Over half of kids with Autism are "elopers" meaning they wander or run away from the safety of parents or their homes. Tristan is one of these kids.

As he has gotten older it has become increasingly difficult to "contain" him and so we have decided to apply for an Autism Service Dog to help with this as well as other Autism challenges we deal with on a daily basis.

An Autism Service Dog can help us keep Tristan safe by tethering Tristan to his dog when we are away from home, or by having the dog "track" Tristan if he ever runs off and we don't see which way he went. (This has happened once already!)

Autism Service Dogs can also help Tristan with his sleep disorder, alert us to seizures, increase his social skills, assist in meltdowns common to his sensory processing disorder, comfort him during medical procedures and help us keep him safe from putting foreign objects in his mouth.

The total cost for training an Autism Service Dog is $24,000. We are required to raise a little over half that amount in order to receive a dog that can help Tristan and our family deal with the many challenges Autism presents.

Every little bit counts! Thanks for your prayers, financial contributions and any fundraising ideas you have that can help us reach our goal!

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Reaching out for help is sometimes difficult, but also a necessary and beautiful aspect of our Autism experience. We are humbled by the friends and family who have responded to help Tristan (and our whole family) since Tristan's Autism diagnosis. Things are progressing nicely with our Son-Rise therapy program, bio-medical treatments and dietary interventions. We feel that the support of a Service Dog will provide Tristan with some much needed security as well as assist our family in moving forward in his recovery.

Thank you for playing a part in helping Tristan join our world!