Josiah and Spad, Josiah’s service dog, look out the front door of their home on East State Street in Athens, Ohio before leaving for school on September 21, 2017. Josiah got Spad in May 2017 to help him manage challenges associated with autism spectrum disorder, sensory processing disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Josiah, middle, and Spad stop and sit on the sidewalk during their morning walk to school while Josiah's mom, Rachel, and three-year-old brother, Judah, wait for them to get up and continue walking.
Josiah puts a hand on Spad during their walk to school. Josiah sometimes touches or holds on to Spad as a source of comfort. Spad is also trained to disrupt some of Josiah's behaviors by touching him with his paw, nuzzling him with his snout, and performing two calming deep sensory commands.
Josiah walks past the main doors of his school towards the entrance of the kindergarten rooms with his mom and Spad while another child looks on.
Josiah and his mom Rachel look for caterpillars on a bush in front of East Elementary School in Athens, Ohio while Josiah touches Spad's snout and his brother Judah looks at the caterpillars separately. Rachel said Josiah has been more engaged with activities going on around him since getting Spad.
Josiah plays with blocks in his kindergarten class while his special education teacher, Colleen Post, watches. The kindergarten class spends the majority of the morning in open play, during which Josiah has short interactions with his classmates and mostly plays by himself.
Spad lays under a message board in the back of Josiah's kindergarten classroom. This is where Spad usually stays during the school day, unless Josiah needs him.
Josiah answers a question about what season it is with his special education teacher Colleen Post during class time at East Elementary School. Josiah spends part of his morning in his kindergarten classroom and another part of it in his special ed. classroom with a few other kids and Spad.
Josiah pauses to look at a picture of a dog while flipping through and listening to the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? in his kindergarten class.
Kirsten Hannah, a teacher candidate, left, offers Josiah a high five while Rachael Hamill, his paraprofessional, offers Spad a treat after Josiah gets his photo taken at school.
Josiah plays in the family room while Spad lays on his dog bed. The two are often in the same room together while doing separate activities. Josiah’s parents agree that while it may not always be obvious, Spad’s presence has had a positive effect on Josiah.
Spad licks peanut butter off of Josiah's hand as a bonding exercise to strengthen their relationship. Josiah likes it when Spad licks him and Spad likes to eat peanut putter, so they both enjoy it.
Spad and Josiah lay on the floor together while Josiah plays with his toy trains. Josiah's mother said she's noticed that Josiah will be more affectionate towards Spad and interact with him more when he doesn't think anyone's watching. This includes petting Spad and trying to feed him people food.
Josiah and Spad make eye contact while the family eats pizza and watches TV. Rachel, Josiah's mom, said that she has caught Josiah trying to give Spad food when he thinks no one is looking.
Spad yawns while Josiah brushes him, a bonding activity that gives Josiah a responsibility in taking care of Spad.
Josiah plays with Spad while his mother Rachel, left, and his grandfather Bruce Metzger watch in the playroom of the Szostek house in Athens, Ohio.
Spad lays near his dog bed in the family room of the Szostek house. Josiah and his family received Spad through the organization 4 Paws for Ability, which is based in Xenia, Ohio. The staff at 4 Paws train the dogs in their program and carefully place dogs with a suitable child or veteran.
Josiah sits in the grass outside the Athens Public Library while Spad runs behind him and his parents stand by after a tracking exercise, in which Josiah hides and Spad has to find him. Before getting Spad, Josiah had a tendency to run off and hide, and his parents wouldn’t be able to find him. Now, if he gets lost, Spad is able to find him.
Jason, Josiah's father, attaches a tether around Josiah that physically connects him to Spad. They are usually tethered when they are in public and when Josiah is having trouble focusing in school. The tether prevents Josiah from running away from his parents, which is something he did often before getting Spad.
Josiah walks through the lobby of the Athens Public Library with Spad, his dad Jason, and his brother Judah while his mom Rachel, his grandfather Bruce Metzger, and others stand on the perimeter of the lobby. The library is now one of Josiah's favorite places, but before he got Spad, he could only be in the library for a short amount of time without becoming overstimulated.
Spad, Josiah, and Rachel look out the playroom window in their home in Athens, Ohio. Rachel said she believes Josiah and Spad's relationship will strengthen with time and has hope that Spad will help Josiah get through every-day challenges. "It's not so much about Josiah and Spad's relationship as it is about Josiah's relationship with the rest of the world because of Spad," she said.