Danielle Jacobs, a 24-year-old who has a type of autism spectrum disorder called Asperger’s syndrome, recently posted this powerful video of her dog Samson comforting her during a “meltdown”:
https://youtu.be/0M7PuuukzxY
These “episodes” are just a normal part of the life of this Tempe, Arizona resident. Jacobs was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in May 2013. Since then, she has been hoping to raise awareness about the condition, which is characterized by difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Jacobs says: “People with Asperger’s syndrome have a wide set of language skills: they can be [academically] smart and often… ahead of their class.”
People with Asperger’s syndrome “are on the high-functioning end of autism and carry a few traits as those with classic autism such as [having] meltdowns … [and] repetitive speech and behaviour,” explains Jacobs.
“What I’d like the public to know is that a child or adult in a store screaming or kicking and crying may not [be] having a tantrum because he’s not getting his or her way — it may be because the lights are hurting him because it’s too bright, the smells in the store [are] too strong, and it’s too loud for his ears, and the only way to express himself is through a meltdown,” she explains.
Jacobs adopted her 4-year-old rottweiler from HALO animal rescue in Phoenix. “I immediately began training him for service work for Asperger’s syndrome, PTSD, TBI, and anxiety disorder,” she says.
Samson has passed several tests to certify him as a guide dog. Jacobs says: “He [responds] to meltdowns, anger, depressive episodes, flashbacks and nightmares, panic attacks, and provides balance and counterbalance.”
“Someone once told me that people with Asperger’s or autism are like a computer,” she said. “There’s too much input [and] not enough output — [you] lose power and crash.”
To have shared something as personal as this video must have taken great courage. Both her and her lovely pooch are lucky to have one another.