Autism Through Canine Eyes...
I was surprised but happy to get an email from Carol, a woman who had participated in one of my recent workshops. She wanted to schedule a phone consult to discuss Susie's behavior. Susie is Carol's rottweiler, the canine-matriarch of the business she built from the ground up, now utilizing several volunteers and their autistic-sensitive therapy dogs, going throughout the Cleveland area, visiting facilities of autistic children to enrich their lives through connecting with animals. 
Over the phone, Carol went on to explain, "And, Bryan, you can imagine how people go into instant shock the moment any rottweiler barks, snarls, and snaps for no apparent reason. People just want her out the building when she behaves like that." Carol took in a deep breath and let out an exasperated sigh. "Bryan, what's going on with Susie. If she keeps this up, I won't be able to take on her any more field trips. Help me get to the bottom of her behavior. This has been going on for weeks, and we have another field trip tomorrow. I've spoken with Susie about this repeatedly, but nothing changes, and of course, someone in our group thought of you." 
I said, "Hey, let me get still for a moment and sit with Susie to see things from her perspective right now over the phone, so we get to the bottom of this today." 
"Oh, that's wonderful, Bryan. I'll be quiet and let you connect." Carol said. 
I was amazed with what came through Susie, who freely offered a canine's perspective into the mind of an autistic child, something I didn't specifically ask for, but suddenly knew I needed in order to proceed. I was silent for about five minutes, taking it all in, seeing the sensibility of the autistic from all ages of the population affected in varying degrees, some diagnosed and some not, also seeing that most animals connect innately bearing illustration to how it's done. Even today, these impressions are incredibly informative and unforgettable. 
Finally, I begin to explain, "Carol, do you have pen and paper? You may need to take notes." 
Carol returned to the phone and announced, "Ready!" 
I ended up providing a list of suggestions directly from Susie airing her discontent for bearing much more than was her responsibility, which recently included scolding dogs whose temperament wasn't properly attuned. From what I could see through intuition (reading intention) and telepathy (mental communication), Susie was spot on and valid. All of what Susie offered, which was immediately incorporated into Carol's program, included making sure that administrators briefed the workers on how to monitor autistic children, so that the dogs felt safe in their environment as well, not just the children, going both ways. Other ideas were mentioned too. 
The following day, Carol emailed with great joy, explaining that Susie's behavior seemed to change over night starting from the end of our phone call and that she was calm and nurturing during the entire field trip the following day like before, even though all those measures were yet to be incorporated. 
She ended the email with, "Bryan, I and all the others in our group, including Susie and the other therapy dogs, send many thanks!" 
Months later I had the privilege of reading two of William Stillman's books, and the pleasure of a couple of telephone conversations explaining his work, bringing a personal, humanistic understanding to what I had learned from Susie about autism.