs are very patient and nurturing, and that they provide children the opportunity to make mistakes in a safe and supportive environment.

Morris said the ELC benefits greatly from the PAWS program, as the volunteers are able to work with the therapists and provide the time and attention that is required to help the children strengthen and build their muscles, which can end up being a significant time commitment.

“It can be difficult for therapists to come up with meaningful and engaging reasons for children to complete the desired task. Doing something difficult just because an adult asked them to do it is often not a priority for the preschooler,” she said. “Working with the PAWS therapy teams, therapists are able to identify meaningful reasons for the child to practice required skills.”

In addition to one-on-one attention for children with disabilities, the PAWS teams work with larger groups of students as well.

An agility course set up by a PAWS volunteer helps children develop math skills, including number recognition and number formation. The children write numbers on cards to place on each obstacle of the course, and as they go through the course, they are able to follow and recognize the numerical sequence. The course also teaches children about measuring skills, using tools such as rulers or tape measures to establish the distance between obstacles on the course.

At the same time, the course helps establish coordination and balance, as well as working on obesity prevention, by having children move through the course, following the example of their PAWS partner.

Interacting with the dogs also helps children conquer their fear of dogs, Morris said, as the children interact with the therapy dog with the support and direction of a trained adult.

“It's beyond bringing in dogs for petting or for show-and-tell,” she said. “The PAWS teams come to the ELC and help all the students here, which is an invaluable experience for them.”

Article by Jon Bleiweis
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson