Ashton’s severe allergy is further complicated by his diagnosis of asthma putting him at a higher risk of mortality should he have an exposure. We have found ourselves part of a community of wonderful people and parents who unfortunately, live in a constant state of fear that we may lose our children to a threat that we cannot see. The best we can do for our children is to give them every tool we can to keep them safe and to live as normal of a life as possible. While we will always be hypervigilant, a service dog can greatly reduce the risk of contact exposures. Service dogs trained in food allergy odor detection, similar to police narcotics dogs, can detect even the smallest trace of residue or in our case nut protein, on a surface or in a food product. With a service dog trained in this task, Ashton will have access to places and experiences he never has before. Things we take for granted such as going to the movies, to a restaurant, on a plane, to a birthday party, or even going to a relative’s home can be a daunting or impossible feat. Food and other items we bring into our home can be checked for contamination to better ensure we maintain a safe home for Ashton. In addition to odor detection, she will be able to retrieve lifesaving medication in the event of an exposure and to get help.

Julian has a very hard time with emotional regulation, will self-harm, and often attempts to “elope” or run away. In addition to ASD, he also has been diagnosed with ADHD and sensory processing disorder. Our service dog will be trained in deep pressure therapy to assist emotional dysregulation, to redirect “ticks” and self-harming behavior, and in search and rescue should Julian find a way to leave our home or run while in public. While we have taken many measures to ensure this does not happen, it is an important task for our service dog to be trained on even though we hope to never use it.

If we are already pursuing a service animal one of our children’s disabilities, why not both? Our trainer thinks this is possible. This will not apply to every situation but in our family and for our needs, our service dog can be trained to do multiple tasks that will benefit both children inside and outside of our home. No one task will render our service dog unable to perform another.

A service dog will dramatically improve the quality of life for our children by working as both as a support to help Julian cope with and manage day to day tasks and as another layer of life-saving protection for Ashton. This is a huge financial burden on our family but one that is medically necessary.

Our family has chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.

For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.

Follow our journey on Instagram at @allergiesandautism. Thank you for your support!