Service Dog for Independence
Donation protected
IAN'S STORY
We always thought Ian was just unusally smart, then eccentric. He wasn't diagnosed with autism until 8th grade. His was so gifted academically, but his social and emotional needs were completely overlooked. He's 23 years old now. He has debilitating anxiety and severe social skill deficits. A brilliant intellect with no social-emotional regulation prevents a person from functioning in our society. A recent opinion article in the New York Times by Eli Gotlieb said, "....children eventually grow up. And children with autism have been growing up for over 50 years. Roughly 500,000 children with autism will become adults over the next 10 years, and as they step through the door of age 21, they’ll find themselves inheritors of a sad paradox. The variety of federally mandated supports and services (under the aegis of the Department of Education) available to them until then will have expired; the source of their funding will switch to the far smaller pie of state-by-state money. These resources, along with Medicaid and Social Security, are more fragmented and difficult for families to navigate. So the financial support — used to train them for jobs, find housing, obtain therapy and counseling — will dwindle at the exact moment in time they need it most."
Ian is one of these adults with autism. He cannot keep a job - his anxiety and sensory issues are so overwhelming for him, he breaks down. He is lonely. He is isolated. And like 90% of people with autism, he is unemployed.
Ian lives at home and we have no idea if he will ever be able to be independent. The big picture question of "what will happen to Ian after I'm gone?" is enormous and daunting. We try to focus on the here and now. How do we improve his quality of life? Get him out of the house and form bonds with people? Find some kind of vocation that is meaningful, instead of overwhelming? He needs help. He needs some semblance of confidence and support. He has support at home, where he lives and spends 99% of his time, alone. But its not enough.
Service Dogs for Independence (http://www.sd4i.us/)
is a non profit organization that specializes in privately training Mental Health Service Dogs for qualified individuals with neurological disorders, mental illness, developmental disorders, intellectual disorders, and other psychological conditions that rise to the level of a disability.
We are fundraising to enhance Ian's quality of life and personal freedom. To have a service dog that would allow him to become part of the world again. To reduce the isolation and depression. To allow him to take back some control. To take back his life.
Won't you help us?
Please email me with questions at [email redacted] and consider donating to help an adult with autism.
We always thought Ian was just unusally smart, then eccentric. He wasn't diagnosed with autism until 8th grade. His was so gifted academically, but his social and emotional needs were completely overlooked. He's 23 years old now. He has debilitating anxiety and severe social skill deficits. A brilliant intellect with no social-emotional regulation prevents a person from functioning in our society. A recent opinion article in the New York Times by Eli Gotlieb said, "....children eventually grow up. And children with autism have been growing up for over 50 years. Roughly 500,000 children with autism will become adults over the next 10 years, and as they step through the door of age 21, they’ll find themselves inheritors of a sad paradox. The variety of federally mandated supports and services (under the aegis of the Department of Education) available to them until then will have expired; the source of their funding will switch to the far smaller pie of state-by-state money. These resources, along with Medicaid and Social Security, are more fragmented and difficult for families to navigate. So the financial support — used to train them for jobs, find housing, obtain therapy and counseling — will dwindle at the exact moment in time they need it most."
Ian is one of these adults with autism. He cannot keep a job - his anxiety and sensory issues are so overwhelming for him, he breaks down. He is lonely. He is isolated. And like 90% of people with autism, he is unemployed.
Ian lives at home and we have no idea if he will ever be able to be independent. The big picture question of "what will happen to Ian after I'm gone?" is enormous and daunting. We try to focus on the here and now. How do we improve his quality of life? Get him out of the house and form bonds with people? Find some kind of vocation that is meaningful, instead of overwhelming? He needs help. He needs some semblance of confidence and support. He has support at home, where he lives and spends 99% of his time, alone. But its not enough.
Service Dogs for Independence (http://www.sd4i.us/)
is a non profit organization that specializes in privately training Mental Health Service Dogs for qualified individuals with neurological disorders, mental illness, developmental disorders, intellectual disorders, and other psychological conditions that rise to the level of a disability.
We are fundraising to enhance Ian's quality of life and personal freedom. To have a service dog that would allow him to become part of the world again. To reduce the isolation and depression. To allow him to take back some control. To take back his life.
Won't you help us?
Please email me with questions at [email redacted] and consider donating to help an adult with autism.
Organizer
Stacy Haynes
Organizer
Carmel, IN