Stirlings' Pup
Can you help Stirling meet
his new Smart Pup?
I am a widow with three sons, aged 12, 9 and 8. All are on the Autism Spectrum. My middle child, Stirling, has been diagnosed as low functioning. He has made huge strides forward in recent years. He was completely mute. He now talks - not much, but every word is precious. I once said that I looked forward to being able to tell him to shut up! I still stick by that. There have now been occasions, albeit very rare, that I have had to ask him to be quiet. Inside, it gives me a thrill to be able to say it.
Their Dad died in 2012 from sarcoidosis. The condition badly affected his lungs, leaving him severely disabled for several years. He finally passed away after catching a cold - he was simply unable to fight any more. Stirling was 5 when his Dad died, and he was a Daddys boy. Daddy was the one who found the trigger to coax him to talk. Daddy was the one who could get him calmed down when he was scared at his preschool. Daddy was the one who could get him to do anything. Daddy was even the one who helped find his main trigger for his meltdowns, and who suggested a way to stop the cause of those meltdowns. When his Dad died, I was terrified that he would revert and I would not be able to bring him back. Stirling, however, showed an unexpected resilience and coped beautifully. I am still awestruck by how well all three boys have dealt with the loss of their Dad.
Stirling will take off sometimes - it is obviously a fun thing for him to scare me! The last time he did his hiding trick, he ran out into a heavy traffic area. Luckily some people saw where he had gone and I could retrieve him!
Earlier this year we needed to move house, and his anxiety levels rose, which has meant that he no longer would go to the toilet. There has been improvement at least, which is helpful!
Stirling and Family
ABOUT US
However, even with those strides, he still has huge areas he has trouble with. Anxiety is a big one. Socialisation is another. Frustration is a massive thing for him, if he tries to do something and something happens that he doesn't expect, he gets very frustrated! His anxiety and frustration issues seem to be a trigger for asthma. He has been hospitalised for his asthma 8 times within the last 12 months. In December he terrified the doctors because he wasn't responding to the medications until he could be calmed down... Calming a child who is scared because he cannot breathe is not easy! Even they were surprised that just getting a cuddle improved his breathing.
In December 2014 I received notification that Stirling had been approved for a Smart Pup Autism Assistance Dog. They will pick out a pup especially for him. They will train the pup to help reduce the instances of taking off, and to find him if he does take off. The pup will be trained to divert his attention if he gets anxious or frustrated, and will lay a comforting paw or head on him when he needs to calm down. There are other side benefits, such as interest being taken off him, and onto the dog, so socialisation related anxiety is naturally reduced. Another side benefit should be a reduction in hospital visits, as with reduced anxiety levels, his asthma should improve.
Now that Stirling has been approved for this dog, what I need to do is help to raise the funds for them to purchase and train the right pup. However, that may not be too easy. It costs $25,000 to do this task. I need to raise at least $20,000 before they can get started in the next step in the process, which is to find the right pup and start training.
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Thank you,
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Samantha (Sam) Entwisle
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Update: 24 November 2016: WE DID IT! Stirlings Pup is now being trained!