A Perspective on Teaching Early Harness Travel to Young Blind Children Using Children's Visual Companion Dogs

Children who are blind as young as age 6 are given a unique and innovative opportunity by OccuPaws Guide Dog Association (located in Madison, Wisconsin) to travel coactively with their parents using a specially trained children's visual companion dog on harness. Not to be confused with fully trained dog guides, children's visual companion dogs are trained and used as part of a unit or triad that includes the parent, the child, and the dog. Since these dogs are not used at school, instruction to the unit is provided in the home environment by dog trainers and orientation and mobility (OM positioning him- or herself face forward; staying in consistent proximity to the dog; maintaining kinesthetic and spatial awareness of body parts, such as arm extension in relation to him- or herself and the environment; synchronizing dog movements with one's own movements; using simple commands; and moving joyfully through space. Depending on the age of the child, the adult has oversight of the route of travel. Over time, however, the adult can incrementally share and eventually release this responsibility to the child as concepts are developed and when developmentally appropriate. The adult uses "teachable moments" to facilitate development in all travel domains. When the dog is not harnessed, the child learns to be a responsible pet owner. Pet care and maintenance is taught in accordance with the child's developmental capacity. Gross and fine motor skills are necessary for an individual to hold on to a harness and walk with a dog. In a developmental model, the harness can be used to facilitate the development of such skills rather than wait for requisite skills to develop so the harness can be used "appropriately." The harness can be used to facilitate the development of grip, reach, arm movement, and trunk-and-shoulder stability for a child who needs guided experiences to improve such abilities. Mature walking patterns are necessary so the child is not dragged along by dog and harness; and grasp-and-release skills are needed so the child has control over his or her proximal relationship to the harness. In addition, the height of the child relative to the height of the harness must be adequate to avoid muscular stress. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] RESEARCH PROJECT I began an action research project in March 2010 to determine the age at which a child typically develops the physical skills necessary to walk safely with a children's visual companion dog on harness and the potential benefits and/or risks related to the child's development, motivation, and safety when a children's visual companion dog is introduced. Based on the findings of this research, I hoped to determine best-practice recommendations for using a children's visual companion dog. The opinions of parents regarding early harness travel as a current or future travel option for their children were also attained. The research project comprised a number of steps. I researched the level of physical development required for a child to walk with a harnessed children's visual companion dog; performed a review of the literature on the role of movement and motivation in development; considered the common movement concerns related to blind children; provided parents opportunities to learn about early harness travel and observe their child's trial harness walk; and collected insights, opinions, and observations through a survey and follow-up discussion. …