Update on fundraising efforts and why we are doing this

We have been so amazed at the outpouring of support that has been shown to our family and especially to our little man. When we announced that we were fundraising for a service dog for Atticus, we had hoped there would be an enthusiastic response but we were not prepared for this type of response. It has only confirmed that we are doing the right thing for Atticus. We have prayed from the beginning that if this was meant to be for Atticus that God would open all of the right doors. Wow, what an answer to prayer. 

If you are keeping up, our current total is now: $3,994!! That means we will need $1,506 by the December 1 deadline. For those just joining us – we applied for a service dog through the nonprofit Wilderwood (www.wilderwood.org) earlier this spring. After two application rounds, we were approved for a service dog. The actual cost to raise and train a dog is about $25,000 and the non-profit asks the families to raise $12,000 to help cover the cost. We paid an initial $1,000 with our contract and $5,500 is due December 1 and the other $5,500 is due April 1.

A few more details on our journey thus far: We have been praying about this for over 6 years now. When Atticus was initially diagnosed (April 2, 2007), we researched anything and everything we could find in order to help him. During that research process we discovered how helpful service dogs can be to a child with autism. There are so many benefits, but I will save that information for a later blog post. When he was first diagnosed there were so many therapies that he needed and insurance paid for very little. So we decided to wait until a later time to pursue a service dog.

 Over the past 5 years Atticus has made tremendous progress through Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, but most of all ABA Therapy (a scientifically proven method to help children with autism). Unfortunately, insurance only pays for 30 visits a year of speech and OT (combined) and zero for ABA therapy. So we have incurred a lot of out of pocket costs over the past few years for therapies alone. Thankfully we have had tremendous support and help from our families. We’ve been so busy with therapies and school that a service dog really wasn’t on the priority list. But, I think God had another plan for our family. 

More to come on this in a couple of days....