Mike Morin

“Every day that Mikey is on my appointment list is a great day.” -Monica Tidrick.

Mikey is a 6-year old Nashua boy who was diagnosed with autism at three-and-a-half. Monica Tidrick, a certified master dog trainer at The Unconditional Canine of Chewie’s Playland on East Hollis Street, is unlocking answers to Mikey’s behavior challenges that are commonly seen with autism.

Kids with autism face challenges in social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. Turns out that Mikey’s mom, Kristina Gigliodoro had suspicions when her son did not begin talking until two-and-a-half.

“He was acting out, having a lot of meltdowns. If something didn’t go his way or somebody didn’t understand him, he’d be banging his head off things. He would completely throw himself on the ground, body slam walls. Not your typical 3-year old meltdowns,” Kristina admitted.

In addition to working with a psychologist, Kristina obtained a therapy dog in 2021 and finally, with COVID easing this year, got a second dog named Lincoln, a golden doodle, now nine-months old. With a new puppy that was nearly as energetic as Mikey, Kristina set out to find a trainer for Lincoln. It was Mikey’s special education pre-school teacher who had used Monica’s services for her puppy and was pleased with the results, who gladly initiated a referral for Mikey and Lincoln with Monica.

“I remember the first time he came he was pretty shut down, pretty quiet,” Monica recalled. “He held his ears a lot, he couldn’t really tolerate too many noises and didn’t want to interact, talk or be touched.” By week three, something clicked and the introverted Mikey began melting into a little boy who engaged with Monica during Lincoln’s lessons.

“[Mikey] started taking pictures with me, started giving me hugs and really participated with the dog in the lessons,” she said. I wondered what it is about dogs that can crack the code of disabilities.

“I think that maybe the non-judgmental part,” Monica believes. “A lot of kids in general like animals but a lot of kids on the spectrum [and] I’ve worked a lot with kids with Down syndrome and they are always very animal oriented. I just think they understand each other a little bit better.” Monica raised a young stepchild with Asperger’s, a form of autism spectrum disorder. Her insights, experience, love of dogs and desire to help children with autism is the combination that gets results. I asked Mikey’s mom why she thinks Monica is effective in helping autistic kids.

“I think it’s her inner child. She can get down to his level of energy. She can keep up with him. Not many people can,” Kristina said. Chewie’s Playland welcomes children and Monica can even provide a kid-friendly dog if needed. “As Mikey comes out of his shell, his progress includes a huge difference in the outside world, too.

I met Mikey and Monica is right. “Every day that Mikey is on my appointment list is a great day.” Contact Monica Tidrick: tuc@chewiesplayland.com.

Contact Mike Morin at mike morinmedia@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @MikeMorinMedia.

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