During her recent presentation, she discussed how sudden novel or new experiences are frightening to animals as well as to some people with autism. However, if you allow people and animals to approach those new things at their own pace and by their own choosing, they are more readily accepted than when those novel things are just suddenly introduced without allowing for choice. While this may not seem groundbreaking, it is, nonetheless, incredibly important. Here's an example from the world of dogs.
I have a new client who was sent my way by her veterinarian. She and her 10 month old puppy had been working with a dog trainer who had been "pushing" the dog to interact with children, despite the fact that the puppy has always been hesitant around kids and mostly avoidant. Her vet was afraid that the dog would not only not get over his fear of kids, but that it might spill over into aggression if the dog felt cornered or threatened. If we think about what Dr. Grandin said above, forcing this puppy to meet and interact with kids is just causing more fear and resistance. If, instead, we allow the puppy to make choices when in the presence of kids, he should be more likely, over time, to accept them as he has other humans. To test this, I went with the client and her puppy to the park. We walked around the park, letting her puppy choose what he wanted to do. He sniffed (A LOT), chased a few squirrels, let a few adults pet him, etc. When we sat down on a bench near the soccer field where kids were playing, her puppy at first resisted, trying to escape. When he realized we weren't going to make him go out on the field, he started to relax, and then relaxed completely and could take treats while cautiously watching the kids run around. For our next meeting, we met outside a school where we could watch the kids on the playground, but where the kids wouldn't approach us given that it was during the school day. The puppy was, again, nervous at first, but after about 30 minutes, he settled down to watch the kids and chew on a bone. I had the owner do these same activities with her puppy every day for 2 weeks; they just watched kids from a safe distance. After two weeks, her puppy was no longer focused on kids, or nervous in their presence. At this point, we were ready to start bringing kids around him that he could choose to interact with or not. After 3 months of this, allowing the puppy to make the choices, we discovered that not only did her puppy finally seek out some kids, he was better in general with all kids. He definitely has preferences with regard to kids (he prefers the older, quieter kids who ignore him at first), but he is better around all kids overall.
I just want to leave you with one more fun tidbit from Dr. Grandin's presentation. She reviewed some research which found that fear is a strong stressor for young dogs, and those dogs who are fearful of loud noises or unfamiliar people, actually turn prematurely gray on their muzzles! Glad we got this puppy on the right track before his sweet little brown face went gray!
If you would like to read more about Dr. Grandin and her research, pick up a copy of one of her books, "Animals in Translation" or "Animals Make Us Human."
Ozzie has never been a fan of the wading pool. If you were to try to force him to go in it, he would actively resist. If, however, you put a small amount of water and a ton of ice cubes in it, and walk away, he will eventually approach the pool on his own and carefully select ice cubes for himself to eat. Thus, while he loves ice, he doesn't love the pool. He has to be given the opportunity to choose on his own, and at his own pace, to find this activity rewarding on a hot summer day.
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