Therapy Dog Cheers Up Kids, Seniors

It was on a visit with his grandma at an assisted living facility that Matt Keith first encountered therapy dogs.

After that visit, Keith, a project lead at Mid-States, who has been with the company since Feb. 2015, decided to learn more about therapy dogs.  He already had a one-and-a-half-year-old black lab, Fenway, who he adopted from the Freeport Humane Society.  A calm dog, most of Fenway’s initial training was done at home, by Keith.

When it came to therapy dog training, much of the training was actually handler training.  Keith went through weeks of training, a mix of fundamental, basic dog, and therapy dog training.  It also educated Keith on how to pick up on cues from Fenway, to familiarize with hospital equipment, role-playing for the hospital environment and coaching on safe dog handling in health care facilities.

Keith began taking Fenway, now seven-years-old, on visits to hospitals in 2014.  He has visited several area hospitals; Willow Park Senior Center, where his grandma resided; and Provena Nursing Home, where his grandma moved after Willow Park.  The two made visits about once per quarter through 2016.

Most of Keith’s visits were with seniors in assisted living or nursing homes, some with special needs.  His visits with children were often with children with special needs, or children being treated for cancer.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Keith said.  “It tears at your heartstrings.”

But, he added, the fact that these visits can brighten the days of those going through a tough time is especially humbling.

On these visits, Keith and Fenway visited with as many people as possible.  While the kids love to hug and hang on to Fenway, the seniors love to just let Fenway sit with them while they pet and talk to him.

As much as those in the hospitals and other facilities love to visit with Fenway, it can be a little bit stressful for Keith as the handler.

“You are providing for these people and that makes you feel good, but you are also responsible for the dog,” he said.

In addition to Fenway, Keith also has a two-year-old German shepherd name Shea at home.  Though Shea doesn’t quite have the temperament of a therapy dog – she is still a puppy after all – Keith would like to get Fenway back into area hospitals and facilities in the near future.

Learning to See the World Differently

When you are the parent of a child with special needs, sometimes you just need to learn to see the world a little differently.

At least that’s what Mid-States Concrete Accounting Manager Bob MacDougall has learned.  MacDougall, who has been with Mid-States since April 2017, is the father to three wonderful children - Madden, Grayson, and Bowen - two of which have special needs.

It all started with MacDougall’s oldest son, Madden.  When Madden was about two-and-a-half years old, MacDougall and his wife, Ereka, noticed some speech and development delays.  With early intervention programs, the MacDougalls got Madden the help of both an occupational therapist and speech therapist.  While Madden, now eight, still receives speech therapy, thrives on a schedule, and is extremely shy, he is doing quite well with the help the family has received.

While the family was caring for Madden’s needs, they had a second son, Grayson.  When Grayson was about six- to eight-months old, the two noticed he was a quiet baby, but didn’t think much of it at the time.  Grayson reached the toddler ages and still wasn’t really talking.  Knowing kids develop differently and again, maybe Grayson was just a quiet kid, the couple weren’t completely alarmed, but did keep an eye on it.  Then, when they noticed Grayson was extremely sensitive to loud noises and would seek out sensory stimulation though peripheral movement such as lining up his cars along the table and running past them while looking at them out of his peripheral, and watching go-cart races at the race track with his head turned and looking out his peripheral as well, the couple knew they needed to get him evaluated.

Unfortunately, Grayson’s signs of Autism were not recognized until it was too late for early intervention programs.  However, he was evaluated in time to qualify for preschool programs at Simon Elementary School in Winnebago, Ill., the MacDougall’s hometown.  Grayson began receiving speech and occupational therapies at Simon as well as at SwedishAmerican Pediatric Therapy.  In addition to his therapy services, Grayson also has an Autism service dog named Jeb.  Jeb is an 11-month-old black lab who is trained to help Grayson in times of sensory needs such as lapping, which is where Jeb will lay across Grayson’s legs to provide body pressure which helps Grayson regulate during emotionally difficult moments.  All Grayson has to do is sit down and Jeb will come lay across his legs.  Jeb also provides a service of safety in that Grayson can be tethered to Jeb while out in public and busy places.  Jeb is trained to stay by Grayson’s parents’ side and serve as an anchor to keep Grayson from running off.  Jeb has also helped Grayson in ways that the MacDougalls have noticed improvements in his speech, gained independence and self-regulation.  Jeb will attend school with Grayson this fall to ensure his days run smoothly.

