Autism Support Dog for Max

Hi. My name is Alex and I’m fundraising to train an Autism Support Dog for my 5-year-old son Max. Max was diagnosed with ASD at 4 years of age and struggles to regulate himself and his emotions, and he is often overwhelmed by stimuli leading to meltdowns. He has been suspended from school at least 12 times for autistic meltdown type behaviour, starting from when he was only 4.

Max is a very happy little boy who loves his pet terrapin ‘Squirt’, playing with Lego Minecraft, and above all his baby brother Theo. His ASD makes him boisterous and rough, but he has a heart of gold and bursts into tears if anyone or anything ever gets hurt. Max is desperate for friends and finds communicating with his peers difficult, which exacerbates his anxiety.

Autism support dogs are specially trained working animals matched to individual people to support them with their specific needs. Their skills include, but are not limited to, Pressure Therapy where they provide body contact to calm the child, Prevention of self harm, fetching regulatory items, keeping company to manage separation anxiety etc. Above all the support dog will be a friend for Max through good times and bad. We hope that with a support dog by his side he will be able to access more of what the world has to offer and gain a greater sense of independence as he grows.

The charity offering an autism support dog to Max is Autism Dogs UK and you can visit their website at http://www.autismdogs.co.uk

As they are a charity they need their costs to be met to train the dog which takes 12-18 months, as well as veterinary costs up until the dog is passed over to Max. The total cost is £14,995 and we are looking for any support that can help us afford this service dog for Max.

Thank you for reading and please share this fundraiser.