Hi, my name is Rita and I’m fundraising for an autism service dog for my young son. He is a remarkable, funny, and intelligent young boy. He can talk endlessly about topics of interest to him and can hyperfocus so intently the world around him seemingly disappears. He’s creative and makes the funniest faces. His energy is boundless and I often wonder if his brain or body would win a hypothetical race if they could compete.

He’s consideted 2E or twice exceptional--gifted as well as autistic. Despite his intelligence, he often struggles because the world is built for neurotypical people. He behaves differently than peers in social situations. It’s difficult for him to make friends, read people, or understand societal norms. He has deep sensory needs and experiences environmental triggers neurotypical people don't even notice. He’s easily overwhelmed by sights, smells, sounds, and other sensory inputs. He frustrates easily when the demands of neurotypical life are placed on him and it can debilitate him to the point of being unable to function at all.

Unfortunately though, like many autistic children, he is not always met with kindness, compassion, or empathy. Because he is so bright, when he has autistic meltdowns, even professionals frequently wrongly use his intelligence against him and judge him harshly. But if you know him and understand autism, you know he's just overwhelmed and doing his best in those moments. You can see real physical responses to stimuli. He gets stuck in fight, flight, or freeze mode. He similarly becomes nonverbal and is incapable of functioning the way others might.

As a mom, this is my constant worry when he's not with me--which of course is often because he's a child in elementary school. He’s often unable to communicate his needs and I daresay he may not even know what they are in those moments--only that something is not right and he doesn't know how to fix it.

But something magical happens when he is with animals. This is why we are so desperately seeking a service dog. I know this will improve his quality of life which has become more challenging, particularly in school and public places at large. He’s increasingly experiencing rejection, anxiety, and depression. He's also isolating in school and losing instructional time due to sensory overload. As a mother, I’m spending significant amounts of time engaging in therapy, training, and intervention, often chaperoning him when out and picking him up early for school. At times it's beyond overwhelming and I don't even know how to articulate it properly to those who don't live this.

One thing that has never changed, though, is the calming effect dogs have on him. We've always had pet dogs, but are now down to one elderly dog with many health issues. She doesn't have many years left nor the temperament for service work. Last year, I began contacting autism service dog organizations. We were rejected by many due to overflowing waitlists of 3, 4, 5 years or more. Even those still accepting waitlist clients for those many years out require substantial financial contributions of $20,000 or more. I’ve recently begun looking into private groups not subsidized by other entities. Those groups have much shorter waiting lists, but the cost of the animal and training can be as much as $60,000.

We now have interviewed and checked credentials for multiple service dog trainers, breeders, and groups and are confident we have a safe and reputable option that can begin as soon as we have funds! Our family feels this is the most plausible route to take at this point if we are actually going to be able to obtain a service animal. My son is the light of my life, but it is so very hard. The times that he is calmest and most regulated are when he’s with dogs and even our untrained pets have helped prevent and de-escalate meltdowns. He buries his head into them, snuggles into them, and even runs his face along their fur for calming sensory inputs. But pets are not given public access and autism service dogs are specially trained to work with children for deep pressure therapy, traumatic episode de-escalation, proactively recognizing anxiety, and managing social distress. All of this leads to significantly improved engagement and outcomes for autistic children like my son. He’s a wonderful candidate for this and it breaks my heart that we’re unable to provide what we believe will be a life-changing service for our son, enabling him to fully participate in the world and community around him.

This is where we need your help. I hate, truly hate, asking for help, but we need assistance raising funds for acquiring a service dog. Not only do we need the service dog itself, but we need to fund ongoing training which also requires almost daily round trips to the training facility across the state to participate and learn in the final stages, annual public access tests, expensive gear, insurance and maintenance costs for the dog, and ongoing care. This is an insanely lofty endeavor, but I wholeheartedly believe it has the potential to change our lives and create a brand-new world for my son.

Please donate if you are capable of doing so--any amount--no matter how small would be appreciated and put towards my son's care and this endeavor. Please share this with your networks, charities that might assist, or businesses that might host fundraisers or donate. Everything counts. I'm doing my best to provide details without invading too much of my son's privacy. Please know how very challenging life is for us now, but how hopeful we are for the future and grateful we are for your support!