Thank you for visiting our blog for Jonathan! This is my first attempt at blogging...so I'm sure I'll learn a lot as I go.
First of all, I want to thank everyone who has prayed for Jonathan and for our family. God alone continues to provide strength, peace and encouragement as we navigate the world of autism. I am learning that it's okay to let others know we need help. For so long I have seen that as a sign of weakness, but the truth is...we can't do this alone. We need our friends and family.
To catch you up...we found an organization called 4 Paws for Ability that trains autism assistance service dogs for children. We were accepted into their program in February, and are now in the process of raising $13,000 to qualify for a dog for Jonathan. The whole process could take up to a year or more to complete. Once we've reached our total, 4 Paws will train a dog specifically for Jonathan's needs. This dog will accompany Jonathan everywhere, acting as a safety feature. Attached by a special tethered-harness, Jonathan would be unable to run into traffic or get lost. The dog would be trained to comfort Jonathan and interrupt his repetitive autistic behaviors. It would also act as a 'social magnet,' making it easier for other children to approach Jonathan and make friends. Our dog will also be trained in search and rescue to be able to track Jonathan if he gets lost.
We are in the planning stages of several fund raisers. I am looking for items to put in an auction. If you have something to donate, or ideas to share please let me know in the comment section, or e-mail me at noble@mchsi.com. I will post the details as they become available.
Please feel free to ask if you have any questions!
Thank you for taking this journey with us!
Heather
About Me
- Jonathan
- Jonathan is an energetic and fun-loving nine year old who has autism. Jonathan's parents, Dave and Heather, have raised over 25,000 to qualify for a trained autism assistance dog for their son. This amount was almost double what they were required to raise, so the excess was put toward a service dog for a second child.
4 Paws for Ability
trains a variety of assistance dogs, including but not limited to seizure assistance, mobility assistance, hearing ear dogs and autism assistance dogs.
If you would like to help, please send your tax-deductible donation to:
4 Paws For Ability
253 Dayton Ave.
Xenia, OH 45385
To contact 4 Paws directly call (937) 374-0385 or visit their website at http://www.4pawsforability.org/.
If you would like to help, please send your tax-deductible donation to:
4 Paws For Ability
253 Dayton Ave.
Xenia, OH 45385
To contact 4 Paws directly call (937) 374-0385 or visit their website at http://www.4pawsforability.org/.
1 comment:
Search and rescue... wow! Now that's a skill my dog should have. As it is, he has a hard enough time finding a treat that falls on the ground. Definitely not smart enough for that program. This program sounds really cool! You know that we're always praying for you, but I'm sure it never hurts to say it again. See you soon, Kirk, Katie, & girls.
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