Jason’s Autism Service Dog

It’s the story of life. You grow up, fall in love, get married and have kids, right? For us it was all that minus the child. We tried everything, short of in-vitro, for over 10 years. Then, out of nowhere, we were finally expecting...and it was the most shocking and amazing thing ever! Jason Christopher Galvin (named after his Dad’s deceased twin brother) was born on 6-5-15 healthy and happy. 

Fast forward 16 months when he starts physical therapy, speech therapy and special education at home. Our sweet boy wasn’t walking or talking. Six months later, at 22 months old Jason was diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and began going to school 5 months later at The Children’s League. Our son started school at 2 years old...far sooner than we ever expected to have to be ready for that! 

Fast forward, again, to the present. Jason is going on 4 years old now. He’s finally talking, though about half of it is difficult or impossible to understand. Regardless we are thrilled with his progress. Now comes the reason we NEED this service dog for him desperately!

The number one reason for needing a service dog...Jason is a runner. He is a runner and he is FAST! His Dad and I are both disabled and cannot keep up like we wish we could. However even the most active person still cannot anticipate Jason’s moves. He can be fine hanging around us and then, like a gunshot, he’s off.  Jason doesn’t look for us. We have to watch him like a hawk. Jason doesn’t understand that running into the street could be catastrophic. He doesn’t understand the dangers that “typical” children naturally pick up on. We are always on edge in public.

The second reason for needing a service dog is for Jason’s anxiety and OCD. Jason will pick at his nails until they bleed. He will have outbursts, seemingly out of nowhere, which lead to him hyperventilating. Jason has night terrors so he sleeps between us in bed. If he had a service dog he could be comforted by that warm body during the night and sleep in his big boy bed. 

What would a service dog for Jason mean to him? Independence, safety, comfort and a friend. 

What would a service dog for Jason mean to us, his parents? Peace of mind...the ability to enjoy outings and be able to take a breath! To be able to go to amusement parks and malls. To know that the reason for our existence (our son) is safe and has a best friend that will not look at him like he’s different. Please help us give this gift to our precious boy. Thank you all in advance to all who donates!

Please note: there are videos of Jason’s outbursts but only mild ones. We cannot record him when he’s at his worst because we have to tend to him. There are no videos of him running off due to the obvious safety reason of needing to catch him.