Deklan's Autism Anchoring Dog

Help Deklan Get His Autism Anchoring Dog

Deklan's uphill journey began when he was born. As a premature baby, he was also born with a cleft lip and palate. He would have his first operation at 3 months of age with many more to follow. As he was growing older, it was apparent that he was missing milestones and right after his 2nd birthday, he was diagnosed with Autism. I made it my mission while I was able to stay home with him, to dedicate all my time to early therapies for him. Maxing our schedule out at over 40 hours a week of ABA, speech, occupational, behavioral and physical therapy. Deklan was first considered to be low functioning with no speech until the age of 4. With the help of his therapists, much love and support from family and friends... Deklan was talking shortly therafter. Though it was basic functional language, he was TALKING! Each milestone he hit was a miracle and worth every hardship we had faced. 

 Deklan has struggles in his daily activities. At school, his behavioral and social  delays have made it difficult to build friendships.  At home, his tantrums have often resulted in self harm and outbursts beyond his control. In public, his impulsivity and lack of awareness for danger has become a safety hazard. But there is hope even at the age of 8 years old. There is an amazing program that trains dogs to not only be a companion for the needs of a child with autism but can also assist during a tantrum to detour some of the behavior providing input to the child. The dogs can also bridge the social gap and draw peers to interact with the child. But most importantly, prevents him from escaping to an unsafe situation. These dogs are called Autism Anchoring Dogs. We are fortunate enough to have found this program and have  enrolled to start the training process for a dog to meet Deklan's specific needs. The benefits outweigh any costs that such a dog would accrue however we cannot deny the fact that our out of pocket cost will be close to  $15,000.

Current fundraisers going and/or completed to date:
-RHS Theater program  fundraising goal of $1000.
-Usborne Book Sale (Aug '15).
-Candy For a Cause (selling $1 at a time).
-Make a Change spare change buckets.
-Terminal Transfer Tickets for prizes (Sep'15)
-Stocklings Sales (all proceeds going to D's Dog)
-Gofundme
-Holiday 10 Card Bundle art by Deklan sale ($20 per)
-Lanphere Car dealerships bake sale (Sep'15)
-Poker Tournament in the works (end of Sep'15)
-Car dealership outreach letters (Sep'15)
-Word of mouth, sharing our video.
-Andrew Zimmern twitter outreach.
-Many more to come....

We are so grateful for the support we are receiving thus far but have a large financial goal ahead of us to reach. Any financial support you are able to contribute to Deklan's Dog fund would be treasured and knowing you are helping a child with special needs is one of the most fulfilling experiences you will have. Thank you for reading Deklan's Story.

For more information about this program please visit.... http://www.autismanchoringdogs.org