About thirty years ago, while travelling and teaching in Turkey, Nepal and Iran, Bonnie Bergin noticed self-sufficient handicapped people going about their unremarkable daily business, often using burros and donkeys to hold pots, pans and other wares to be sold. She later returned to the United States to begin work on a Master's Degree in Special Education. "I thought hard about what can be done to get people out of institutions and onto the streets, getting jobs, and it came to me—dogs," says Bergin, who today has a Doctorate in Education and is founder of the Assistance Dog Institute and... Show more About thirty years ago, while travelling and teaching in Turkey, Nepal and Iran, Bonnie Bergin noticed self-sufficient handicapped people going about their unremarkable daily business, often using burros and donkeys to hold pots, pans and other wares to be sold. She later returned to the United States to begin work on a Master's Degree in Special Education. "I thought hard about what can be done to get people out of institutions and onto the streets, getting jobs, and it came to me—dogs," says Bergin, who today has a Doctorate in Education and is founder of the Assistance Dog Institute and originator of the service-dog concept. She ran into fierce resistance from academics and professionals at first. Dogs spread disease. Dogs are stupid. The disabled can't take care of dogs, how can dogs take care of them ? But the long list of negative reactions didn't stop her. Her first trainee was Abdul, a golden retriever puppy someone had given her. Her first dog-assistance client was Kerry Knaus, a soft-spoken 19-year- old woman who had a neuromuscular disorder that had left her unable to move her legs and much of her arms. Bergin and Knaus concentrated not on physical gestures but on verbal cues such as "sit" or "stay", using variations in tone of voice and facial expressions to get Abdul to help Knaus. By the end of the training the dog could push Knaus up from her inchair falls, open doors, turn on lights, retrieve food and push levers to help her operate the chair and also lift it to her van. Most important, Knaus had to develop a trusting emotional bond with Abdul simply by spending time with him, much in the way humans get to know one another and develop a relationship based on mutual understanding. (322 words) Read the statements given below and tick the correct options. Show less
About thirty years ago, while travelling and teaching in Turkey, Nepal and Iran, Bonnie Bergin noticed self-sufficient handicapped people going about their unremarkable daily business, often using burros and donkeys to hold pots, pans and other wares to be sold. She later returned to the United States to begin work on a Master's Degree in Special Education. "I thought hard about what can be done to get people out of institutions and onto the streets, getting jobs, and it came to me—dogs," says Bergin, who today has a Doctorate in Education and is founder of the Assistance Dog Institute and originator of the service-dog concept. She ran into fierce resistance from academics and professionals at first. Dogs spread disease. Dogs are stupid. The disabled can't take care of dogs, how can dogs take care of them ? But the long list of negative reactions didn't stop her. Her first trainee was Abdul, a golden retriever puppy someone had given her. Her first dog-assistance client was Kerry Knaus, a soft-spoken 19-year- old woman who had a neuromuscular disorder that had left her unable to move her legs and much of her arms. Bergin and Knaus concentrated not on physical gestures but on verbal cues such as "sit" or "stay", using variations in tone of voice and facial expressions to get Abdul to help Knaus. By the end of the training the dog could push Knaus up from her inchair falls, open doors, turn on lights, retrieve food and push levers to help her operate the chair and also lift it to her van. Most important, Knaus had to develop a trusting emotional bond with Abdul simply by spending time with him, much in the way humans get to know one another and develop a relationship based on mutual understanding. (322 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct options.
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