Hi, My name is Sage and I am fundraising for my best friend's child, Avi Tailfeathers.

Avi is about to turn one, and he is such a special baby boy: he is beautiful and bright and bouncy, a baby that folks love to stop on the street to say hello to and admire his big smile. Avi has had an exciting year of growing and learning. Along the way, his Mom and Dad noticed differences in Avi in relation to other babies we know. Through some initial assessments they have discovered that Avi has Global Developmental Delay, and most likely has Autism Spectrum Disorder. ASD has a very vast spectrum and we are not sure where Avi lands on it yet. We do know that early Intervention and therapies are necessary for the healthy development and growth of toddlers with autism and GDD. The earlier the better. Clare has been taking Avi to many appointments, and they have been doing their absolute best to support him. Luckily we live in one of the best cities for Avis support needs. Unfortunately, we all know how expensive this city is, how much living costs are, and how costly medical care can be. Ben is an incredible dad and provider and works very hard. Clare has not been able to return to her job since coming off maternity leave a few months ago, as Avi needs daily support from his mama.

We discovered that getting an official diagnosis is necessary to receive government funding for therapies. Without therapies, early intervention is very difficult. Early intervention means improved quality and functionality of life for this loving little family.

The money collected from this GoFundMe will go directly towards:

-Repairing the family vehicle to make it an operable/reliable means of transportation to get to appointments.

-Private autism assessment for diagnosis

-Private therapy payments including occupational therapy for feeding/eating, speech and language therapy, behavioural therapy, and physical therapy to help with movement, crawling, and mobility.

-Swimming lessons/water therapy

-Items for the home (developmental toys and tools, sensory items etc)

All these things are not covered by MSP until a diagnosis is confirmed. The waitlists for diagnostic assessments are very long through public health (around 1.5-2 years) but shorter through private pay (3-6 months).

If you are able, please contribute to or share our gofundme to help Avi and his family get the support that he needs right now. Thank you so much for your time and for your thoughts, we appreciate it so deeply.