Dogged by an Olympian Devotion to Help

By Den Ardinger 32° KCCH

The primary goal of the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida, U.S.A., Inc. is to help children communicate. Through the generosity of Scottish Rite Masons, both nationally and locally, thousands of children have been treated through the Scottish Rite network of 15 hospitals and clinics in Florida. Among the clinics in the network is the Center for Speech & Language, LLC in Orlando where, for the first time, a highly skilled service dog by the name of “Olympia” has been trained to help children overcome speech and expressive language difficulties.

Olympia is an especially skilled facility dog trained by Canine Companions for Independence, a leader in the service dog industry. (www.cci.org) Olympia became an intimate part of the Center for Speech & Language LLC (CSL) at the age of two years in December 2020. She has been closely matched with Co-Directors Kirsten Germana and Kim Lobato, both Speech-Language Pathologists, in helping children manage anxiety, overcome speech difficulties and language disorders as well as reading and writing disorders.

Olympia is trained to work in a professional environment and can understand over forty specific commands designed to motivate, inspire, and encourage children to strive to improve or overcome their challenges.

Examples of how Olympia can be effectively used include having a child in the program give Olympia commands such as sit, speak, stand or spin which helps the child pronounce words with an “s” sound. Another would be to encourage the child to talk about Olympia’s eyes or service vest. In one inspirational case, a child ran to Olympia, hugged her, and began to speak words for the first time.

Olympia can pick up a bean bag, tug, push drawers closed, retrieve a wide range of items and understand commands using all letters of the alphabet. She is then appropriately rewarded with kibble or a carrot.

Inspiring examples such as these have given hope and show that using service dogs can help children communicate effectively with peers and with adults. Service dogs can be another tool for clinics to use in addition to books, games, and other appropriate items.

Dr. Kelly Farquharson, Director of the Children’s Literacy and Speech Sound (CLaSS) Lab at Florida State University said, “The services provided by clinics through the Scottish Rite Foundation are crucial for children with speech and language impairments. Early intervening services are connected to later academic success, as well as social-emotional well-being in school-aged children.”

Olympia is a black Labrador Retriever with Golden Cross, three and a half years old, and is especially useful with school age children but can work with young toddlers from 18 months all the way to adults. She successfully works with boys and girls in the Central Florida region about 20 hours a week. Each child’s needs are different and they work with Olympia in varying amounts.

She is the only facility dog in the Orlando area used for this purpose. In a typical week she may interact with fifty to seventy-five children. She can even interact from a distance on Zoom calls.

Olympia is owned by Canine Companions for Independence but lives with Kirsten. She is recertified annually and has regular physicals. Like most of us, she works until retirement which is usually in seven to ten years. In the meantime she spends her days helping those in need in so many ways.

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The Center for Speech & Language can be reached at 5020 Goddard Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32804; telephone (407) 299-1533; k2@centerforspeechorlando.com; or

http://www.centerforspeechorlando.com.