The Buddy System tells the intimate stories of three families touched by autism, who experience meaningful change when a specially trained assistance dog comes into each of their lives.
—The Buddy System Pamphlet
The Buddy System is a valuable film for teaching and enlightening people about autism. The film’s most valuable information given is how unique each disorder is to a child, just as each child is unique from one another. Part of the film focuses on Patty Dobbs Gross and her pioneering work with support dogs. Having an autistic child of her own, Patty sought a social dog for her boy Dan, yet noticed the animal’s overwhelmed nature towards its new environment. Patty soon began her own breeding program where each dog is specified towards the temperament and needs of an individual child.
Patty’s program goes through a lot of work and caution to ensure the right dog is matched to the right child. She will wait multiple generations for the right puppy if need be, and take routine visits to get child and dog accustomed and ensure neither pushes the other’s buttons. The dogs both socialize and work with their child as a friend and as a therapeutic tool (though to refer to a living creature as a “tool” doesn’t sit right with me—I'd rather call them therapeutic companions). Cut to twenty years later and Patty has assigned and matched hundreds of dogs to the right child, with the titled dog Buddy being her two hundred and fiftieth placement.
The Buddy System showcases ways for the program to be incorporated into public life. One scene displays Buddy being brought to an elementary school (one I have actually worked at before) so the children can interact with both the dog and his owner. The teacher herself helps raise the puppies in productive environments (i.e. a crowded school) so they can become used to such chaotic settings and not have it distract them when eventually given to the right child.
The Buddy System not only focuses on the benefits of such program but also on the challenges people on the spectrum and their families face—both from autism itself and those who are ignorant and abrasive towards them. For its short runtime, the film does an effective job at showcasing just how distinctive people on the spectrum are. Far more importantly, it showcases the talents and joys people with autism can possess and that being diagnosed doesn’t equal being a burden.
The film encourages embracing the difference—moving beyond “autistic awareness” and, instead, being about “autistic appreciation”. Unfortunately, the world is still very in the dark about autism, with awareness still being something that needs to be spread. Yet autism is gradually becoming better understood by the general public—more discussed and in the open rather than concealed and kept hidden like some dark secret. The Buddy System is one further step at spreading awareness and enlightening those towards autism and the ways people are working hard to help those touched by it.
My wife and I had the honor of viewing a private screening of The Buddy System. There, we got to meet one of the film’s co-directors along with several cast members of the documentary. We even got to meet and pet Buddy himself, who is an incredibly sweet and friendly dog. A Q&A between the viewers and cast members was also held there, allowing for an even more insightful look into the families's lives and Patty's support dog program.