Sunday, September 26, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Spread the word... FirstGiving!
A page has been set up for Zachary at First Giving, where donations can be made securely. Spread the word and share his site with your friends and family! The more people see it, the more help he could possibly get and the sooner Zachary can get his dog! Share it, spread it... send it to the moon if ya can!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Let's get started!
Are you involved in any message boards/information boards about any range of things? Here's a story! One family was trying to raise the money for their son's service dog and a man they did not know became aware of it. He decided to put a challenge to his buddies on a football message board site where he spent time talking to his friends about all manner of things football related. He challenged them to come up with $2,000 as quick as they could. Within 24 hours, this family had the entire $15,000 they needed for their son's service dog, all of which had come from these incredible people and their network of friends. Donations ranged from $5 and up but the amount of people donating was astronomical! So, challenge your people! Thankfully, we now only need to come up with HALF of that $15,000! There is a paypal link that can be found under the "How to Help" section in the links above.
Monday, September 13, 2010
So Excited!! A new purpose and
Well as we have been waiting to hear from ASDA regarding a service dog for Zachary, I have also been contacting other companies and looking for other options as... well I'm not patient and not knowing if he would be approved, I wanted to keep my options open! I have found a trainer that is not too far from where we live who trains service dogs. She has been doing this for many years as an option for people who are not able to wait years for a dog and/or do not have the ability to come up with the $15,000. She is willing to work with us, either helping us to buy a puppy or find one that is a bit older. Then she will take the puppy and train him for Zachary's specific needs! This, also will not have a TWO year wait as most companies like ASDA do. The cost is from $3000 to $5000, depending on the puppy! She takes the puppy for the first month at a cost of $3000 and this gets him/her public ready and fully obedience trained. This includes her training our family. Then she continues to help us with ongoing training. SO now I can start fully fundraising with a goal and purpose in mind and stop waiting to hear from a company that may never call!
This option will also solve the one concern I had regarding getting a 2+ year old dog and the bonding between Zachary and dog. I firmly believe that Zachary would bond well with ANY dog as he loves, loves, loves all dogs... but what happens if that dog does not bond with him? This way, we start with a puppy and they grow up together. Fingers crossed for us, it seems we may have found a solution!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Fishing!
I spent a few hours on Labor Day fishing with my friend Ashley and her two dogs, Duke and Roxie! I have been playing with Duke since he was a tiny puppy and now he is HUGE! He loves to lay on me when I get super excited and while we were fishing I thought I was going to have to lay on HIM! He was SO excited and jumping in the water! My Mommy says that any day now we should be hering from the people that are going to help me get my service dog. It's so hard to be patient!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
A note from Zachary
Hi, my name is Zachary! I'm an 11 year old boy with Autism. My mom says I'm not 'autistic', I have 'autism'. Autism is a part of me, not ALL of me!
I kindof have a bit of a problem (well huge problem!) with running away and escaping! This is ONE of the reasons I need help from a service dog; to help prevent me from running away. A dog that would block me when I was trying to run. This would help me and my Mom a lot. See, it's hard to go to the park or beach because she spends the whole time chasing me (I have a brother and sister too). It's hard to go to friend and family get-togethers because she spends the entire time chasing me and can't visit with other people.
Dogs help me to feel calm and anchored. What that means is I'm not constantly looking for input as to my location in the world. Sometimes I need to bang on things and hit my head so that I can make sure I know where I am at physically in the world. When I'm around a dog, especially one that allows me to really touch and sit REAL close... I feel safe and anchored.
Did you know…
*1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism
*1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum
*67 children are diagnosed per day
*A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes
*More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined*Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
*Autism costs the nation over $90 billion per year, a figure expected to double in the next decade
*Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
*Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
*There is no medical detection or cure for autism
Thank you from me AND my Mom for sharing in this experience with us! It might be a long road, a hard road trying to fundraise the money for my dog.... but we will not give up! I'm not sure exactly how much it costs, because I think everything is either 35 dollars or 35 cents! Mommy says that's a bit low but I'm thinking I'm guessing pretty close!
I kindof have a bit of a problem (well huge problem!) with running away and escaping! This is ONE of the reasons I need help from a service dog; to help prevent me from running away. A dog that would block me when I was trying to run. This would help me and my Mom a lot. See, it's hard to go to the park or beach because she spends the whole time chasing me (I have a brother and sister too). It's hard to go to friend and family get-togethers because she spends the entire time chasing me and can't visit with other people.
