Comments on: Hope http://hopeforgray.com Our new life with an autism service dog Wed, 26 Aug 2015 14:25:37 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.38 By: kristina http://hopeforgray.com/the-family/hope/#comment-1083 Wed, 26 Aug 2015 14:25:37 +0000 http://hopeforgray.com/?page_id=466#comment-1083 Hi,
I met Hope and Gray on a flight from Chicago to Dallas. It was an amazing experience. Gray is a gorgeous boy , he was so good. Put a smile on my face because he just expresses what the rest of us are thinking and don’t express. Hope is beautiful such a sweet soul . I have anxiety and have trouble containing it during bumpy flights, it was my first time traveling alone in a long time. Having them both there was a blessing and surprise for me. I thank God for them both , that their little appearance in my life has a bigger impact then they knew or may ever realize. May God keep blessing yous all , and may you all continue to be a blessing to others.
Kristina

]]> By: rhonigolden http://hopeforgray.com/the-family/hope/#comment-204 Sat, 09 Nov 2013 16:59:47 +0000 http://hopeforgray.com/?page_id=466#comment-204 Hi Shelly. I would definitely recommend you contact ASDA to discuss your specific needs and goals for your son. They are great with answering questions and helping you get an idea of whether or not this might be the right direction for your family. Send an email to them (or you could even copy and paste what you just wrote here). The email address is info@autismservicedogsofamerica.org. I promise you will get a speedy reply!

]]> By: Shelly Dowdle http://hopeforgray.com/the-family/hope/#comment-201 Mon, 04 Nov 2013 05:34:48 +0000 http://hopeforgray.com/?page_id=466#comment-201 It’s so amazing to read about Hope and how she is able to help Gray. I have two boys, both have autism, although higher functioning than Gray in a lot of ways. They are both verbal (were quite delayed, especially my older son), but do not “get” people, no understanding of danger, meltdowns, sensory issues, etc. My older son is 21 and has come a LONG way (he was also born with kidney failure and is now 16 years post transplant). I had thought about an autism service dog for him, but it never worked out. Now I’m looking into it a bit closer for my younger son. He is 7. Very smart, but just does not see the world the way the rest of us do. He is verbal, but has a lot of trouble getting across what he wants to say, understanding what you are telling him, etc. Mostly it’s the meltdowns and such. He is not a “runner” but is a “wanderer” Even in our house, I have to check on him if he’s out of my sight for more than a few minutes, because I don’t know what he might be doing or if he’s in danger. I’m sure you totally understand that! He is now afraid to be away from people (especially me). He won’t play in his room on his own anymore, he has to be in the same room as one of us. He won’t stay in his bed at night anymore. I wonder if an autism service dog might be able to provide him more than just the safety issues. Can they be trained to “sense” meltdowns like seizure dogs can sense seizures? Can they be trained to lay down on the child to provide deep pressure and sensory input that the child needs when upset? I don’t know that we could ever come up with the money for this, but I guess it’s a dream. We can’t even get him all the therapy he needs, the copays add up way too fast and we are only allowed 30 therapy sessions a YEAR….so we try to spread them out. I was hoping maybe I could find a way to fundraise, but then saw that you also need to pay for the trainer to come to your hometown for that part 2 of training, that really worried me. I have no clue how much more that would cost. Would they insist on flying, could they drive? How inexpensive of a hotel would they tolerate? My family is spoiled when we get to stay at a Days Inn or something! Super 8 and Motel 6 are usually where we end up. Flying anywhere is just no an option anymore either. Do you any advice? We live in Montana, which is no where near ANY of the places I’ve found that train autism services dogs. Any help would be much appreciated!!

]]> By: Linda Tschida http://hopeforgray.com/the-family/hope/#comment-94 Fri, 10 May 2013 05:00:57 +0000 http://hopeforgray.com/?page_id=466#comment-94 Hi Rhondi,

Thought about giving this info earlier but never have. Think you will have an even greater appreciation of Hope after this. I am Hope’s breeder and she was actually part of a surprise litter…well suprise to me but not to our Maker. :-) Hope and Heidi are sisters and believe it or not, when people came to look at puppies and be interviewed and make an application, no one espressed an interest in either of these girls. It was breaking my heart in some ways but I always pray for guidance for the placement of each pup and for each family that gets one of our pups so I held onto that thought and knew that the right family would come along. At about 4 months of age, ASDA contacted me because they had been reading my blog on my website and the training that we were doing with the pups. They were interested in checking out the girls as possible Service Dogs and well,…the rest is history. (And a lot of love from everyone involved in her life and training) Hope and Heidi started out a little later than many of the other dogs but they each have a wonderful heart and spirit for their families and the work they do. Keep up the amazing job that you do daily with your family – the 2-leggeds and 4-leggeds alike!

Linda Tschida Hope and Heidi’s breeder

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