An Autism Assistance Service Dog for Marshall
Marshall Mann is the most loving 5 year old you will ever meet. His smile lights up the room and his excitement for the simplest things is contagious. Marshall loves anything electronic, like the ipod, ipad and anything with sounds. Marshall enjoys chasing bubbles outside, jigsaw puzzles, anything Thomas the Tank Engine, The Little Einsteins, and race cars (hot wheels). Marshall enjoys having books read to him, wagon rides, playing at the park and also swimming.
Marshall was officially diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by a Pediatric Neurologist in December of 2011 at the age of 36 months. Since then our family has pushed very hard to enroll Marshall in multiple therapies in an effort to give Marshall the best chance of success to deal with his Autism as he grows older. As there is no cure for Autism, the more that we can do for him now will definitely help Marshall with a better quality of life down the road.
After many services and several therapists in the local area Marshall has shown marked improvement in most areas. Currently Marshall is enrolled in an Illinois Early Childhood special education preschool implemented by the local school district where he receives specialized educational services along with some speech and physical therapy. He also receives occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy, and vision therapy from private providers. All of these appointments keep his mom busy running from place to place. We are happy to report that Marshall will be attending an Autism specific school starting this summer and for Kindergarten in the fall.
One of the difficulties faced by those diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum is that no two kids are alike and display Autism in a wide variety of ways. Because of this, no one therapy regimen will help all those who are Autistic. After much discussion with Marshall’s current preschool teacher, we have decided to pursue getting a service dog for Marshall.
4 Paws For Ability is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to place quality service dogs with children with disabilities and veterans who have lost use of limbs or hearing; help with animal rescue, and to educate the public regarding use of service dogs in public places. They are also one of few organizations who specifically train Autism service dogs for children and are willing to train us as a family to work with Marshall and a service dog.
Communication and Transitioning
Marshall is an extremely bright boy. He is able to count to 100 and recognizes 50 plus sight words. However, he cannot talk like you or me. What he does say is scripted, practiced, and mostly echoed (repeated). Marshall has severe immediate and delayed echolalia. Echolalia is the automatic repetition of sounds/words made by another person and it is where sounds/words are imitated without explicit awareness or understanding of meaning and context. We are hopeful that one day he will become a conversational speaker and be able to share all that he wants to say. This is one of the most frustrating things for Marshall. He is so smart and has such a great sense of humor, but he cannot yet seem to put into words what he wants to say, or how he feels, or what he wants. You can see his frustration level rise and the meltdown begins due to his inability to communicate.
Marshall’s day can start out on the good side and at the drop of a hat come crashing down around him.
Marshall does not transition well from his preferred activities. Things such as leaving the park or deviating from his own personally “authorized” wagon ride route are very difficult. Deviating from his known route turns into a huge meltdown with him screaming and throwing himself to the ground. During a meltdown, whether speech or schedule related, Marshall has thrown things and will even want to hit or head butt if restrained. An Autism Assistance Service Dog will be trained in ways that recognize the onset of a meltdown and to intervene to help Marshall remain calm and stop a potential meltdown.
An Autism Assistance Service Dog will be trained to distract him while transitioning which will limit the frequency and severity of his meltdowns. The dog will provide a nudge, nuzzle, or a kiss, sometimes even deep pressure to help Marshall regulate himself. We are hopeful that an Autism Assistance Service Dog will help Marshall with transitioning, help slow down his speech and not become frustrated as quickly and perhaps find a friend that he feels comfortable sharing things with in his own way.
Social Interaction
Marshall makes strange noises and hand motions that causes other children and sometimes adults to stare at him. Marshall can take any object and race it back and forth directly in front of his eyes hundreds of times; this is called self-stimulatory behavior, also known as stimming. Stimming is considered a way which people with autism calm and stimulate themselves. Therapists view this behavior as a protective response to being overly sensitive to stimuli, with which the individual blocks less predictable environmental stimuli. Common stimming behaviors include: hand flapping, rocking, head banging, repeating noises or words, snapping fingers, spinning objects, etc. We are trying to teach Marshall that stimming has a time and place and that it is not acceptable at the dinner table. Especially when he decides to stim with a sharp object like a fork, scary!
