upworthy

autism

Pets

Service dog goes viral for flunking out of training school in spectacular fashion

He did, however, receive his certification as a Very Good Boy.

Double H Canine Training Academy/Youtube
Service dog flunks out of training school in spectacular fashion

There are lots of different kinds of service and companion dogs. Some are "seeing-eye" dogs that assist people with visual impairments. People with mobility issues, hearing loss, or who are at risk of seizures might benefit from a service dog to help them and keep them safe. People with autism, PTSD, anxiety, or depression can also benefit from a highly trained canine companion.

Regardless of the task, certified service animals must undergo an extremely rigorous training process. Their job is not an easy one, and they need to prove they're capable and not prone to being distracted. No one knows this better than the folks at Double H Canine Academy in Louisville, Kentucky — a training facility for pups.

The team at Double H also recognizes that not every dog is suited for a life of service. In a hilarious viral video posted to YouTube, it's abundantly clear that not all dogs are meant to follow orders.


german shepherd, dogs, service dog, seeing eye dog, emotional support dog, service animal, animals, disabilityGerman Shepherds make great service dogs. Well, not all German Shepherds. Photo by Anna Dudkova on Unsplash

Ladies and gentleman, meet Ryker. He's a German Shepherd who was a student at Double H trying to earn his service dog bona fides (bone-a-fides?). Unfortunately, Ryker flunked out in such spectacular fashion that the team couldn't help but put together a little "highlight" package of his best moments.

Ryker really tries his best, but the poor guy just can't help himself. He doesn't want to work; he wants to play. Ryker steals a tennis ball from the bottom of a walker, drags around an entire wheelchair by its handle, and pulls his trainer over trying to go after a fetch ball. There is no piece of equipment that he doesn't want to chew or climb on. There is no leash that can contain him. There is literally not a single distraction that he will not fall for. Perhaps his most extreme fail is, when trying to open a refrigerator door, he ends up dragging the entire thing halfway across the room.

Definitely not service dog behavior. Watch his contagious, fun-loving spirit in the video here:


- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The video racked up over 2 million views, and commenters agreed: Ryker may not have passed, but he was definitely a certified Very Good Boy.

'Why bring one thing from the fridge when you can bring the whole damn thing"

"Frankly, I don't understand why he didn't pass. I mean he folded the wheelchair up. He removed the walker from the person after they clearly were done with it. He washed the floor. He moved the fridge. What more could you ask of him?"

"My family and I adopted a service academy 'drop-out' ten years ago. He's still with us and is the most AMAZING dog I'll ever have."

"Being a service dog was not his purpose in life... still a good boy, his purpose was to give us laughs."

"On the plus side, if you lose a tennis ball Ryker is your dog!"

As you can see, Ryker is living his life to the fullest. While he may never be the world's greatest service dog, he continues to provide an invaluable testament to being true to oneself.


sleeping dog, dogs, animals, funny animals, funny dogsRyker is more cut out for this kind of life.Giphy

The list of skills that service dogs can have is astounding. Not all dogs will acquire all of these skills, but some of the basics are:

  • Carrying things for their owner
  • Guiding their owner safely
  • Waking their owner
  • Waking their handler and/or helping them up
  • Interrupting dissociating or freezing
  • Find their owner if lost
  • Alerting bystanders, calling for help, or even using a dog-friendly phone to contact emergency services!
  • And so many more

The fact that Ryker has had any training at all makes him exceptionally well-suited to civilian life. As a family house-dog, Ryker won't need any of the skills above, but his abundance of love and playfulness will serve him incredibly well with his forever family.

This article originally appeared five years ago. It has been updated.

From Your Site Articles
dogs
Community

Fourth grader gives PowerPoint to her class announcing that she's autistic

The entire class broke out into applause.

tinklesherpants/Instagram

10-year-old Cam gives a PowerPoint presentation to her class about her autism diagnosis.

Fourth grader Campbell is unashamed of her autism diagnosis. The incredible 10-year-old created a PowerPoint presentation to tell her class all about it, complete with helpful information about autism to help them understand what it is and to encourage an atmosphere of acceptance.

Campbell's mom, Stephanie Hanrahan (@tinklesherpants), shared a video on Instagram of her daughter giving her presentation to a room full of attentive students. "Our daughter decided to tell her class she's autistic. We had no idea she was doing this. She decided to use her free time at school to create a presentation," she writes in the video's caption.

