Psychiatric Service Dog for Tiana
Donation protected
Hi! My name's Tiana. After years of living with mental illness and struggling to adapt to a normal lifestyle, my treatment team and I have come to a decision that a psychiatric service dog would be a great asset to my life at this time.
A little about myself: In grade school, I was diagnosed with a form of very high-functioning Autism that is known as Asperger's syndrome. While I've been able to live and function in a close to normal manner, this disorder has still affected a lot of my ability to truly thrive in today's society. Social situations can be extremely hard for me, to the point where I have to remove myself from the situation in order to feel safe again. Aspects of social situations that are especially triggering are high noise levels, large crowds, lines, small spaces (e.g. elevators, public transportation), and a plethora of other things. Places that would otherwise be completely enjoyable for most, such as Disneyland, a fancy restaurant, or Target, can become a full-blown nightmare as someone who struggles with this type of disorder.
In addition to Asperger's syndrome, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder as well as PTSD a few years back. Because of these diagnoses and their unique, distinct attributes, I became more prone to developing an eating disorder, something that also began a few years back. After months of intensive, inpatient treatment for my eating disorder, I was finally able to begin the long process of recovery that I am managing to this day. While treatment was necessary in dealing with my eating disorder, it was additionally able to help me understand my PTSD, anxiety, and how those diagnoses continue to affect me negatively even while in recovery now. Functioning in today's world as someone with Asperger's gets illuminated as incredibly more difficult when anxiety and PTSD are brought to the table. Social situations that would cause me mild panic when I was younger can come to an abrupt, unexpected shut down for me mentally now that these other diagnoses are also present. Trying to understand and relate to a world that was not built for me was already difficult to begin with, but now it can feel completely overwhelming.
And this is where my need for a psychiatric service dog comes in. Different from an emotional support animal, an ADA service dog would be trained to perform specific tasks in order to support and enhance my life as someone affected by these disabilities. The company I am planning on partnering with in this process is a local organization called Doggie Do Good that specializes in service dog training. This company would match me with one of their service dog candidates, which they would then train for a period of 6-12 months for the specific tasks we feel like I could benefit the most from in my everyday life. A few examples of the tasks that psychiatric service dogs can be trained to perform are as follows:
Deep pressure therapy, which consists of the dog being alerted to place its weight on your body in times of anxiety, panic, and any sort of dissociative state. The weight, as well as the warmth, help to mitigate the psychiatric symptoms that are occurring. This task helps to "ground" the person and eliminate any other sensory issues from focus so that the person eventually gets put in a calmer, more relaxed state.
Barriers, which consists of the dog being alerted to act as a barrier between the person and any sort of sensory stimuli that could potentially cause anxiety or panic. Some situations that the dog could create a barrier for would be long lines, large crowds and overwhelmingly noisy individuals.
The examples given for these common tasks are, of course, generalized, but would be specifically tailored to my needs through the training process. For a more specific example of how a psychiatric service dog could assist me personally, consider a restaurant outing. In a place that often triggers episodes of PTSD and panic, a service dog could apply continual deep pressure therapy either for the duration of the meal or as needed by alerts. The service dog could also act as a barrier if I, hypothetically, were to walk to the restroom and become overwhelmed with all the restaurant's sensory output.
I believe that having a psychiatric service dog in my life would make situations that have become unmanageable feel like normal again. I am hopeful that, through the addition of a service dog, I will be better equipped to navigate life despite the disorders that have affected me drastically for far too long. I hope that I will thrive, even, and continue to do great things with far less emotional and mental burdens to carry throughout. And this is how you can help!
Your tax-deductible donation will go directly to Doggie Do Good, which I will provide a link to below. The money will go toward, first, the cost of the dog and its upbringing, including food, veterinary care, and basic obedience training. The majority of the cost will then go toward its service dog training, which will be developed completely according to my needs. The organization will work with me closely to ensure that all tasks are tailored toward the exact issues I need help with most. I will get updates throughout the process, and will share them with you as they come.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for helping me regain control of my life! Anything helps, and I appreciate it more than I can say.
