Service Dog for Several Disabilities

Hi, I'm Daphne Diener.

My mom is helping me set this page up since I'm not quite old enough to do so. But I am doing this by myself and for myself because it's something I feel strongly about.

I am raising funds to get a service dog for my disability.

In December of 2019, my mom noticed me shrugging my shoulders repeatedly while I watched a TV show. She asked why I was doing that and I was completely unaware it was happening. Those shrugs, over the next few months, developed into full blown neck and shoulder tics. We waited a year for them to go away until they were deemed Chronic Tics. This is different from Tourette's which involves vocal tics. Unfortunately, over the course of my tics unfolding, I developed a trigger for my tics (essentially functional tics- or movements that function as tics, or you might think of them as copy cat tics because they copy my other tics- beyond my control). These functional tics are triggered by clapping. As you can imagine, I end up ticcing a lot in public because clapping (high-fives, applause, teachers getting the class' attention, etc.) is everywhere. Which means by the end of the day, most days, I am both physically and emotionally exhausted and in pain.

The disability, my tics, affect my balance and vision and cause chronic pain. It causes secondary stress, anxiety, hypervigilance, and even debilitating migraines. So far nothing has been able to relieve my migraines.

Our family decided together that a service dog would be a good option for me.

I plan to take two years to train a golden doodle puppy to be my service dog and perform many tasks, including: alerting me of inbound migraines, providing me balance during tic attacks, and calming me down during panic attacks triggered by clapping or loud and sudden sounds.

I am taking on the challenge of funding most of this myself. Unfortunately, like most 17yr olds, I don't have a lot of money saved up yet. Your support in this effort would mean the world to me. It'd mean feeling capable and confident and independent.

The funds will provide for the following in the spreadsheet: Funding for Service Dog

I hope to at least raise the base amount of funds, but would be ecstatic if I surpassed my fundraising goal, as it would ease my stress for the ongoing training.

A note from the parents: We fully support Daphne in this endeavor, and we also support her desire to take on the biggest portions of making this happen. It is a huge undertaking. We will of course, be here to support here and bridge gaps, but she would like this to be her project, so we're trying to let her take as much autonomy with this as possible.