High-functioning, verbal child needs Autism Service Dog!
Our “Graham Cracker” will be eight this April! He’s beautiful, funny, caring, compassionate, smart, loving, sociable, full of energy and happens to have autism. Unfortunately, his autism also makes him feel anxious, irritable, worried, scared, annoyed, over-sensitive, hesitant, angry and alone.
We’re very fortunate that our son is high functioning and verbal. He also shows much affection and empathy, traits usually not associated with autism.
Over the past seven and a half years, our family, like any family who has a child with special needs, has strived to provide our son with as many tools and opportunities as possible to help him cope with some of his challenges. Of course not all of our choices or methods have worked but we continue to try anything new and hope to learn from our mistakes.
Graham used to be terrified of dogs, no matter the breed or size! It was most likely the “bark” that proved to be too much for his sensitive ears. However, he still had a desire to approach dogs to pet and hug them. After much exposure and reassurance, Graham was able to overcome his fear of dogs, and their bark, and fall in love with them, all breeds and sizes! When out in public, at a friends house or at a family gathering, Graham always gravitates to the dogs, usually the bigger ones! While the other children are running around the yard or through the house noisily, we will find Graham trailing behind the family pet or even laying on the ground with it! The dogs never seem to mind too much. It’s almost as if they can sense he is different from other kids!
Graham has been participating in a therapeutic horseback riding program for a year now. When he is riding “Leonard” he is calm, focused, proud, happy and relaxed. This behavior is also present when he is in the company of a dog. The bigger the dog, the happier he seems!
We live in a two-family home with my parents and share “Lucy,” a Puggle. She is so over loved and spoiled but very deserving of it. At times, Graham may tend to hug her a little too hard or try and lie on her, not understanding that she is under 20 lbs. and he weighs 60 lbs! He also tries very hard to get her to lie with him or on him. If successful, he is one happy and relaxed boy. If not, he gets very upset. Luckily for us, and Lucy, she’s very hearty, tolerant and forgiving of Graham and his brother. She absolutely loves them and can’t get enough play time in. She’s also a very good vacuum cleaner at meal times!
In a perfect world, we would love Graham to have a larger dog to love, hug, squeeze and lie on top of! But, if this were a perfect world, he wouldn’t have a disability in the first place. So, instead, we’d like to do what we can to help him feel a little better inside of himself, and by the way, we love Graham just the way he is! His autism is what makes him who he is and we wouldn’t change that for the world!
We hope that in giving Graham an “in-home companion dog” we would be able to alleviate some of the stress in all of our lives. Graham would be able to fulfill his many sensory needs just by having constant contact with his own dog. I’m sure that his younger brother and Lucy will also appreciate being squeezed less often! The dog would accompany him around the house making Graham less fearful going from room to room. Hopefully, Graham would stay in his own bed all night with the dog to keep him company and not be so afraid of the dark.
Most importantly, Graham would never feel alone.
The dog would be trained for behavior disruption allowing us to prevent melt-downs from happening before they occur. Anyone who has been here when Graham needs to take his medication knows how helpful this would be! Lots of the anxiety that Graham feels while doing tasks, that may seem simple for a typical child his age, like getting dressed, using the bathroom, brushing his teeth, getting ready for the bus, putting a shoe on, eating a meal, taking his daily medications and vitamins, having his nails cut, wearing a back pack, putting his own coat on, transitioning from the house to the car or bus, would subside with the dog there to help him cope.
If you would like to help by making a personal donation, please send your tax-deductible donation payable directly to 4 Paws For Ability, 235 Dayton Ave., Xenia, OH 45385. Please write: In honor of Graham Laughlin on the memo portion of the check, or donate online at 4 Paws for Ability.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Sincerely, Amanda & Eric Laughlin, parents to: Graham age 7-autism spectrum disorder and Myles age 4-the best little brother in the world.
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.