A woman suffering with Asperger’s syndrome posted a video on YouTube during one of her “meltdowns”.
Danielle Jacobs shared a personal moment when her dog, Samson, comforted her during an episode.
“This is what having aspergers is like. Please no negative comments this really happened and it’s not easy to open myself and share what it’s like on a daily basis,” said Jacobs. “This is what’s considered a meltdown.”
Her dog is trained to react to depressive episodes and self-harm. In the video, Samson can be seen pulling Jacobs’ hands away to stop her from hitting herself, and then lying across her lap to comfort her as she breaks down.
“Yes Samson is alerting. I trained him to alert to depressive episodes and self harm not both but he alerted. It appears the response is late but it’s actually supposed to be as I’m coming out of the meltdown as I tend to have a panic attack after,” Jacobs said.
In Asperger’s syndrome, the brain is unable to cope properly and the sufferer begins to harm themselves. The diagnosis of Asperger’s was eliminated in the 2013 fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and replaced by a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder on a severity scale.
Jacobs is praised online for being brave to share a video of a very personal moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M7PuuukzxY