Parents get stares, glares, and parenting advice.
Dale Wooley is just like any other eight-year-old boy. He loves to ride his bike, play video games and not a day goes by without him talking about his favorite thing - transformers. However, Dale’s life is different from yours and mine in so many ways; he has Autism. Day in and day out he struggles in our busy, stimulus-filled world, just trying to keep his behavior under control and behave “appropriately.”
But all too frequently, the situation ends in a “meltdown.” This could range from mild defiance to screaming, hitting, throwing objects, or even a full blown, flop on the floor tantrum. As his parents, we can recall innumerable episodes of stares, glares, and “parenting advice” from people who think they know how to handle the situation.
One of the most difficult things is that, because he looks like every other eight year old, people don’t know Dale has a problem. They walk on past the meltdown mumbling “What a brat!” or “He just needs a good spanking!” when Dale really is just doing his best to control himself in an over-stimulating environment.
Enter the Autism Assistance Dog. In February 2008, we became aware of the Autism Assistance Dog program from 4 Paws for Ability, Inc. This program could very well help save Dale’s life. This type of service dog is specifically trained to help children and families who are dealing with Autism. These canines are attune to the stresses of autistic children, and can intervene during a meltdown, or even help prevent one from happening! More importantly for us, though, is that they are also trained in search and rescue.
Since Dale wanders away from home, school and stores during outings, an Autism Assistance dog can help us find him faster. We relocate about every two years. Dale has wandered off more than 30 times, in three different states, over the last 6 years. That is an average of five times a year we have had to search for our lost son. Twice he was found in a stranger’s home, at three and five years of age. We are waiting in great anticipation of getting a service dog placed with Dale. You can help bring some safety to Dale’s life, and peace of mind to ours, by making a tax deductible donation in his honor.
Note from Judy: 4 Paws for Ability is an amazing nonprofit organization located in Xenia, Ohio. It provides highly trained service dogs in many areas, but does require that approved families raise funds to train the dog. Please consider this child whose life will change significantly upon receiving an assistance dog. Read the testimonials. Reading them could change your life. It changed mine.