My son, Christian Merida is a fifth grader at Milan Middle School who loves animals and 4H projects. He was diagnosed several years ago with Asperger's ( a higher functioning form of Autism), Epilepsy, and ADHD. This is the source of many challenges and frustrations, including ( but not limited to) an inability to relate to his peers and form friendships, and difficulty staying on task. His biggest frustration is the frequency of his seizures.
Chris is plaqued by 'blank' or 'absence' seizures, sometimes hundreds a day. These are quiet seizures that most untrained people do not even recognize. Chris simply 'loses time' or 'misses words'. You can imagine how frustrating school work can be he 'loses time' or 'misses words' during the instructions. Or imagine being in a heap at the bottom of the staircase and not remebering how you got there.
We recently learned how beneficial a service dog could be to Chris, and that he was eligible for a full public access service dog. When we found Wendy she was already being trained as an autism assistance dog. After meeting Chris and learning about his disabilities Wendy's trainer has been able to adapt Wendy's training to help keep Chris safe during his seizures too. Eventually Wendy will be able to alert Chris of upcoming seizures. Just imagine how those predictions could help keep him safe on the staircase, crossing the road, or swimming in a pool.
Research has shown that the presence of a companion animal has many other benefits for Autistic Children. Children with companion animals show improvement in mood stability, communication skills, attentiveness, progressive development, and most importantly the confidence needed for a young mans social skills.
We still have alot of hard work to do, but Wendy is finally paid for. Thank you to everyone below who supported our goal. Any additional funds received will go to support additional training materials and costs.