'We're No Longer Prisoners of Autism'

Nicky Klein, 8 of Pearl River and her
service dog Wheat

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. --  Twelve-year-old Kaitlin Flaherty ambles through Mrs. Green’s Natural Market with her dog Leon, a black Labrador retriever, by her side.
She and her mother, Nancy Flaherty, pick out waffles and other food items, simply content they can do such an activity together.
Leon has given them that gift.
“We’re no longer prisoners of autism,” said Flaherty. “We have lives. We do things.”