Dogs help me to feel calm and anchored. What that means is I'm not constantly looking for input as to my location in the world. Sometimes I need to bang on things and hit my head so that I can make sure I know where I am at physically in the world. When I'm around a dog, especially one that allows me to really touch and sit REAL close... I feel safe and anchored.
Did you know…
*1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism
*1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum
*67 children are diagnosed per day
*A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes
*More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined*Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
*Autism costs the nation over $90 billion per year, a figure expected to double in the next decade
*Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
*Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
*There is no medical detection or cure for autism
Thank you from me AND my Mom for sharing in this experience with us! It might be a long road, a hard road trying to fundraise the money for my dog.... but we will not give up! I'm not sure exactly how much it costs, because I think everything is either 35 dollars or 35 cents! Mommy says that's a bit low but I'm thinking I'm guessing pretty close!
Some things a service dog could help Zachary with!
Service dogs provide a physical and emotional anchor for children with autism.
The dogs purpose is to provide safety and therapeutic companionship to children with autism, a neurological disorder marked by delays in speech and social interaction.
From a therapeutic standpoint, the dog serves as a point of focus for autistic children, enabling them to maintain calm.
From a safety perspective, the dogs wear a service vest to which the child is tethered while in public places.
The result is freedom for both parent and child.
Routine outings to stores or to the sports events … are made more manageable and more enjoyable…
The dogs purpose is to provide safety and therapeutic companionship to children with autism, a neurological disorder marked by delays in speech and social interaction.
From a therapeutic standpoint, the dog serves as a point of focus for autistic children, enabling them to maintain calm.
From a safety perspective, the dogs wear a service vest to which the child is tethered while in public places.
The result is freedom for both parent and child.
Routine outings to stores or to the sports events … are made more manageable and more enjoyable…
A little about Zachary
Since the age of two, Zachary has had trouble with anxiety, transitions, and change. Zachary’s anxiety caused him to have massive, unstoppable meltdowns that left myself and his two siblings exhausted and at our wits end.
Zachary was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 5. He's a pretty typical boy, now age 11... very smart and funny. He loves to talk to people and tries to make friends wherever we go. I am proud of him each and every day.
The biggest concern I had when Zachary was diagnosed was one of safety. He has no sense of danger and fears nothing. If something was to catch his attention, he would walk or run to it, being completely unaware of any dangers in his way....such as moving cars on the road.
Zachary was also diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes when he was just under 6 years old. My plan is to also train his service dog to detect and alert on low blood sugars, especially at night, as these low blood sugars are life threatening for him.
Zachary is very fragile medically, having spent a good portion of his childhood in and out of the hospital.
I started researching Autism Service Dogs and felt that a service dog would be GREATLY beneficial to Zachary in so many ways.
So, now, as a family we have the responsibility to raise $13,500 for the cost of an Autism Service Dog for Zachary from Autism Service Dogs of America. This cost is gained by fundraising efforts on behalf of the families.
Once application process is completed, donations will be able to be made directly to Autism Service Dogs of America in Zachary's name, all donations are tax deductible.
We will be doing lots of fundraising over the next few months to try and raise these funds. Check back here often as I will be posting fundraising events.
You can read more about the organization we are working with here: http://autismservicedogsofamerica.com/
Zachary needs a best friend!
Zachary was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 5. He's a pretty typical boy, now age 11... very smart and funny. He loves to talk to people and tries to make friends wherever we go. I am proud of him each and every day.
The biggest concern I had when Zachary was diagnosed was one of safety. He has no sense of danger and fears nothing. If something was to catch his attention, he would walk or run to it, being completely unaware of any dangers in his way....such as moving cars on the road.
Zachary was also diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes when he was just under 6 years old. My plan is to also train his service dog to detect and alert on low blood sugars, especially at night, as these low blood sugars are life threatening for him.
Zachary is very fragile medically, having spent a good portion of his childhood in and out of the hospital.
I started researching Autism Service Dogs and felt that a service dog would be GREATLY beneficial to Zachary in so many ways.
So, now, as a family we have the responsibility to raise $13,500 for the cost of an Autism Service Dog for Zachary from Autism Service Dogs of America. This cost is gained by fundraising efforts on behalf of the families.
Once application process is completed, donations will be able to be made directly to Autism Service Dogs of America in Zachary's name, all donations are tax deductible.
We will be doing lots of fundraising over the next few months to try and raise these funds. Check back here often as I will be posting fundraising events.
You can read more about the organization we are working with here: http://autismservicedogsofamerica.com/
Zachary needs a best friend!
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