A family who are very close friends to us are trying to raise money for an Autism Assistance Dog for their son Tobiah.
Tobiah is 5 years old and has autism, sensory processing disorder and hypermobility. He struggles to access the community as he cannot filter out the information his brain processes. When there is too many noises, smells, lights or people he becomes overwhelmed and he goes into fight or flight mode. As a family this makes things difficult as he needs a lot of support. They also have 3 year old twins so family days out are few and far between, they find themselves going to events separately so that tobiah can stay in the safety of home. An autism assistance dog would benefit tobiah by being his security, it will be trained especially for tobiah and his needs. They would be able to go to the beach for the day all together, or something as simple as a trip to the supermarket would be a huge step! Autism life dogs is a non profit charity who provide and train dogs for children like tobiah. The training process is long and intense and the charity ask for a family contribution towards this. The contribution is £9000 in total. £1500 initially to go onto the waiting list and get matched with a dog. Once on the list they would attend assessments as a family to determine tobiahs needs and how a dog could support him. We truly feel an autism assistance dog will benefit tobiah for years to come, it will give him the security he needs to enjoy his childhood to the max & see things that other children take for granted. It will enable them to have a sense of 'normal' family life and to make memories together.
Please find it in your hearts to donate to help this amazing family, every penny helps x