Puppy Pal for Zack - Puppy for Autism Assitance Program

We have 3 children. Laina (11), Zach (9), and Logan (7). We had planned for Zach and were very excited when we found out we were pregnant. The pregnancy was routine until about 26 weeks when I went into preterm labor. We were able to hold off his birth until 38 weeks through bed rest and medication. It was a long haul but worth it.

He was born on Mother’s day and he was perfect. When he was born he cried like no other baby that I had ever heard. I remember thinking is he going to stop crying, what is wrong with him. The nurses even commented on his unusual crying. Eventually he stopped and everything was fine for a few days. Right before we were sent home from the hospital they gave him his immunizations and sent us on our way. For about 12 hours everything was fine until he turned an off blue color. I was startled but he seemed fine, I thought maybe it was the lighting or something. We watched him very closely. We had a monitor on his crib that alerted if he stopped breathing. It was supposed to prevent SIDS. It went off a few times over the next day or so but his coloring was just fine.

The next day he turned a full shade of blue and we rushed him to the hospital. He ended up being in the hospital for 19 of his first 30 days of life. They could never figure out why he would quit breathing. Eventually they just sent us home with an Apnea monitor. It would go off many times throughout the day and night. We would gently shake him awake and this went on for a year. They performed dozens of tests which didn’t show anything significant. Finally it got to the point that we had to remove him from the machine because he was wrapping the wires around his neck and he was going to hurt himself. So we put him into God’s hands and he has been fine ever since.

He developed normally. He met and or exceeded his developmental milestones like every other typical baby. He talked very early. He started saying single words at 6 months. We thought we had a genius baby. By 12 months he was saying 3 to 4 word sentences. He was amazing. Around 15 months his speech started to decline. By 18 months his speech was almost gone. He started initiating a lot of self stimulating behaviors such as: spinning, crashing on the furniture, hand flapping and toe walking. I was in a panic. He rarely made eye contact any longer. I knew in my heart that we had a very serious problem. The Doctor’s said to give it some time.

By 20 months I had him in Early Intervention with Clermont County MRDD where he received OT, PT, and Speech Therapy. We also utilized private therapy companies for OT and Speech Language Therapy. He started to make progress again. By 3 we had him tested for Autism. He came back with a diagnosis of: “characteristics of PDD, ODD, OCD, ADHD, and an Anxiety Disorder". I was like now what. They said to keep doing what we were doing. We wanted him to have as many services as we could so we fought to have him enrolled in a special education preschool through the school district. They did not want to let Zach into the program, but following an independent evaluation he was determined eligible. It was very stressful and a lot of hard work but he was finally receiving the education that he needed. Then his behavior started to really decline. So by the age of four we were taking him to see a psychologist to help with behavior interventions. She diagnosed him with a form of Autism but she was not specific.

In the mean time my younger son was diagnosed with a Chiari Malformation and needed brain surgery to repair the Chiari. Through talking with the neurosurgeon about Logan we also discussed Zachary. He recommended testing Zachary for a Chiari also. Zach did not have a Chiari Malformation so he referred him to a Neuropsychiatrist for testing. She tested Zach and determined that he had Asperger Syndrome, Sensory Integration Dysfunction and ADHD. Eventually he was also diagnosed with an Anxiety Disorder. Asperger’s is a high functioning form of Autism. The diagnosis did not really change anything in our lives. We continued to put Zach in as many therapies as possible and we worked with him at home. We continued to see progress.

Over the last few years we have tried as many things as possible for Zach. We tried the holistic route and the medication route. Finally we settled on a little of both. We found out that Zach was lead toxic and for 2 years we used transdermal DMPS to chelate the lead from his body. This really made a big difference. Zach never tested positive for mercury which is a big fear of most parents of Autistic children. Zach was also diagnosed with leaky gut syndrome which we treated with medication, vitamins and minerals. Finally that was resolved and he became potty trained. (This is also very difficult for children with Autism).

Here we are today at 8 years old. Zach has made enormous progress. When we look back at the little boy who never made eye contact, spun in circles, and flapped his hands and arms we are amazed. Today he talks a mile a minute, reads like an adult and runs fast enough to be an Olympic sprinter. Zach runs everywhere we go. He is very difficult to keep up with. Some times he just disappears in a crowd and my heart stops. Sometimes he will come back when his name is called but not very often. He looks very much like a typical little boy but unfortunately he isn’t. Because of the ADHD he has no impulse control. If he thinks it he does it. Because of the Asperger’s he doesn’t have forethought to his actions. He is unable to see what his actions cause. He has a very difficult time reading any kind of body language.

He has a very difficult time making friends because he is different than his peers. He doesn’t understand emotions very well. He doesn’t understand why people get mad or get their feelings hurt. Socially he is an outcast. He will leave our home and wander the neighbor hood if we are not careful. We even found him hanging out a second story window. Finally we had to put an alarm system on our house to alert us if any doors or windows were opened.

One of our biggest problems is Zach’s Anxiety. When he becomes anxious he becomes very aggressive and has meltdowns. We see a lot of throwing, hitting and screaming as well as crying. In our search to find Zachary help our dreams came true.

Finally, something that could help us to track Zach when he disappears, something to help to decrease his anxiety level when he becomes upset, something to help provide the sensory stimulation that he craves and needs to self regulate his sensory system, and finally his own furry best friend. The only thing that can do all of this is a highly trained Autism Assistance Service Dog from 4 Paws for Ability. They train service animals for children on the Autism Spectrum. They have made an enormous change in the lives of the children that they have placed their animals with. Through our fundraising efforts we hope to be one of the lucky families to receive a 4 Paws Service Dog.

We need your help to make this happen. Please review the donation section to see how you can help a little boy in need.