The video begins with Cam standing in front of the class starting her presentation. "My name is Cam, and I have autism. Autism is a disability that affects socializing with people, learning, and other stuff. It can make life hard, but I am very open sharing about it," she begins. "I like to call autism my invisible disability."


Cam goes on to explain all the things that autism can affect, before moving on to describing how all autism is not the same. She shares that she has a younger brother with autism named Eli who is in second grade. "We have the same disability, but we don't have the same special needs," she says.

Another slide features 'Famous People with Autism', where she included photos of Elon Musk, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates and more...including herself in a funny nod. The next slide is about basic autism facts, before she highlights another slide about stimming. She shares that stimming is a natural way that people with autism move or fidget with their bodies. Common stims may be flopping, knee bobbing, repetition, and humming. "Stimming is absolutely not okay to make fun of or copy," she says.

At the end of her presentation, the entire class gives her a rousing round of applause and Cam wears a large, proud smile on her face.

Her mom Stephanie added in the caption, "Do not discount this generation. I know there are bad seeds in every bunch, but in my experience, children are often way more open-minded and inclusive than adults. And it’s all because of classrooms like these where an autistic girl is given the chance to stand with pride and say, 'This is me.' Raise your kids to be proud of every stripe. Raise your kids to embrace everyone’s story."

Cam's powerful presentation got tons of positive comments from viewers, including a teacher who knows her. The teacher wrote, "I’m one of the fourth grade teachers lucky enough to know Cam and the gift she is to us all. I boo hoo cried during her whole presentation out of admiration for her and pride in her peers. There is so much beauty in kids and we learn so much from them. If the world could mirror our fourth graders, it’d be a much more beautiful place. Thank you for sharing the gift of Cam with us, and the world! She is a deeply beautiful soul and we all have so much to learn from her. ❤️"

Others chimed in, saying:

"AND she started a trend at school of kids talking about their differences. That was awesome on so many levels!"

"This is so brave and her peers response is so beautiful 👏🥹❤️."

"She did such a great job of explaining Autism, stimming and several other aspects of the condition. She was funny and confident, and her classmates seem to have enjoyed and learned a lot. This really helps get conversations started and makes the entire environment a lot more inclusive! Way to go🔥."

From Your Site Articles
autism
Health

Woman shares why being 'conventionally attractive' and autistic is 'jarring' and scary

It can be dangerous as well.

via BiancaMcIntyre.com and Canva/Photos

Brian a McIntyre and a man who doesn't understand women with autism.

It’s a common fact that good-looking people have a lot of advantages, whether it’s being seen as smarter and more capable or having a much easier time on dating apps. Good-looking people also have it easier in the workplace, where they are more likely to receive raises and promotions and be listened to in meetings.

It’s taboo for good-looking people to complain about the problems that come with being attractive. Still, Bianca McIntyre, a woman in Australia, says that when you’re “conventionally attractive” and have autism, it can cause potential romantic partners to have disturbing reactions. This can lead the autistic person to become hyper-fixated on their appearance out of fear that, if not for their looks, they’d be ostracized.

McIntyre is a borderline personality disorder specialist who has the disorder and was diagnosed with ADHD and autism later in life. She uses her lived experience to help people through one-on-one sessions, short-form content, educational talks, webinars, and videos. She explained the trouble that happens when you’re conventionally attractive and the person you're dating discovers you are “weird” in a viral TikTok video with over 1.4 million views.

@putting_the_b_in_bpd

Have you had this experience? Have you taken time to unpack the shame that may have come from this type of environment? 💜 #asd #autism #austisminwomen #audhd #puttingthebinbpd #bipittyfriends #nd #neurodivergent #attractiveness

“When you grow up, and you find out that people consider you conventionally attractive, you have an ability to attract people. But then you get to see in real-time as they viscerally find out how weird you are,” she says in the video. “I used the word viscerally because it's this almost cognitive dissonance that happens in real-time, in physical distance, where they can't comprehend how you look a certain way, but you don't behave the way that a person who looks like that should behave.”

She adds that when potential romantic partners go through this experience, they get very angry because they feel like they have been fooled. This can lead to disturbing behavior, such as bullying, and eventually, they leave her. After repeatedly suffering this treatment, McIntyre became fixated on her looks to compensate for her unique personality. “You place all of your value as a human being on what you look like. That's a really difficult thing. That's a really exhausting mindset,” she continues.

adhd and autism, autistic women, attractive women, pretty privilege, depression, shameA woman is upset in her car.via Canva/Photos

Another problem that women McIntyre works with often face is a cycle of hypersexualization, where autistic women find themselves in compromising situations they wouldn’t have entered if they had a stronger sense of self. This dangerous cycle can lead to bouts of shame and depression and lead to sexual victimization.

