Anthony Melito: adorable non-verbal, no-fear child needs autism service dog
Anthony Melito. We, Frank and Tammy Melito would like to take a moment of your time to introduce you to our nine-year-old son Anthony who was diagnosed at three years old with Autism. As Anthony grew older his progression was slow and his diagnosis changed to Autism with mental retardation.
Anthony is a fun-loving, affectionate, and very happy boy who enjoys playing hide and seek, chase, and loves to be tickled. He also likes to jump on the trampoline with his brother, sister, and cousins.
Anthony’s passion is swimming. He taught himself how to swim just by watching the other children. Anthony will spend all day in the pool. He likes to watch the kids jump in the water; he jumps in after them and watches them under water with his eyes open wide.
Anthony works very hard everyday in and out of school to do the best he can with his ability but everyday is a struggle, mostly because Anthony is non verbal which leads him to get upset and frustrated easily.
He does use a communication device to help him in school and at home to express what he wants and needs. The device is still new to us so Anthony is still learning and if he is unable to communicate something he will get frustrated and upset which will lead to jumping, screaming, and hitting himself in the chin. At this point in can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or more for him to calm down. Sometimes it will throw his whole day off.
Anthony has no sense of danger. We have experienced many situations where Anthony could have been seriously injured and lost. Anthony has been brought home by the police after opening a locked door; he was found at the end of the road by a friend after opening a locked door; and also was found swimming alone in the ocean.
Nothing is more frightening to a parent in those moments when you do not know where your child is. We have been extremely fortunate that in these situations Anthony was found safe. This is why we as parents decided to look for a service dog and through research found 4 Paws for Ability.
Like most Autistic children Anthony prefers to spend his time alone. He does not sit and play with toys, games, or even color. He would rather shut everything out around him, rock back and forth, clapping his hands continuously, or sit rewinding and fast forwarding videos.
It is heartbreaking enough to accept the diagnosis of your child having autism and as time goes by it also hurts knowing he hasn’t any friends and wondering how he feels. Anthony deserves to have safety and happiness and no longer be a prisoner trapped in his own body. A service dog will give him the opportunity to have safety, friendship, responsibility, independence, and comfort. Please help our son have a better chance of a normal life. Thank you.
Note: I highly endorse 4 Paws for Ability as a source for extremely well-trained service dogs. The organization is sound and its goals exceptional. Judy Vorfeld.