From our trainer, Candace, in Ft. Worth, who is working with Wounded Warrior, Derrick, and his SDIT, Anni. Derrick suffers from PTSD from his service in the Marine Corps, has difficulty sleeping, nightmares, and anxiety in large crowds. Candace writes:

“Derrick and Anni’s training session was very straight forward and fruitful. We focused a lot of our time on proper heeling for Anni. We also focused on what was acceptable and not acceptable for Derrick’s specific diagnosis and what he felt was comfortable for him. Anni is a bit of a puller, but also a quick learner. We added some directional vocabulary to her list, including “left,” “right,” and “back.” We also talked a lot about Derrick’s anxiety and how Anni has been responding to him. I wanted to get a better idea of how she reacts when his stress level goes up, so I sent Derrick on a mission as homework of increasing his anxiety level in as safe a situation as possible with his family. He was to note Anni’s reaction and what he would like her to do so that we could work on this for next time. We spend the last bit of the session working on Anni staying under picnic tables so Derrick can go out to eat with his family. She did a great job!”