As a result of the stimming, Marshall isolates himself from others. We feel that an Autism Assistance Service Dog will be so beneficial for him and for the entire family. First and foremost he will have a desperately needed companion and friend that loves him unconditionally. We feel that an Autism Assistance Service Dog will open an avenue for increased social interaction for Marshall as most children will be interested in meeting his dog.
Bolting & Tracking
Marshall has several limitations that are not only concerning, but frightening. The most frightening issue he has is the tendency to wander and bolt. It is not all the time, but Marshall will just take off into the street with no warning, leave our yard, wander off in a store or run into a parking lot with no regard or understanding of his own safety. Marshall does not always respond when his name is called. In a store or other crowded area Marshall needs to be supervised 100% of the time or he will simply walk away. Marshall desperately wants to be like his sister and other kids, but he has trouble keeping up and staying within set boundaries. Marshall can be tethered to an Autism Assistance Service Dog for his own safety which can become very handy especially in crowded places. With tethering, an Autism Assistance Service Dog would allow him to be able to walk in public instead of riding in a shopping cart; this will help Marshall feel more independent which is one of the things we think that he craves. In addition, an Autism Assistance Service Dog would be trained with the ability to be able to track Marshall if he were ever to get away out of the house.
Sensory overload
Loud places make Marshall anxious and bother his ears. We cannot visit anywhere that he will become over stimulated. At home it is a constant battle to get him to do the things that you would expect of a 5 year old. He can be very aggressive at times and stimms a lot at home. Marshall has no friends and is not really social and only prefers to be at times with his parents or grandparents. Christmas present opening is certainly a challenge, he can only open one gift at a time, with immediate run away breaks in-between. As part of his sensory processing disorder, Marshall walks up on his toes in order to get stimulation/input. Due to the toe walking the majority of Marshall’s toenails are in very bad shape. We now have plastic foot/ankle braces that he must wear daily to try to eliminate the toe walking. At his pre-school, in order to be able to try and focus on learning with the teachers, Marshall must be geared up, this consists of the following: Compression vest, ankle and wrist weights, a weighted hat, a weighted backpack, foot/ankle braces, and noise cancelling headphones
An Autism Assistance Service Dog would provide Marshall with a friend, someone who will stay with him when he is unable to keep up or just can’t handle the noise level or activity level in his surroundings. An Autism Assistance Service Dog will help diffuse or even deter meltdowns. An Autism Assistance Service Dog will greatly improve Marshall’s quality of life by providing love, behavior disruption, improved social interaction, sensory help, transitioning support and tethering/tracking capabilities.
Although Marshall has been accepted as a service dog recipient, we need help from the community to make the dream a reality as we enter the fundraising portion of the process.
It will cost 4 Paws $22,000 to place a service dog with Marshall. We are committed to raising $14,000 in support of the 4 Paws mission and can reach our goal with your help. We are asking that you donate to this wonderful organization so that families like ours are able to receive service dogs to help their children. Please help us in raising these funds to get Marshall the safety and companionship that a service dog will provide for him.
We are looking forward to a new addition to the family! Please accept our sincerest Thank You in advance if you can help the cause, An Autism Assistance Service Dog for Marshall.
Please like us on our Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Autism-Service-Dog-for-Marshall/218762678204604
Here’s how to help:
If you can help us with a tax-deductible donation, please visit: http://www.razoo.com/story/An-Autism-Service-Dog-For-Marshall
-Or-
Please mail a check with the name “Marshall Mann” on the memo line to:
4 Paws for Ability
In Honor of Marshall Mann
253 Dayton Ave.
Xenia, Ohio
45385Organization Information: 4 PAWS FOR ABILITY INC, EIN: 311625484
Thank You,
The Mann Family
- Jason, Gretchen, Marshall, and Scarlett.