Nigel & Joy have 5 boys. Sam (15yrs), Ben (13), Luke (10), Josh (8), & Zac (4). Three children have Autism. Zac the youngest is non verbal, and struggles socialy and emotionally. He is easily overwhelmed and finds busy environments difficult to cope with. As a result he will run away, and this is dangerous when near roads or rivers, or if Zac became lost as he can not communicate or say his name.

http://www.helpfulhounds.org have agreed to train a dog to assist Zac and his brothers. The dog will be life changing for their family as It will help give the children, particularly Zac, confidence and independence and provide a safer environment helping them to feel more confident when going to new places.

The Autism Assistance dog will have unlimited access to public places enabling the whole family to do simple things such as shopping, which is currently a struggle. The dog wears a special harness which connects it to both parent and child, and acts on instructions from the parent while the child is encouraged to walk alongside the dog. The dog will offer greater independence to the Zac and parent, whilst ensuring he is safe and unable to ‘bolt’ if he becomes stressed or anxious. ‘Bolting’ behaviour is also combated by training the assistance dog to automatically sit should Zac attempt to run off. A fully-trained autism assistance dog will help change behaviour by Introducing routines, reducing bolting behaviour, interrupting repetitive behaviour, helping the children cope with unfamiliar surroundings.

The Harrison Family wish to thank in advance everyone whom has supported their family. Any additional funds raised will be shared between Helpful Hounds to train another assistance dog for another family, and carersupportwiltshire.co.uk as they are exactly that, and have been totally fantastic for their family!