4 Paws for Damien

My son Damien will be nine on May 9, 2011. He is a compassionate, loving, and smart boy who also loves animals. He just so happens to have PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified, form of autism), Tourette Syndrome (motor and vocal tic disorder), dysgraphia (neurological disorder dealing with the function of writing), generalized anxiety, obsessive compulsive symptoms, ADHD, and weaknesses in executive functioning along with sensory processing at times. All of this put together leaves Damien feeling scared, stressed, over-sensitive, angry, and alone.

Even though Damien is high functioning autistic, he still has issues going though every day life. He still has episodes of meltdowns where he can not verbalize or be calmed. During these meltdowns, he tends to want to run away and isolate himself. This causes concern for his safety for so many different reasons. To have a service dog trained in search and rescue would be very reassuring to us as we know he can always be found and even tethered to the dog to hinder him from darting off in the first place. He looks like a “normal” kid but does not perform at the same socially acceptable ways that come naturally to most. He has a difficult time making or keeping friends. He still likes to do all the things that other kids like such as swimming, painting, watching movies, and going on family vacations.

By getting a service dog for Damien, we hope that it will alleviate his stress and frustration with everyday tasks such as getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and even playing. We hope that the service dog will be able to prevent any future meltdowns before they occur with the behavior disruption training. This service dog will make Damien’s confidence go up, help socialize and make friends easier, as well as getting the attention of the public to see there can be a disability there even when someone looks “normal”. Right now his interactions with the public are generally negative as he appears to be a healthy child with behavior issues, the service dog will also act as an ambassador prompting questions and conversations instead of stares and snide comments. Which will be of great benefit to the low self-esteem that accompanies most of these disorders.
http://www.causes.com/causes/596547-4-paws-4-damien