Some children with autism can’t stand to be hugged or touched. Can you imagine being a parent unable to embrace or have any physical contact with your child? For one 5-year-old boy named Kai and his family, this is their reality. Things changed when the little boy met Tornado, his very own service dog.

Like some children living with autism, Kai has sensory issues; he rejects physical contact. ‘They don’t look in people’s eyes, they won’t hug their parents, and they are hypersensitive to touch and sound,” Dr. Anis Contractor told Daily Mail.

Shanna Neihaus, Kai’s mother, couldn’t hold back her astonishment when Kai met tornado for the first time. “See this moment? I’ve never experienced a moment like this. Yesterday was the first day my  5-year-old autistic son met his new autism service dog, Tornado. We are Americans that live overseas in Japan and have prepared for nearly two years to meet Tornado,” Neihaus said, according to Love What Matters.

Until that day, Shanna never saw her son willingly accept an embrace from anyone, even from his family members. For Shanna, cuddling, bathing and even dressing Kai can be a chore. Because he couldn’t accept touch from anyone, making friends was difficult for the little boy.

“This picture captures the face of a mother who saw her child, who she can’t hug, wash, dress, snuggle and touch freely, lay on his new service dog of his own free will, with a purposeful, unspoken attachment,” she said. “This is the face of a mom who has seen her son experience countless failed social interactions on the playground in an attempt to have a friend.”

When he first saw Tornado, Kai ran to him. The bond between boy and dog was instant. Shanna couldn’t believe what she was seeing as her son hugged him. Kai finally made a friend of his own.

“Any friend. Any kind of connection. She has sat with her son while he has cried at night for months because he has no consistent connections outside of the family, no matter how hard he tries and no matter what he works hard on in his autism therapies,” she explains.

“It doesn’t transfer to the natural occurring world for him. And now she is sitting behind her son  silently watching this moment, with the air sucked from her lungs, and no words to say.”

This beautiful moment signaled to Shanna that not only was her little boy growing up, but he was going to be all right. “It’s worth every fight for services for my son, every diagnosis, every new provider, every dollar spent, every paper filled out, every school meeting, every shed tear, every step forward, every step back, and every wonder of the unknown future,” Shanna said.

Increible momento cuando un niño con Autismo conoce a su perro de servicio.

UNA MADRE LLORA AL VER A SU HIJO CON AUTISMO RELACIONARSE CON SU PRIMER AMIGO: UN PERRO"¿Ven este momento? Nunca he experimentado un momento como éste. Mi hijo ha sido capaz de sentarse junto a su perro", explica su madre. La foto publicada por 4 Paws For Ability ha revolucionado las redes sociales.Un niño, de cinco años, con autismo no permite que lo toquen o lo abracen. Esta es la razón por la cual una madre llora cuando ve por primera vez a su pequeño con su nuevo amigo. "¿Ven este momento? Nunca he experimentado un momento como éste. Mi hijo ha sido capaz de sentarse junto a su perro", explicó Shanna Niehaus.Tras dos años de espera, su hijo puede disfrutar de su nuevo amigo, Tornado. "La espera es larga, pero este momento hace que valga la pena", indicó la la madre de Estados Unidos.En el video se puede ver como Niehaus llora de felicidad porque su hijo acepta al perro, el pequeño está acostado encima del can. La madre no puede abrazar, tocar, lavar al menor, pero el pequeño tiene contacto directo con el perro.La madre está feliz ya que el pequeño ha intentado un sinfín de veces interactuar con otras personas, pero había fracasado. Shanna Niehaus indicó: "De alguna manera, a causa de Tornado, sé que todo va a estar bien". "Es una sensación indescriptible, es un momento mágico", puntualizó.

Posted by Aspau on Saturday, January 20, 2018

Tornado came from Paws 4 Ability. Lucky for us, we can watch the first meeting between Kai and his first friend, Tornado in the video below. Get ready to smile and maybe even shed a tear or two.