Fear of Dogs
I have heard that one autism characteristic is fearlessness. While only 15 months old she would climb the slide either up the ladder or up the slide itself, get to the top and slide back down using any number of styles, forwards, backwards, on her belly... All the while her 3 1/2 year-old brother was still terrified to go up the steps and required his hand to be held as he went down. It was very odd.
I recall a trip to PetSmart with her when she was about three. We went to pick up some crickets for our frogs. In front of us in the check out lane was a very large German Shepard. Cassidy broke my grasp and ran for this critter. She threw her arms around him and hugged him. Luckily the dog was very gentle and the owner was paying attention. I got her off of the dog and told her not to do that again. Of course she would do it anytime she got a chance. To her, a dog was just a large stuffed animal that moved.
I was curious how she would respond to dogs after the attack. It was a nice coincidence that we had already planned a visit with Jill and Opie before this had happened. We showed up at Jill's place and instantly Cassidy began to talk to Opie but would not touch him and would run away when he came near.
Jill and I got down on the floor with her and reintroduced her to Opie. She warmed up to him and began playing with him. But, at one point Opie yawned, showing all of his tiny teeth. She cried out and said something about his teeth and the inside of his mouth. She pushed herself into a corner and shook. We explained to her that he was yawning and she finally relaxed.
Ironically we had already planned to go to a pet show at the Munice Fairgrounds. We went ahead and went but she was very scared of the dogs and seemed to be only interested in a very large bunny and various stuffed animals in the booths.
I am saddened by her trauma but also very glad to see that she was able to develop a fear of dogs. I was concerned that she would still be fearless around them. This actually encourages me. It shows that she is having a natural emotional reaction to this situation. I did not want her to be numb to it.
I recall a trip to PetSmart with her when she was about three. We went to pick up some crickets for our frogs. In front of us in the check out lane was a very large German Shepard. Cassidy broke my grasp and ran for this critter. She threw her arms around him and hugged him. Luckily the dog was very gentle and the owner was paying attention. I got her off of the dog and told her not to do that again. Of course she would do it anytime she got a chance. To her, a dog was just a large stuffed animal that moved.
I was curious how she would respond to dogs after the attack. It was a nice coincidence that we had already planned a visit with Jill and Opie before this had happened. We showed up at Jill's place and instantly Cassidy began to talk to Opie but would not touch him and would run away when he came near.
Jill and I got down on the floor with her and reintroduced her to Opie. She warmed up to him and began playing with him. But, at one point Opie yawned, showing all of his tiny teeth. She cried out and said something about his teeth and the inside of his mouth. She pushed herself into a corner and shook. We explained to her that he was yawning and she finally relaxed.
Ironically we had already planned to go to a pet show at the Munice Fairgrounds. We went ahead and went but she was very scared of the dogs and seemed to be only interested in a very large bunny and various stuffed animals in the booths.
I am saddened by her trauma but also very glad to see that she was able to develop a fear of dogs. I was concerned that she would still be fearless around them. This actually encourages me. It shows that she is having a natural emotional reaction to this situation. I did not want her to be numb to it.
posted by Anonymous at 2:10 PM
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