ROSIE AND CLAY O'DONNELL 'This Dog Opened the World for Us'

ROSIE O'DONNELL AND HER CHILD CLAY, WHO IS AUTISTIC, WERE STRUGGLING. THEN A SERVICE DOG NAMED KUMA 'SAVED' THEM

- By EILEEN FINAN

For years Rosie O’Donnell and her child Clay led an isolated life. Clay, 12, who is nonbinary and autistic, would retreat inward, often refusing to leave the house, instead drawing, creating digital animation and watching their favorite show, Battle for Dream Island, which became the sole focus of their conversation. “It was me and Clay. And it got very lonely,” says the comedian.

Then O’Donnell, 63, sensed things were taking an ominous turn: “Clay’s drawings were getting darker, and some of their thoughts were scaring me.” She checked Clay’s browsing history nightly and knew they weren’t coming across violence on the Internet, but “I didn’t know what was happening. I was like, ‘Don’t float away from me.’ I was very afraid.”