Some may have a problem with McIntyre explaining the drawbacks of being “conventionally attractive,” but she isn’t denying the advantages. In the video, she understands that speaking about being good-looking is taboo and that there are “inherent positives” to being attractive. But ultimately, she made the video to open a dialog with other women who have struggled with the same issue, especially those who are young.

adhd and autism, autistic women, attractive women, pretty privilege, depression, shameA woman upset on her bed.via Canva/Photos

“I want you to know that you're not alone, and more importantly, if you are a younger autistic woman and you find yourself in this situation, in this headspace, that ‘I am pretty and that is worth more than my personality. My personality is weird, I'm a weird person, but at least I'm conventionally attractive,’” she said. “I really want you to understand that your inherent value does not revolve around whether you can attract, entertain or arouse those around you. Your inherent value comes from being a human being.”

From Your Site Articles
autism
Joy

Costco employees let nonverbal autistic boy scan items after noticing he's overwhelmed

"Today, two Costco employees showed us what kindness and patience really look like. 💙"

Image via Canva/Wikipedia

Mom shares emotional video of Costco employees letting nonverbal autistic son scan items.

Going to Costco can be an overwhelming experience for everyone. Between dodging shopping carts, weaving in and out of crazy traffic patterns, and finding your way down crowded aisles, there is no denying that Costco can be an overstimulating (and anxiety-producing) place. And for TikToker Kels (@kelsmflee) and her 3-year-old nonverbal son on the autism spectrum, their trip was made much more peaceful thanks to two mindful employees who noticed he was struggling.

Kels shared a touching video to her followers on TikTok showing the kindness they were given while checking out during a busy shopping trip. "Most days, trips to the store are overwhelming for my autistic, nonverbal 3-year-old. But today, two Costco employees showed us what kindness and patience really look like. 💙 Thank you for making our day unforgettable," she captioned the video.

@kelsmflee

Most days, trips to the store are overwhelming for my autistic, nonverbal 3-year-old. But today, two Costco employees showed us what kindness and patience really look like. 💙 Thank you for making our day unforgettable. #KindnessMatters @Costco Wholesale #AutismAwareness #ParentingJourney #NonverbalAutism #KindnessCounts #CostcoLove #SpecialNeedsParenting #GratefulHeart #EmpathyInAction

In the video, Kels' son can be seen helping the Costco employee ring up their items. He holds the scanner as the employee holds each item up to him and shows him where to scan each one. "Most people stare when my autistic, nonverbal 3-year-old son has a tough time in stores..." her caption within the video reads. "But today, two Costco employees noticed his struggle and handed him the scanner and let him ring up every item. Kindness like this changes everything. Thank you for making our day!"

Costco, shopping, costoc tripHype Bryce GIF by GranarlyGiphy

The video got an emotional response from viewers on TikTok. "This is the way our world should be. Slowing down to take a moment like this and create a core memory," one commenter wrote.

Another added, "He did so well!!! Costco is overwhelming a typical person! I can’t imagine how it is for someone with Autism. What a sweet worker❤️He was so patient and kind. Your son is adorable!"

"🥰🥰🥰 he did amazing," said another, to which Kels replied, "Thank you. We were all so proud—he was most proud though and I love that."

Kels also interacted more in the comments, sharing more about their story. "I have a son on the spectrum and it might be a good idea to get some headphones for the little boy when he’s in a loud environment like a Costco. :)," another commenter suggested. Kels shared, "This is my boy. Will not keep them on no matter how much he needs them. Literally. They [end] up broken 100% of the time."

Another viewer wrote, "this is what acceptance looks like🥰," to which Kels replied, "Yes, and we need so much more of it." Finally, another added, "Look at the joy on his face! 🥺", and Kels responded, "Literally so much joy!!"


@kelsmflee

I love how much my kids love each other. #siblings #brother #sister #sissy #siblinglove #proudmom

Kels has three children, and her 3-year-old is her youngest. On her TikTok, she has shared sweet videos of their close and loving relationship with each other over the years. His older siblings are protective and always looking out for him, including during scary visits to Santa Claus. "I love how much my kids love each other," she wrote in another video.

From Your Site Articles
autism
Trending Stories