Dylan and Honeybee

Dylan and Honeybee

My son, Dylan has Cerebral Palsy and is also hearing impaired and non-verbal.
Since Honeybee came to live with us, she has been a wonderful companion for Dylan.
She goes to school every day with him. Before he had Honeybee, there were children
who were afraid to speak to Dylan, but now, about every third child is saying “Hello
Dylan and Honeybee”.
This has been great for Dylan socially. When we are in public areas like shopping centres,
people stop to talk to us about Dylan and Honeybee. This is good for people in the
community to learn more and to be more accepting of people with disabilities and their
helpers.
Honeybee is also physically stimulating for Dylan. He has little tone in his arms, but
now he is constantly trying to touch his dog. He is making small but steady improvements
with trying to stroke her.
At home Honeybee is also wonderful company. When the other kids are playing, Dylan
is not left sitting on his own. Honey is constantly on his knee, and because she has been
trained to be with him, she doesn’t run off with the other kids.
Mind you, she just loves to have a crazy run around the house once a day. It is great to
watch because she usually jumps straight over Dylan in his beanbag, which he thinks is
lots of fun and gets the giggles watching her.
It is great for Dylan to have something that is solely his. He has a younger brother who
can take over Dylan’s things, but who knows that Honeybee belongs only to Dylan.
Before Honeybee, Dylan used to have a rag that was very comforting to him and we
had to take it everywhere. This was comforting for him and also a form of entertainment
if he got bored (He used to play with it). Now Honeybee is his comfort, his best
friend and his joy.