Help Maile get a service dog
Donation protected
Maile is a beautiful 7 year girl diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. She has an amazing way of capturing the heart of anyone who meets her. She has an infectious laugh and the best (although sometimes a little painful) hugs.
Maile has a lot of anxiety at school and in public places. Bright lights, loud noises or unexpected turns of events are crippling to her. A firetruck several blocks away can send her into a panic attack. She will deal with the sensory overload by falling to the floor in a meltdown or will run away and hide. Even when she is not overstimulated, being lost is a risk as she can wander off in the blink of an eye. She has been lost in so many places--Shedd Aquarium, Disney world, countless grocery stores, American History Museum, the park, and even home. She will take off running in the car line at school and has disappeared from a swim meet when she heard thunder and was found after what seemed like an eternity. The panic and anxiety she experiences causes feelings she cannot identify or cope with on her own.
We are on the verge of pulling Maile from school because she cannot handle the stress of things that do not phase most people--the normal classroom noises, frustration of not being able to understand a task combined with the inability to communicate she doesn't understand, fire, weather and lockdown drills, assemblies, or getting sweaty in PE.
We have been researching service dogs and feel it would truly be life changing for Maile. Service dogs for people with autism are trained to keep a child from wandering and bolting. They can track a child down who has run away. They are trained to calm a meltdown or stop one before it starts. They can stop stimming behaviors (these vary from child to child--Maile will start repeating phrases she has heard, usually a jingle from a commercial. She also jumps and spins or crashes her body into things). Their very presence can be calming in itself as she would feel safe and protected all the time. We could send Maile to school, take her to a restaurant without having meltdowns, take her into the grocery store without the fear of losing her. A service dog will give Maile the chance to grow into an independent person who can not only survive but thrive in a world that right now only causes stress and anxiety.
The cost of training an autism service dog is high as it is highly specialized. We have selected Loyalty Service Dogs because of their outstanding reputation, along with the fact that many others will not place if the child is over age 6 or has other pets in the home. A dog can be placed after we have raised $7,500 (with an additional $7,500 due over 3 years) to help offset some of their cost to train the dog (which is $25000). We ask that you consider helping change Maile's life forever.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our sweet girl,
Erin Huff
Maile has a lot of anxiety at school and in public places. Bright lights, loud noises or unexpected turns of events are crippling to her. A firetruck several blocks away can send her into a panic attack. She will deal with the sensory overload by falling to the floor in a meltdown or will run away and hide. Even when she is not overstimulated, being lost is a risk as she can wander off in the blink of an eye. She has been lost in so many places--Shedd Aquarium, Disney world, countless grocery stores, American History Museum, the park, and even home. She will take off running in the car line at school and has disappeared from a swim meet when she heard thunder and was found after what seemed like an eternity. The panic and anxiety she experiences causes feelings she cannot identify or cope with on her own.
We are on the verge of pulling Maile from school because she cannot handle the stress of things that do not phase most people--the normal classroom noises, frustration of not being able to understand a task combined with the inability to communicate she doesn't understand, fire, weather and lockdown drills, assemblies, or getting sweaty in PE.
We have been researching service dogs and feel it would truly be life changing for Maile. Service dogs for people with autism are trained to keep a child from wandering and bolting. They can track a child down who has run away. They are trained to calm a meltdown or stop one before it starts. They can stop stimming behaviors (these vary from child to child--Maile will start repeating phrases she has heard, usually a jingle from a commercial. She also jumps and spins or crashes her body into things). Their very presence can be calming in itself as she would feel safe and protected all the time. We could send Maile to school, take her to a restaurant without having meltdowns, take her into the grocery store without the fear of losing her. A service dog will give Maile the chance to grow into an independent person who can not only survive but thrive in a world that right now only causes stress and anxiety.
The cost of training an autism service dog is high as it is highly specialized. We have selected Loyalty Service Dogs because of their outstanding reputation, along with the fact that many others will not place if the child is over age 6 or has other pets in the home. A dog can be placed after we have raised $7,500 (with an additional $7,500 due over 3 years) to help offset some of their cost to train the dog (which is $25000). We ask that you consider helping change Maile's life forever.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our sweet girl,
Erin Huff
Organizer and beneficiary
Erin Huff
Organizer
Lexington, KY
Ann Hargis
Beneficiary