Service dog will keep Tyler Grieb safe and help him connect with others
4 Paws for Ability, an organization that trains service dogs to assist people who have developmental or physical disabilities, has accepted six-year-old Tyler Grieb to receive a service dog.
Tyler, son of Scott Grieb and Emily Nehus, has been diagnosed with autism, a mild seizure condition, and a rare brain disorder called agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC), in which the bundle of nerves that helps the two sides of the brain to communicate with each other never forms.
“Tyler is a bright, loving, energetic, funny little boy,” says his father, Scott Grieb. “He loves music and spends a lot of his time listening, singing, drumming and dancing. He has a very good memory for words, musical pitch and rhythms, and his daily and weekly routines.”
Tyler takes great pride in new accomplishments and skills, and feels great frustration when he can’t communicate with his parents or master new tasks. He still can’t use language very functionally, speaking in memorized chunks of words rather than sentences with pronouns and verbs. He has little sense of time or the future.
“We have many hopes for a service dog in Tyler’s life,” says Emily Nehus, his mother. “Tyler is emotionally connected with the adults in his life, but hardly notices other children. We hope a dog will be his friend and companion, and help him make contact with other children, who are initially attracted to Tyler but give up when he doesn’t respond. To our knowledge, he has never spontaneously spoken to another child.”
“Tyler is becoming stronger and more curious about his world,” Emily says. “We hope a trained service dog can help keep Tyler safe, help locate him if he gets lost, and provide 24-hour-a-day companionship.”
Each service dog that 4 Paws graduates costs $22,000 to train and place with a child. Scott and Emily have partnered with 4 Paws for Ability and, acting as volunteers for the nonprofit agency, are committed to raising $13,000 for Tyler’s dog, thus contributing towards 4 Paws’ mission of placing service dogs such as the one Tyler will get with children who need them. Tyler’s parents are asking that you support Tyler and 4 Paws for Ability by making a tax-deductible donation in honor of Tyler Grieb.
More information about 4 Paws for Ability, Tyler, and Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum may be found at:
4 Paws for Ability
Facebook
National Organization for Disorders of the Corps Callosum
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.