Judy Vorfeld’s Office Support Services

Griffin Dennis “Finn” Watson, of central Illinois, is an utter delight to his parents and family. He is sweet-tempered and loves to be bear-hugged and kissed. As the middle brother (between Jackson, 8 ½, and Samuel, 2 ½), his lot in life is already a difficult one, but somehow he manages to be cheerful about it. He also manages to stay out of his brothers’ fights, preferring to watch from the sidelines with a smile on his face.

His favorite thing to do is eat, and his favorite activity is to find ways to get something to eat. This could include stealing food off of other people’s plates, trying to break into the locked fridge, and even climbing up the dishwasher racks to get to the top of the refrigerator where cookies are stored. His grandma calls him “The Long Arm of the Law” because of his ability to reach places that he shouldn’t (see picture).

Finn has an autism spectrum disorder known as Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). He was diagnosed in September 2008.

While this was not a surprise, (he had been receiving Early Intervention services since he was ten months old) like so many families in this situation it was both a relief and a grief to Mom and Dad. But with a lot of support, his family has been able to see the blessings in having a “special needs” child, especially one like Finn.

He doesn’t have very much purposeful speech (mostly echolalia, which means that he repeats random phrases from books and movies) but always manages to let his family know that he loves them. He can’t put on his own shoes, but he can give Mom a look with his big brown eyes that can melt her heart (even when she’s mad!)

Mom and Dad want a service dog for Finn through 4 Paws because they want him to be able to be more independent as he gets older. Right now, Finn has a tendency to escape if he sees the opportunity. Apparently playing in a stranger’s backyard in the rain with no shoes on holds a special allure for him, but not so much for Mom and Dad!

Service dogs are trained in tethering (having a child attached to them with a harness) and tracking, so that if Finn were to escape again, the dog would be able to find him faster than the police!

Finn also does a lot of “stimming” (engaging in self–stimulating behaviors) throughout the day. His stim of choice is hand flapping and wringing. While these behaviors are harmless, they are a distraction for him and others, and will become less socially appropriate the older he gets. A service dog is trained to stop the child from engaging in these behaviors (too bad they are not able to potty-train him too!)

Finally, Griffin’s mom and dad believe that an SD will allow him the opportunity for companionship that he does not find with his peers at this time, and could possibly be a gateway to friendship with other kids in the future.

Who doesn’t want that for their kids, special needs or not? Everyone needs a friend, four-legged or otherwise!

Your tax deductible donation for a service dog for Griffin would be so appreciated. Monetary donations can be made directly to Griffin Watson’s fund through 4 Paws for Ability, which is an Ohio-based non-profit organization that trains service dogs for people with disabilities.

Please indicate that your donation is specifically for Griffin Watson on the memo line of your check or on the PayPal note for online donations. Donations can also be mailed to: 4 Paws for Ability, 253 Dayton Ave., Xenia, Ohio 45385. For more information on 4 Paws for Ability, please visit www.4pawsforability.org.

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.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 7:43 pm and is filed under Animals, Community Service, Disabilities, Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.