Both MacDougall and his wife have done a considerable amount of research into autism, learning to see the world through Grayson’s eyes, and are staunch advocates of autism awareness, though they are aiming for more than just awareness.

“It’s not just awareness,” MacDougall said.  “You want to push the understanding.”

For example, at times, Grayson has a hard time regulating his emotions and the way his senses make his brain feel.  So, if Grayson is having a tough time at the grocery store, to an outsider who isn’t familiar with Autism, it can just look like a kid having a tantrum and being a brat.  But, for someone who understands Autism, they know Grayson is just having a hard time in that moment and might need some help from mom or dad with regulating his emotions.

“It took us a long time… to be able to recognize how to parent and when to parent to help him regulate and get him what he needs and to know when he’s just being a kid,” MacDougall said.

Parenting a child with Autism has its challenges, and it can be exhausting, but the MacDougalls still make time for advocacy through networking and attending fundraisers for Autism research and awareness.  In fact, a friend of MacDougall’s wife recently started the non-profit The Superhero Center for Autism.  The center will eventually feature a building in Rockford where kids with special needs can just “be safe, be empowered, be supported, and be themselves.”  The center will offer groups, classes, outings, and a sensory gym.

A passion of MacDougall’s wife is focusing on the life skills elements for children with Autism and has made that her focus in raising two children with special needs.

“At the end of the day, we want Grayson, at the bare minimum, to do the basic essentials and find that niche out in society where he can go work,” MacDougall said. “… These kids are very detail-oriented, very thorough, you just have to know how to tap into that.”

So, what does any parent of a child with autism want others to know?

“Just be compassionate and try to understand what they’re going through,” MacDougall said.

Precast Concrete and Sustainable Design

Understanding some of the benefits of precast concrete will assist designers in evaluating the impact of precast concrete on the environment and the building operation.  An overview of the benefits of precast concrete, taken from the PCI Designer’s Notebook series on sustainable design, is listed below.

Durability and adaptability
Precast concrete panels provide a long service life due to their durable, low-maintenance surfaces.  Insulated sandwich panel construction with concrete exterior and interior walls provides long-term durability inside and out, and precast concrete construction also provides the opportunity to move and reuse panels to refurbish the building, rather than tear it down, should its use or function change.

Thermal mass and energy performance
The thermal mass of concrete allows shifting of heating and cooling loads in a structure to help reduce mechanical-system requirements and energy consumption through the building envelope.

Fire and natural-disaster resistance
Concrete is noncombustible and can contain a fire within boundaries.  As a separation wall, precast concrete helps prevent fire from spreading throughout a building or jumping from building to building.  Precast concrete is resistant to wind, hurricanes, and floods.

Air infiltration
Precast concrete panels have negligible air infiltration.  Minimizing air infiltration between panels and at floors and ceilings will provide a building with low air infiltration.  These effects will lower energy costs and help prevent moisture problems.

Abundant, local materials
Concrete is used in almost every country of the world as a basic building material.  Aggregates, about 85% of concrete content, are generally low-energy, local, naturally occurring sand and stone.  Most precast concrete plants are within 200 miles of a building site.  Using local materials reduces the transportation required to ship heavy building materials, and the associated energy and emissions.

Indoor environmental quality
Concrete contains low to negligible VOCs.  Polished concrete floors do not require carpeting.  Exposed concrete walls do not require finishing materials, eliminating particulates from sanding drywall taping seams.

