WHAT I LEARNED AT THE CONFERENCE: part 2

So what else did I learn at this year's Moebius Syndrome Foundation conference, held in North Bethesda, Maryland, just concluded?

Well, let me write a bit about what some people may think is a surprising topic:  service dogs.

I went to a conference session led by Natalie Abbott.  Natalie is an important member of our Moebius community.  She has Moebius Syndrome.  She is a member of our Moebius Syndrome Foundation board; and she helps coordinate and lead our activities on social media.  Natalie also has a service dog.  And so that was the topic of her conference session.  There were also 3 other people participating in the session, from a local organization that helps provide people who need them with service dogs.

Many people I suspect have the wrong idea about service dogs.  Not that they think there is anything wrong with them.  Most people love service dogs, and can't wait to pet them (even when perhaps they shouldn't; I sometimes am guilty of that!)  But I suspect many think service dogs are only for those who are pretty much completely blind and deaf.

They are not.  Service dogs can be for anyone--as long, that is, as you have a kind of disability in which you need a service dog to help you complete certain specific tasks.

So, for example:  if you have Moebius Syndrome, and you live with various physical pain and other physical limitations, a service dog can help you with certain things.  If you drop your keys, a service dog can pick them up for you.  If you go out to get the mail, your dog can get the mail for you and hold on to it until you get back into your apartment or house.  When you're walking down the street or wherever you happen to be, your service dog can help you maintain your balance.

And of course, in general, your service dog can help you integrate better in society and have better acceptance from others.  Because, even though perhaps you look different and sound different (if for example you have Moebius), if you have a service dog with you, people will be interested in your dog and be more willing to interact with you because of that.  They'll come up to you and want to talk to you about your dog.  They will want to pet him or her.  And thus they will meet you.

There are certain things to remember, though.  1] You cannot get a service dog ONLY for the purpose of getting other people to like you and talk to you.  As the joke went:  if you're a young man, you can't just get a working dog to help you meet women!  You must need the dog to perform certain specific tasks for you.  2] In addition, it is not an easy process to get a service dog.  You have to apply.  There will be several different interview processes.  You have to be trained.  You have to qualify for a dog.  The process of acquiring a service dog usually takes at least a year.

But the bottom line is:  if you have Moebius Syndrome, or other kinds of differences or disabilities, you may very well qualify to get a service dog.  You may want to look into it.  So this was a very interesting session, and I learned a lot from it.  Oh, and by the way--Cassius, who is Natalie's service dog, is very, very smart and very handsome.  It was great to meet him!