More information on Doggie Do Good and its service dog program:
Service Dogs @ Doggie Do Good
A little about myself: In grade school, I was diagnosed with a form of very high-functioning Autism that is known as Asperger's syndrome. While I've been able to live and function in a close to normal manner, this disorder has still affected a lot of my ability to truly thrive in today's society. Social situations can be extremely hard for me, to the point where I have to remove myself from the situation in order to feel safe again. Aspects of social situations that are especially triggering are high noise levels, large crowds, lines, small spaces (e.g. elevators, public transportation), and a plethora of other things. Places that would otherwise be completely enjoyable for most, such as Disneyland, a fancy restaurant, or Target, can become a full-blown nightmare as someone who struggles with this type of disorder.
In addition to Asperger's syndrome, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder as well as PTSD a few years back. Because of these diagnoses and their unique, distinct attributes, I became more prone to developing an eating disorder, something that also began a few years back. After months of intensive, inpatient treatment for my eating disorder, I was finally able to begin the long process of recovery that I am managing to this day. While treatment was necessary in dealing with my eating disorder, it was additionally able to help me understand my PTSD, anxiety, and how those diagnoses continue to affect me negatively even while in recovery now. Functioning in today's world as someone with Asperger's gets illuminated as incredibly more difficult when anxiety and PTSD are brought to the table. Social situations that would cause me mild panic when I was younger can come to an abrupt, unexpected shut down for me mentally now that these other diagnoses are also present. Trying to understand and relate to a world that was not built for me was already difficult to begin with, but now it can feel completely overwhelming.
And this is where my need for a psychiatric service dog comes in. Different from an emotional support animal, an ADA service dog would be trained to perform specific tasks in order to support and enhance my life as someone affected by these disabilities. The company I am planning on partnering with in this process is a local organization called Doggie Do Good that specializes in service dog training. This company would match me with one of their service dog candidates, which they would then train for a period of 6-12 months for the specific tasks we feel like I could benefit the most from in my everyday life. A few examples of the tasks that psychiatric service dogs can be trained to perform are as follows:
Deep pressure therapy, which consists of the dog being alerted to place its weight on your body in times of anxiety, panic, and any sort of dissociative state. The weight, as well as the warmth, help to mitigate the psychiatric symptoms that are occurring. This task helps to "ground" the person and eliminate any other sensory issues from focus so that the person eventually gets put in a calmer, more relaxed state.
Barriers, which consists of the dog being alerted to act as a barrier between the person and any sort of sensory stimuli that could potentially cause anxiety or panic. Some situations that the dog could create a barrier for would be long lines, large crowds and overwhelmingly noisy individuals.
The examples given for these common tasks are, of course, generalized, but would be specifically tailored to my needs through the training process. For a more specific example of how a psychiatric service dog could assist me personally, consider a restaurant outing. In a place that often triggers episodes of PTSD and panic, a service dog could apply continual deep pressure therapy either for the duration of the meal or as needed by alerts. The service dog could also act as a barrier if I, hypothetically, were to walk to the restroom and become overwhelmed with all the restaurant's sensory output.
I believe that having a psychiatric service dog in my life would make situations that have become unmanageable feel like normal again. I am hopeful that, through the addition of a service dog, I will be better equipped to navigate life despite the disorders that have affected me drastically for far too long. I hope that I will thrive, even, and continue to do great things with far less emotional and mental burdens to carry throughout. And this is how you can help!
Your tax-deductible donation will go directly to Doggie Do Good, which I will provide a link to below. The money will go toward, first, the cost of the dog and its upbringing, including food, veterinary care, and basic obedience training. The majority of the cost will then go toward its service dog training, which will be developed completely according to my needs. The organization will work with me closely to ensure that all tasks are tailored toward the exact issues I need help with most. I will get updates throughout the process, and will share them with you as they come.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for helping me regain control of my life! Anything helps, and I appreciate it more than I can say.
More information on Doggie Do Good and its service dog program:
Service Dogs @ Doggie Do Good
Organizer
Tiana Torres
Organizer
San Luis Obispo, CA