Conor Simpson

It’s hard to believe that Matthew will turn 21 in November………and Poncho is 14 years old!

A year after Matthew was born, our third child of four, we began to notice that some of the milestones that Jodie and Jack had reached before him, were not being met in the same way. More noticeably, after 2 years of age, we began to see Matthew regress in his development, slowly the words he had learned and used, disappeared. Like so many other parents, it was there that our journey, and Matthew’s, began.

Matthew was diagnosed with Autism just before his third birthday. By this time, he was non-verbal and had been displaying behaviours that matched his diagnoses. Earlier that same year, our fourth child Kate arrived. The following years were a mix of “early intervention” therapies, research into what might be causing Autism and exploring non-conventional treatments such as diet and vitamins. When looking back at this period, my wife Jean and I recall how stressful a time this was and how we were so immersed in Autism. While not expecting a cure, we hoped for an improvement.

As the years progressed, Matthew went through a number of phases of behaviours which made it challenging for us to function as a family and required a lot of planning. Matthew had no awareness of roads and traffic, he would take to walking away if we were not holding hands. A more serious behaviour was when Matthew began leaving the house. It was around this time, through talking to other parents, that we learnt of the Assistance Dog service in Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Something we had no knowledge of before.

In September 2009, we put Matthew’s name on the waiting list for an Assistance Dog, a three-year wait began………….but oh was it worth it!

Despite my wife not being a “dog person” and our own thoughts on how having an Assistance Dog would work for us as a family. However, discussions with Irish Guide Dogs, and other parents, informed us that this was the right decision.

After I completed a week of training with Poncho in the Training Centre, I brought Poncho “home” in November 2014. Matthew was nine years old and now we were going to see how he would react to Poncho. Although Matthew never developed an emotional bond as such, he and Poncho very quickly developed a “working” bond. Matthew quickly realised that Poncho was part of the family and came with us when we went to the shops, a restaurant or for a walk. Poncho came on the bus, the car and the plane! With ease, Matthew was comfortable being strapped to Poncho and holding the harness handle. It took Jean and me a little bit of practice to get used to the steering!

After six months, we no longer needed to strap Matthew to Poncho, Matthew held Poncho’s handle voluntarily and the bolting ceased. Matthew also learnt to stop at the kerb and to this day, without Poncho, Matthew “finds the kerb”.

While in one sense it’s easy to describe the impact Poncho has had on Matthew, it’s a bit more difficult to describe the impact on the rest of the family……..because I didn’t expect it.

For our other children, Jodie, Jack and Kate, Matthew was the centre point in our family, a family characteristic they whole heartedly took part in from a very young age…….even Kate, the baby of the family, “looked out” for Matthew from as early as 2 years of age! Poncho changed this a little by becoming the centre of attention, Autism no longer was the centre point, and this was a significant change in our family dynamic, for the better. Poncho was here to help Matthew, and he did, but he also helped us all.

Poncho is now enjoying his fourth year of retirement and in good health, a testament to the care and training he received from his puppy raiser and the Training Centre.