Pawsitism, Inc.

Our daughter Lilyana (Buggy) was recently matched with an Autism Assistance Service dog named Bosley. This has been completely life changing for Lilyana! Here is a little of her story.

*** skip to the bottom where you see this if you don’t want all of the details.

Lilyana is 8 years old she was officially diagnosed with autism in Nov. of 2021 when she was 7. We suspected she was on the spectrum long before that but she was already getting all of the services she needed. Lilyana is a little warrior she was born fighting for her life and things that came easy for most kids she had to work really hard to be able to do. Like rolling, crawling, walking and so on. Lilyana started speech therapy, feeding therapy, and occupational therapies at 2 years old and is currently still in both speech and occupational therapy.

Around 5 years old she started to have staring spells where she wouldn’t respond to us. She also said almost daily that her head hurt and that she was dizzy and didn’t feel normal. She would say she felt car sick and like everything around her was moving and she couldn’t make it stop. After lots of doctor’s appointments and having her ears checked she was diagnosed with vertigo and vestibular migraines but was too young for treatment so they treated her with a nausea med. We still wanted to get to the root of the issue and didn’t have answers for the staring spells. At 6 almost 7 she had a sleep deprived EEG that showed abnormal brain activity.

At 7, she had a 48 hour EEG that showed lots of abnormal brain activity while sleeping we were told this could be normal and caused by her having autism. So that led us to her getting a Neuro Psych exam and her official diagnosis of high functioning autism spectrum disorder. She was also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, and sensory processing disorder.

At 8 we switched neurologists to children’s and had a sleep study done because she had not slept through the night her whole life. They wanted to redo her EEG because they were concerned. They documented seizure activity while she was awake and asleep. So she was then officially diagnosed with Childhood Epilepsy.

Around November of 2021 we applied for Buggy to be matched with a service dog through a local nonprofit organization called Pawsitism. She was accepted into the program and was recently matched. Bosley has changed Lilyana’s life. Before Bosley, when we went to stores it was too overwhelming/overstimulating for her she would sit in the cart with a blanket or jacket over her head. Now that she has Bosley she walks through the store holding his handle and learning how to find what we need to buy and how to make sure that the fruit and veggies are ripe and good. When she starts to feel overwhelmed she puts her arms around Bosley and cuddles him or asked him for DPT (deep pressure therapy) when she’s feeling overstimulated to help her reground and re-regulate. Parking lots could be scary for us because unless we held her had or she was in the cart she would bolt to the car as fast as she could because by the time we got out of the store was so over stimulating that if she didn’t have a meltdown and held it together she needed to get to

the car as fast as she could. Now she walks through the parking lot holding Bosley’s handle and it’s not something we have to worry about. At home Bosley has helped her a lot too she goes to a virtual school and he’s right next to her while she’s in class he lays his head on her lap when he can tell that she’s getting overwhelmed with what she’s learning and he instantly calms her. She loves running her fingers through his curly hair on his head it’s sensory and calming for her. She has gone up almost 2 reading levels since Bosley has been with us. Reading is something that she really struggled with but with Bosley, she is working on getting back on track she loves to read to him and he’s always there when she is feeling overstimulated if the words are to hard. Buggy is also a competitive dancer and Bosley is waiting for her when she comes off the stage. She runs right to him to help her ground and re-regulate from the adrenaline she gets on stage in the past she would be very overwhelmed and overstimulated but now after spending a little time with Bosley she’s able to run off with her friends and get ready for her next dance. She also does Brazilian Jujitsu and sometimes it can be overwhelming for her but she takes a little break and gives Bosley some cuddles and she’s able to go back on the mat. Recently Bosley was able to join her at tumbling and when she was getting frustrated and overwhelmed because a trick she was working on was really hard she ran over to Bosley and he helped her re-regulate and she was able to go back and finish her class without a meltdown. Bosley has also detected her seizures a few times at night and alerted us which is really amazing too! And since Bosley sleeps with her she sleeps through the night!

***We want to raise at least $6,000 to give back to this amazing organization that changed our daughters world! This will help to train another puppy to be matched with another amazing kiddo on the autism spectrum just like our Buggy! Buggy calls Bosley her happiness. We believe that every child with autism deserves to find their very own dog that’s perfect for them, be their happiness, help guide and integrate them through a world that can be overwhelming/overstimulating & a scary place for them. That is exactly what Pawsitism does! If you can not donate please share!

Update!

We were able to do some training with Oliver! He seems to be getting back to his old self and we were so happy to see Justin wag to see us!

He has been coughing less and he seems to be happier. We are not out of the woods yet. Still making sure that his pneumonia does not come back. Lots of rest!

Your donations make a huge difference for his recovery!

As I sat next to Oliver at the emergency vet in Appleton, I could feel him breathing shallow and struggling. His eyes were partly closed and he was weak on his feet. We had to do something.

The vet came into the room and after taking Oliver back, she announced to us that he had a fever of 105 and had pneumonia in both lungs. Her recommendation was to have him stay overnight to be watched and cared for while administering fluids, antibiotics and helping lower his fever from 105.

We had a choice. Take him home and have possible bad outcomes or keep him there overnight and bring him home sooner to his kiddo on the spectrum who couldn’t stop crying when they knew Oliver was not going to be next to them tonight.

The cost was quoted between $2k to $3k. We decided to have him stay, but need your help!

I'm raising money to benefit Oliver’s emergency stay and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me and his family.

More information about Pawsitism, Inc.: We strive to provide families with a personally and professionally trained service dog that will enhance the life of a child with autism, and ensure success through continued education for the family.