By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
FOR mother of two Rebecca George, the thought of her autistic son wandering out of the school grounds again is ‘terrifying.’
“When they told me they found him on a side street I had a panic attack and was so concerned – what if no-one found him?” Rebecca said.
Eight-year-old Alex George from Hampton Park had no idea where he was or what had happened when he left his primary school gate and mum Rebecca has since decided to take action in the shape of a Labrador.
“My son is a safety risk – he’s wandered out of school once but once is enough,” she said.
An epilepsy and short-circuit seizure sufferer, Alex is forgetful and Rebecca has sought the help of service dog training to help her son in the long term.
“We are on the waiting list to start an autism assistance dog training program and I’m hopeful raising and training a puppy with Alex will help keep him safe and improve his life,” Rebecca said.
Restricted to one controlled playground frequented by Prep students at his school, Alex wears a high visibility vest at recess and lunch and Rebecca hopes an autism assistance dog will allow Alex more independence to play with his Grade 3 peers.
“He’s happy to play alongside other children but he doesn’t actively seek out social interactions and I think a dog will act as a social tool and help to improve Alex’s social and communication abilities.
“Children and people will come up to Alex to pat the dog and it will be a kind of social aid for him,” she said.
Eventually the dog will be able to alert people of any oncoming seizure and Rebecca said this would give her some peace of mind.
“The dog will be trained as a seizure alert dog which means they can sometimes sense a seizure up to 10 minutes beforehand, which means nearby adults can get Alex into a safe place.
“Alex is really excited for the puppy and he will be involved from the ground up, grooming, feeding, washing, bonding and training the puppy,” she said.
Easing angst and helping in stressful situations and in crowds, Rebecca said the dogs also acted as a waited blanket.
“You can lay the child down on the floor and the dog will put its full weight over the child and that weight is calming and grounding for the child.
“I really want it to work out for him – I feel bad as a mum because I have to restrict what he can do and where he can play and I feel so worried about him,” Rebecca said.
An estimated figure of $9,000 will cover the pup’s training and Rebecca has set up a Go Fund Me account to help assist financing the puppy.
If you would like to make a donation towards Alex and his new best friend visit: www.gofundme.com/zxv52k
