Autism Service Dog For Cassia - Be The Change

Hi, we are Stephanie and Chris, the proud parents of an Autistic. We are fundraising to acquire an autism service dog for our daughter, Cassia. Due to COVID... her diagnosis did not come until this April (2023) just before she turned 12. We originally had scheduled testing back in 2019 to be done in March of 2020. By March, the world began to shut down and her testing was not properly conducted or finished. She was also diagnosed with Psoriatic arthritis, and Psoriasis that same spring.

Without a complete diagnosis, and the world shut down, we were not able to get her the properly needed therapies. Life had become very challenging for her as well as my husband and I. With every passing month, her inability to be able to read social cues caused the tragic loss of one friendship after another. Her sensitivity to sounds has forced her to retreat from normal outings in public places such as resturants and stores. Her anxiety about being in crowds has stolen life experiences that many take for granted. She has even become frozen at the doors of Walmart, resulting in me returning with her to the car while my husband did an abbreviated shopping trip. Should she enter the store and become over stimulated by sight and sound, she will sit on the floor and curl up covering her eyes and ears. This usually results in crying to release the anxiety of being in the store.

We were blessed with an amazing doctor this past spring who quickly got Cassia in for thorough testing. After receiving her confirmed diagnosis of autism, we dove deep into learning about the different developmental and occupational therapies to help her understand how to navigate situations that create such intense anxiety. Through this research, we discovered that autism service dogs existed. We have since looked into various organizations, and how these dogs would be life-changing for her and our family.

We are now working with Dog Training Elite in Tennessee to assist us in acquiring and training of the dog. They have recommend labs and goldens as easy going breeds. Cassia prefers the coat of a golden and we have started breeder research in our area. I have included below a breakdown of fees and training schedule from Elite. These are in addition to acquiring the puppy, vetting and supplies needed to get the ball rolling. We will get on the breeder waitlist once we have raised all needed funds.

Hi Chris,

I have enjoyed our phone calls and your questions regarding a potential service dog for your daughter. I believe that a dog could be a wonderful asset for her. I am going to break down the process and the cost of training.

Step 1: Find a great puppy! We would love to see your daughter with a Labrador Retriever or Golden Retriever, and we can look at some Bernese Mountain Dogs as well. Please send us any links to any breeder's websites that you find in your process of looking and we will be happy to take a look at them! If either you or us find a litter that is nearby that we like, we can schedule a Temperament Test if the breeder is open to that at 7 weeks old to see if any of the pups show a good temperment for service work.

Step 2: Begin training. We start training potential service dogs as young as 8 weeks. It is very beneficial to begin building a foundation of confidence and drive in a dog from a young age. We will go through our Platinum Obedience package which includes 8 private in-home sessions followed by 16 group classes. Our group classes are currently being held in Franklin, but we are aiming to begin another group class in west Nashville soon.

Platinum Obedience package: $2,995

Step 3: Public Access test. After completing a majority of the group classes, we will set up a public access test. This is conducted at a public space where we evaluate the pup. We conduct this test to ensure that the dog has mastered his/her basic obedience and is going to be able to task in environment's of high distraction.

Step 4: Upgrade to the Autism Support Service Dog package. Once passing a public access test, we will upgrade you to the autism support package and return to private in-home sessions to begin task training and you can continue coming to group class for 1 year.

Autism Support Service dog upgrade: $4,000

Step 5: Certification of dog. At the end of task training the dog will receive official certification as a service dog and again you will be welcome to join group classes as you please!

Total cost for training: $6,995

You are looking at 1.5-2 years in total to complete training!

The golden retriever breeder that we are currently speaking with has puppies that will be available next month (April). They specialize in the red golden retriever, which does cost a little bit more ($3,000). They will be doing a temperament and drive test on the puppies next week. The breeder believes two of the male puppies to be an excellent option as they are already presenting great drive.

Below is some additional information about how autism service dogs are life changing.

Autism Service Dogs for Children

Children diagnosed with autism can have a hard time communicating with the people around them, including their families. Autism service dogs can act as a social bridge, helping to alleviate the stress of social interaction.

University of Missouri research fellow Gretchen Carlisle explained this well in a 2014 study published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing:

“Dogs can help children with autism by acting as a social lubricant…if the children with autism invite their peers to play with their dogs, then the dogs can serve as bridges that help the children with autism communicate with their peers.” — Gretch Carlisle, Journal of Pediatric Nursing

A child with autism may have a hard time speaking to others, but with a dog, they have a built-in topic of conversation, as well as a friend to turn to in challenging moments.

Autism service dogs also act as physical links for some children. Tethering, or connecting a child to their service dog by the leash, is used to help prevent an autistic child from wandering off and ground them in their environment. Cassia has done this from time to time to see something of interest if we are in an uncrowded store or outdoor market of sorts.

The therapeutic benefits of a dog

If you’re a dog person, you already know how therapeutic a dog can be. Think of how calm and centered you feel when your pet leans into you at the end of a long day. Autism service dogs take companionship to the next level, providing life-changing physical, intellectual, and emotional support.

As one trainer explains, “A dog is completely nonjudgmental and unintimidating. It provides non-threatening, unconditional love.” For people with autism, assistance dogs may mean the difference between a life of isolation and a life of engagement.

Some of the so well-written information above came from: https://www.rover.com/blog/autism-service-dogs/.

We can't wait to introduce him/her to you all.

Thank you for reading our story and helping us quality of our daughter's life.

Many Blessings!

The Bennett Family