Countless times strangers have told Kris Smith she needs to be a better parent. “I’ve even had people come up and punch my child,” she says matter-of-factly.

“People just think Izaak and Pat are undisciplined,” Kris explains. “They are really smart kids, but they get an overload of senses and they do not cope well.”

What we don’t see – what living on the autism spectrum is like – is easily misunderstood.

 Sarah Collins is used to being out in public with all-eyes-upon-her as her third-born son Rhys crashes to the floor in a screaming, sobbing heap because he can’t cope with where he is.  “Or worse, everyone is just assuming he’s a spoilt boy having a tantrum!” Sarah says.

And when they arrive home?  “Rhys may take half an hour to come inside from the car due transition issues, or even go to run away from us,”  Sarah says.

Children living on the autism spectrum can become very anxious about going out, Kris explains. “Every time we’d get in the car there’d be a meltdown. “Pat would sometimes try to climb out of the window of the car.”   Kris would have to organise someone to stay with Pat, so she could pick up Izaak from school.

Not now.   Razz is a year old, and he moved in with Pat’s family a week ago*. He’s a Smart Pup – a professionally-trained black labrador who guides Pat, now seven, through his day with unconditional love. 

“Pat is not ready to have friends, so it’s nice for him to have someone,” Kris says. Someone who leads the way. “Pat just goes with him,” Kris says.   “We can go to school and pick up Izaak now.”

Pat lives on the autism spectrum like Rhys. And he’s a third-born son too. His older brothers Izaak, 9, and Ryan,14, have asperger syndrome.  “All of my boys are less anxious going out these days,” Kris says.

Smart Pups is a new not-for-profit Sunshine Coast organisation helping children like Pat and Rhys gain independence and confidence. Smart Pups train specially-selected golden retriever and labrador puppies to become assistance-dogs for children with Autism and Epilepsy.  The dogs help their child with daily routine, relieve social isolation, and help reduce stress by touching or nudging their child to halt ‘heading-towards-a-meltdown’ behaviour. Or enlist a snuggle or kiss to calm them.

“Razz is very in-tune with Pat and Izaak,” Kris explains. “He’s always tries to reach them before the escalation starts.”  When either of the boys start crying or ‘melting-down’, he will nuzzle them, or Kris will give the lap command. Razz will then put his paws across Pat’s lap or his full body on Pat’s lap.  “The deep pressure of Razz’s full body on Pat’s lap gives strong sensory input and is very calming for Pat,” Kris says.

Pat has slept in Kris’s bed for years, he’s been so anxious. Kris needed to keep an eye out for his  epileptic seizures too. But Razz moved into Pat’s room this week. “Pat has slept in his own bed for the first time in years, and he’s so proud of himself,” Kris says.“ And Kris explains that Razz is so in-tune with Pat, he’s being trained to detect a seizure then alert Kris.

Napoleon is a golden retriever. He’s a Smart Pup like Razz. Napoleon’s been part of the Collins family now for seven months. Everyday-outings are possible now, with Rhys, 5, linked to Napoleon’s harness. “We don’t have to grasp Rhys tightly , attach him to us, or carry him, like we used to!,” Sarah says.

Rhys’s meltdowns are very rare nowadays. And saying goodbye to Rhys at preschool – which used to take Sarah an hour and a half – takes about “10 minutes most mornings”, now Napoleon joins Rhys at preschool, Sarah says.   “Rhys is so much more comfortable and so much more confident … and it’s really wonderful to see.”

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are the fastest rising developmental conditions in the western world, Autism Queensland advises.  “It is now more common than cerebral palsy, diabetes, deafness, blindness and leukaemia put together.”  Some Australian studies* conclude that one in 160 children (aged six to 12) have ASD, but US Center for Disease Control and Prevention studies indicate it may be as prevalent as one in 100.

One in a 100 families cut-off from the world in their attempt to keep their children safe and calm.

Nearly half of children with ASD are reported to wander or ‘bolt’, and more than half of these children go missing, a study from the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) states.

Rhys is a ‘runner’, an escape artist who’s drawn to trains, cars, and water. “I panic in part because I need to know he is safe, I panic because he knows not of the dangers,” Sarah says.

“Look, it can happen all the time with Rhys – he hides, he shuts down, he goes quiet, and won’t  respond to his name being called,” Sarah says.   “So when – not if – he gets out of sight on the property, despite it being decked-out like Fort Knox, his life is at serious risk.”

But Napoleon lives at ‘Fort Knox’ now. He’s trained to find Rhys in minutes, if not seconds.

Like two days ago. “All was very quiet. “I checked in every room and could not find Rhys. I called to Napoleon, ‘where’s Rhys?’  “Napoleon gets all excited, races about, finds his scent and finds Rhys,” Sarah says.

  “You still get that horrid feeling, that intense feeling of panic, adrenalin rush….your heart starts to pound, your hearing shuts down and channels only into any sound that may be him!”

“Now, well, I don’t panic as much. “I’m his mum, I still do, but nowhere near as much.”

“I have no words for how that makes us feel, to have our greatest fear – the possibility of losing our son – alleviated like that,” Sarah says.

Close calls with traffic-injury were reported in 65 per cent of the missing children, and close calls with drowning were reported in 24 per cent, in the IAN study.  Nearly 60 per cent of parents said elopement was one of the most stressful behaviours they had to cope with in caring for an ASD child. Half these parents had received no help or guidance on how to deal with elopement.

“Yesterday Pat took-off while I was at the shops paying for the bread,” Kris says. “Razz was already down, he sat down and held his position like the Smart Pups girls have trained him to.” Pat could not escape as he’s attached to Razz’s harness.

“Smart Pups know parents are already really stressed, but they have come into our lives and brought this wonderful dog,” Kris says.

“For the first time, I’m relaxed, it just hit me yesterday,  I was actually relaxed,” Kris says.

“I don’t have to be so vigilant. “Now I don’t have to check all the time that he’s not going to get run over.”

 Razz and Napoleon are keeping Kris and Sarah’s third-born sons safe. But they are also sending out a ripple of positive change and awareness right out into the lives of family, friends and the community, Sarah says.

“I’ve noticed the social interaction in the last week, there is so much more interaction from people, it’s really nice,” Kris says.  “People actually came up to me on the weekend when I was at the shops with Izaak and Pat and they said ‘you are doing a great job’.”

How you can help

Smart Pups receives no government funding, as assistance dogs are not yet recognised as an early intervention program. “It would be so good if the Government got on board, there are so many positives,” Kris says.  Kris’s family raised $10, 000 in the community while her family were on the Smart Pups waitlist. “It was awkward asking everyone, but I had to forget my pride,” she says.

Smart Pups rely on support from the public for tax deductable donations towards the costs of raising and training each dog (about  AU$30,000), sponsorship of a puppy (from $2 a day) or foster carers. Becoming a foster carer is an ideal for people wanting to help out and have the fun of raising a puppy without the long-term commitment and Smart Pups pay for all the dog’s requirements.

Learn more at  smartpups.org. au

Smart Pups have full public access. Families can take their children out into the world with their best friend tethered with them or by their side, without having to explain why and what their companions are  doing, as they wear a special service-dog vest.

* I Interviewed Kris and Sarah in November 2012