Sidekick for Sam

For anyone who does not have the pleasure of knowing Sam, I am going to fill you in! This fundraiser is for the sole purpose of providing Sam with an autism service dog. This is a journey that is not started lightly and one I have pondered over and prayed over for the last year. Recently we went on a beach trip for the weekend and on the day we were leaving Sam was very emotional, having a lot of

mini meltdowns that required a lot of comforting contact and deep pressure. It was then that it hit me, WHY wait any longer! A service dog could have been with him and helped!! So once we were settled and on our way home I started the process. I sat in that van and filled out Sam's application! Now here we are! It's a journey for sure, but its one I am so so thankful we are on! So without further ado, here is a bit about Sam. Sam was born in January of 2011, just one year, one month, and one week (and 36 min, but who's counting) after his big brother. He was a blessing from the beginning! We tended to call him Serious Sam because he always looked like he was in such deep thought. Hindsight 20/20, right. Well, when he was a year old he had a few words, mama, dada, bye-bye, but over the course of the next year he lost those words. At 18 months he started attending a mothers day out program at a local church, three half days a week. After a few months the director and Sam's teacher came to me with some concerns. They were worried about his hearing. They said that they had done a few tests to see if he would react. In class he would not respond when his name was called or when there were loud noises. At one point the teachers even banged toys together behind his back to see if he would react, but nothing. The final straw was when the local fire department came to school to educate the kids. When they were done they turned on the big siren for the kids, which they loved, but had all the kids covering their ears from the loudness. Not Sam. He never even moved. Looking back I cannot say how thankful I am for those wonderful ladies who took the time to really pay attention. Its because of them that we were able to take steps in the right direction. So after talking to his pediatrician we went to see a pediatric ENT. After several hearing tests I was told that Sam was perfectly fine, as was his hearing. At this point I had contacted Early Intervention through our state. Sam qualified and began receiving therapies through them. At his 2 year check up I brought up my concerns with his Dr. I told him about how worried we had been over the hearing, and how he would no longer say the few words he had before, and how we had just always called him Serious Sam. He didn't seem to think there was to much to worry about but referred us to a speech therapist. Immediately we loved her! She was so good with Sam, and after a few visits she sat me down and said I think we need to look at doing an Autism Evaluation. Finally! I had someone say what I was wondering but to afraid to ask! She gave us the name of a psychologist and we were set up for autism testing. It was an extensive process and by this time Sam was showing signs such as no pointing, no eye contact, a lot of spinning, bouncing constantly (he broke two crib mattress's with all his bouncing) and still no speech. He was the sweetest baby though, he loved to be cuddled and held! I remember driving to go get the results and I think I just knew. The psychologist told me point blank that he was diagnosed as Autistic Disorder, and considered "moderate" on the spectrum. I was given a ton of information all at once, but I was basically in a fog on that 2 hour drive home. By the time I got home I was to the point of OK lets do this. Whatever we need to do to make this the best we can for Sam. It had been stressed to me that early intervention was the key! So thats what we did. He was already receiving services through the state, as well as speech therapy, but after our diagnosis we started occupational therapy and then applied behavioral analysis (ABA). We went through 3 occupational therapists before we found our God send. Sam took to her immediately and she was wonderful for our family as a whole. Finding someone to do ABA was struggle but when we did WOW! She was AMAZING! I feel like we had just been treading water until she made it to us and then things started falling into place. Over the next few years Sam grew and finally started showing some language around 3 1/2 years old, and his vocabulary grew over the next few years. He just likes to use those words when HE wants to :). About a year ago my husband and I decided to make a huge change and move our family 3 hours away to where my family lives. By this point we had three fabulous boys but we were always so busy. Take the kids to daycare, go to work, pick up the kids, rush home to eat, then take baths and go to bed, and start all over the next day. We were