Mitigating the urban heat-island effect
Precast concrete provides reflective surfaces that minimize the urban heat-island effect.

Resistance to noise
Precast concrete walls provide a buffer between outdoor noise and the indoor environment.

Inedibility
Vermin and insects cannot destroy concrete because it is inedible.

~ Information provided courtesy of PCI

Design for Fire, Storm Resistance and More

Precast concrete is used for both architectural and structural applications on all types of buildings from low-rise to high rise.

Precast concrete is a structural material that can be used as the primary structural system of a building transferring roof, floor, and lateral loads.  Precast enables designers to integrate structural and architectural systems reducing the total materials, detailing, costs, construction complexity and more.

The design versatility of precast concrete allows for almost any shape element such as curved and radial sections, with flexibility in connection points and load paths.  High strength, prestressed concrete structural members also deliver exceptional load-carrying capacity, which can result in smaller sections, longer spans, or both when compared to other structural systems.

Design for Fire
Precast concrete provides inherent fire protection and resiliency.  Concrete does not combust and therefore helps maintain fires to a controlled space, or sometimes referred to as compartation.  Precast concrete provides passive fire protection, which means it does not rely on another system or someone to take action.  This section includes many design resources and information about fire design.

Design for Seismic
Recent earthquakes have highlighted the importance of seismic design.  Precast concrete can provide excellent protection against earthquakes, among many other high-performance attributes.  It has been used in seismic regions all over the world, and in all building types.

Design for Blast
Precast concrete provides excellent Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) and blast resistance, among many other high-performance attributes.  It has been used in many military, government and other structures providing protection and resiliency.

Design for Storm Resistance
Precast concrete is inherently resilient and provides excellent protection against high winds, storm surge and flying debris, among many other high-performance attributes.  It is often used in FEMA shelters, residential, institutional, public, government and other structures providing protection and resiliency.

~ Information provided courtesy of PCI.

Precast Improves Efficiency

Precast concrete structural and architectural systems help save cost in a variety of ways, from the design phases through construction and throughout the building's service life.

A precast concrete structural system can create the building’s entire framing system.  This design approach can take several forms, including precast columns or load-bearing precast walls or hollowcore flooring.  It provides a significant number of advantages, especially when panels are included to create the entire building envelope.  As a result, this approach is becoming the format of choice for many construction teams.

Among the benefits that a precast concrete structural system can provide are:

High Quality
PCI-Certified precast concrete fabricators must undergo two unannounced annual inspections that review more than 120 production and quality-assurance processes.  The tight control ensures components are produced with uniform consistency, finish, and size.  This reduces site work required to achieve the final designer and owner approvals and ensures components need little field adjustment, speeding construction to complete the structure’s shell.

Safety
Plant casting keeps the site cleaner and eliminates trades from the construction zone, improving logistics and enhancing worker safety.  The ability to provide a clean site is particularly vital on existing sites and in dense urban areas, where adjacent businesses can maintain near-normal activities.

Interior Design Flexibility
Precast concrete systems help buildings adapt to changing client needs.  Precast spans can reach as much as 70 feet, providing unique opportunities for challenging interior requirements.  Precast also provides high floor-loading capability with little added cost.

Green Design
Precast concrete offers a number of environmental benefits.  It can be produced locally and creates no jobsite waste.  Cement reducers such as fly ash and other admixtures also aid environmental friendliness.  And its high durability gives it a total service life that outpaces designs using other building materials.

Tight Floor-To-Floor Heights
Precast concrete systems sometimes fit within alternative system depths but shouldn’t add more than approximately 8 inches to each floor level, creating an approximate 5% increase in exterior wall material.  This slight addition is easily overcome by working with the precaster to make effective use of the overall floor-plan shape and using the benefits precast provides in repetition of component fabrication.

~ Information provided courtesy of PCI.