Cameras will begin to roll this week on Rosie O’Donnell’s new documentary, “Unleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Autism.”
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The film, co-directed by award-winning filmmakers Zeberiah Newman and Michiel Thomas and produced by O’Donnell and NY27 Productions ‘ Hilary Estey Mcloughlin and Terence Noonan, will tell the story of Guide Dogs of America’s program for autistic children. The doc will highlight O’Donnell acquiring a dog, Kuma, for her 11-year-old child Clay in January.
Clay, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was diagnosed with autism when they were two years old.
O’Donnell first learned about the use of service dogs for children with autism when she met Guide Dogs of America staff while visiting Lyle Menendez in prison. (O’Donnell has been a longtime advocate for the release of Lyle and his brother Erik Menendez.)
“This man comes over and says, ‘Do you want to meet our dogs?’ And I’m thinking, this guy must be crazy. You don’t let dogs in prison,” O’Donnell tells me. “He walks me into a room, and there are 10 dogs sitting in between prisoners’ legs, and he says to me, ‘You know, these are the dogs that we do for veterans with PTSD or mobility issues and blind people and autistic children.
“I said to him afterwards, ‘I have an autistic child, and I never of heard this,” she continues. “And he’s like, “Yes, it’s a popular therapeutic intervention that has been proven to help the lives of autistic children.’”
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O’Donnell enrolled and completed Guide Dogs for America’s two-week training program before taking Kuma home. At the time, Clay was having a difficult time at school. “It was a dark period,” O’Donnell recalls. “They were getting a little bit violent, spitting at people, putting a kid in a headlock. We were scared they wouldn’t be allowed back at school, but my child is completely different because of the dog. They saved my child’s life. The healing started. They have calmed down. They has a sense of connection. I was in shock. At the end of the year, they were getting most improved student at school.”
In addition to O’Donnell and Clay’s story, the film will also follow the journeys of other families in the Guide Dogs of America program. “When I looked at our dog, I held her face and looked her in the eyes, and said, ‘We’re gonna save my kid,’ O’Donnell says. “And sure enough, we did. I’m eternally indebted, and this organization is going to be the focus of my fundraising philanthropy the rest the rest of my life.”
Along with the announcement of the film, O’Donnell is also partnering with Georgetown Cupcake to raise money for Guide Dogs of America. To mark September as National Service Dog Awareness Month, sales of the bakery’s new special guide dog cupcake will benefit the organization.
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