stressed and all alone with no family, so we leapt. We quit our jobs sold our house and moved when our oldest son finished Kindergarten. BEST DECISION EVER! I am a registered nurse but now I am blessed to be a stay at home mom. We reduced our spending and simplified our life so we could have a LIFE! Its been wonderful, especially for Sam. He is so much more social now and his language really started increasing after the move. Once we moved we got him set up with his new therapies, occupational, physical and speech therapy, and got so lucky with the group of people! Also Sam just finished his first year of Kindergarten (we are going to do another year of K) and the school was great, just what we needed. They have been so accepting and loving of our sweet boy! He receives speech, occupational and ABA through the school system (AMAZING). Ok so now to the reason of the fundraiser. Why a therapy dog? Well, they are incredible animals that do wonderful WORK! And I sincerely believe a service dog would benefit Sam so so much. Sam does not always tell you where he is going or respond when you call him. When we first moved we would find him out in the yard and would have no clue that he had gone out of the house. We soon installed door alarms, but things can still happen. With a service dog Sam would have more independence, but also I would have a peace of mind that "someone" was with Sam. Service dogs are trained to keep the child from wandering but also they are trained to FIND the child. I have always been terrified that he will wander off. He will usually say his name when asked, but he cannot tell you his address, or my phone number or his last name. Like I said it's terrifying. Also Sam can be a runner when he gets angry or upset, and he is fast. There has been many times that he would take off and try to run away from me in a parking lot, and not pay one bit of attention to any cars coming or going. Sometimes he can be oblivious to his surroundings. Again a service dog is trained to stop the running!! How wonderful would that be when I am out with all 3 kids to know I have an extra set of eyes, at all times, just to help Sam. Sam has normally been a good sleeper, but as of late that is changing. He has a very difficult time going to sleep and sometimes staying asleep. He likes to sleep with a weighted blanket for that deep pressure and then still puts his pillows on top of him. He does not like the dark and sleeps with the closet light on and a camping lantern by his head. With a service dog, it could sleep with him. Give him that one on one contact and deep pressure and COMFORT. Just to know that Sam is comfortable and relaxed is worth any price. Sam is also prone to meltdowns. Sometimes they are because he is asked to do something he doesn't want to do (typical boy stuff :) ) and sometimes I do not know why. Some days Sam is just very emotional. He will tell you he is crying and snobbing (his word for snotting and sobbing) but he cannot tell me why. On those days we do A LOT of deep pressure and a lot of chewing on chewy tubes or necklaces. Having a service dog with him could be a constant source of comfort. It can lay in Sam's lap for deep pressure or even lean against him to provide that deep pressure. Not to mention with a service dog there is a constant opportunity to increase Sam's socialization. Its always a topic starter that he would have with him, and if your familiar with autism at all, increasing socialization is huge. But my main goal for Sam is for him to be the most independent Sam that he can be, now and in the future. A service dog would give him that in so many ways. We still rely on him to ride in a grocery cart or stroller when we go places. He is 6 now and tall and skinny (and absolutely beautiful) and grocery carts and strollers are not made for that size. Its hard to use special needs carts at the grocery store because Sam looks like your typical little boy, and people look at you as if you're using the cart when you shouldn't be. I also have heard a lot of comments about "get that boy out of a stroller, he is to big to be riding in that," I know this is not meant in a hurtful way but its hard. With the service dog Sam could walk tethered to the dog and be free to walk beside me in stores,or out around town without the risk of him running off or going somewhere he shouldn't. It would give him INDEPENDENCE. And if you're asking would Sam even like a dog? Then I know you have not had the wonderful opportunity of meeting him. Sam's first love (after his momma of course) is animals (and dinosaurs). He loves all types of animals everywhere. We have hundreds of animal figurines, and every animal book known to man! And animals LOVE SAM! This service dog would be such a blessing to him and this family and would be loved as a family member, but we cannot do it alone. So we are asking for help. Sam is my SUPERHERO! He deserves his own sidekick!!