As I loaded wet clothes in the dryer, something felt terribly wrong. My heart racing, I ran out of the laundry room and through the house. Within a few seconds, the crisis became clear. Our boy Nick was gone. Looking in a bedroom, I saw the bent window screen with a large enough space for a school age boy to crawl out. Nick had figured out how to open the window lock and escape from the house. In a panic I ran outside. Luckily, I found him. He was sitting in a lawn chair giggling, oblivious to the scare he put his mother through and the potential danger for him. 

Scenarios like this with our 12 year old son Nick are not uncommon. At first glance he looks like a typical boy. However, it doesn’t take long to see he is different. Born with developmental disabilities, Nick is severely autistic, nonverbal and seizure prone. Having overcome numerous obstacles involving hyperactivity, communication, medical concerns, and behavioral issues since his birth, we are taking on our biggest venture yet: obtaining an autism assistance service dog for him. We have been approved for an autism service dog at 4 Paws for Ability in Xenia, Ohio, a training agency that specializes in training and placement of service dogs for adults and children affected by disabilities.

Because of your help, Nick can have a service dog that will help him cope with the many challenges autism brings to his life. These challenges include:

• A disruption of his senses. At times, for Nick, touch feels like sandpaper scratching against his skin. Other times, a solid tap you or I would sense easily is as difficult for Nick to feel as a graze of a cotton ball. His hands feel like they are covered with think gloves, making fine motor tasks such as holding a pencil difficult. Numbed and altered senses like this all over his body rely on running, jumping, spinning, heavy pressure or head slapping to be regulated.

• Altered perception of sound. Voices sound like radio static or two different radio stations playing at the same time. As a result, one or two words sometimes come through clearly, making language learning difficult. Nick acts impulsively to get what he needs because it's easier than asking with words. When frightened, angry or confused, Nick has no words to help him cope. Instead he manages it with an emotional outburst.

• Lack of judgment of unsafe situations. Without someone to constantly supervise him, Nick is prone to wandering off or getting into compromising situations, as seen in the incident of escaping from our house.

Not only will an autism service dog help with the challenges, it will also help Nick progress.  He will be matched with a dog that will be trained in search and rescue, behavior disruption, tethering and sensory interventions. This will help Nick with calming his sensory issues, encouraging social interaction, increasing independence in community outings and providing safety.

We welcome you on this journey that will change life for an autistic boy and those around him, both now and in the years to come in which his dog will serve him.