Meet Andrew, the escape artist!
Andrew Johnson is a non-verbal six-year-old with autism. He was born with a left sided arachnoid cyst. He attends our local public elementary school. With the assistance of a device called Dynavox, he is able to spend one quarter of his school day in a typical kindergarten classroom.
He is very smart, however he doesn’t have a sense of fear. Andrew doesn’t know to wait for a car coming, or not to run off. He is an “escape artist.” Even though we have multiple locks on our home doors, he still manages to get out.
Written by Andrew’s mother.
A service dog will provide added safety for Andrew. It will also provide a companionship that he lacks with other children. With a service dog, we will be able to go out in public as a family.
As parents we would love to be able to give him a bit more independence as a typical six-year-old would have, without jeopardizing his safety.
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.