Jason Galvin of Cheektowaga was born a happy, healthy boy on June 5, 2015. At 16 months old, he wasn’t walking or talking, so he started physical therapy, speech therapy and special education at home. It was then he was diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and began going to school at The Children’s League at 2 years old.
Jason is now 4 and is able to walk and talk. Although it’s still hard to understand him, his mom is very grateful for his progress. But there’s one thing that scares her very much. Jason isn’t just a walker, he’s a runner.
“Jason is an amazing boy. He is gentle and kind, but he just doesn’t understand danger. And when he runs, he runs fast. He has ran into the street and ran from us in large crowds. It’s terrifying. It’s so fast and you don’t see it coming,” said Dawn Galvin.
Then there’s Jason’s anxiety, OCD and outbursts, so his parents are fundraising for a service dog to give Jason the best life possible.
“We could definitely have it worse, but he’s our world. We want him to have every chance in life and need to keep him safe. One job for the service dog would be to keep Jason from running. He would be tethered to the dog.”
But getting a service dog isn’t easy. A dog would cost $17,000 through Paws 4 Ability. Once the funds are raised, the family gets put into the next available training class. Then they must travel to Ohio for 12 days of training.
“There is nearly two years of training for these dogs and they begin at birth. They have all of their vetting done as well. This organization is the first to train service dogs for children with autism,” said Galvin.
As soon as the funds are raised, the process will begin to get Jason his service dog. If you would like to help, you may donate here: www.mightycause.com/story/Jasongalvinservicedog
