Monkey See, Monkey Do
When it’s time for their training, monkeys come to live at the Monkey College in Boston. During their time at the College, monkeys are taught a wide variety of helping tasks and behaviors they will use to assist their human partners. Professional staff members dedicated to teaching and caring for the monkeys conduct the daily education program.
Monkeys learn how to help people with simple everyday activities such as opening and setting up a drink of water, providing food, picking up a dropped or out-of-reach object, or turning the pages of a book. Monkeys use their small, dexterous hands to do many kinds of specialized tasks.
A laser pointer directed by mouth control enables a quadriplegic or movement-impaired person to communicate his or her specific needs.
Positive reinforcement including verbal praise, affection, and food rewards is the essential tool used to support a monkey’s education and task performance. If a task is not performed as requested, the monkey is not punished but is given more time to practice the task. Most monkeys learn the basic task set within 18-24 months.
The time spent at the training center, like most college educations, is very time intensive, and the education period costs approximately $10,000 per monkey.
Monkey Health Care
Helping Hands makes a lifelong commitment to its monkeys. This commitment includes ensuring that the monkeys live in appropriate, loving, and stimulating homes, and that they receive the highest quality of medical care for their entire lives.
A network of skilled veterinary and human physicians oversee the nutritional, behavioral and health needs of all Helping Hands monkeys and provides specialized care and treatment when needed. As monkeys age (and some retire), Helping Hands continues to provide for all their needs.