On August 22nd you can text the word 'wish' to 80077 to donate $5 to help Matteo get a service dog!
This amazing little boy is Matteo. He is suffering from severe autism. His family is trying to get him a service dog and need some help. Service dogs are by no means cheap! Matteo has to wear a GPS anklet just incase he runs off. Here is what my friend Kelly has on the donation site, which I will add at he end of this blog post!
Date 3/15/2012
Kelly Barriga Chavez
Dear Friends and Family,
Our son Matteo Chavez has autism, a disorder involving a spectrum of symptoms causing impaired and delayed learning, and difficulties with impulse control and social skills. We are seeking a service dog for Matteo, The service dog agency, Autism Service Dogs of America is a non profit organization located just outside Portland, Oregon. The donation level required for the dog is $13,500. Our family kindly asks that you help us in raising funds to provide Matteo with an ASDA service dog specifically trained to assist children with autism. An ASDA service dog will assist Matteo by helping us assure Matteo is safe when we leave our home. It is difficult to have Matteo in public, he has no sense of danger and often darts into streets, parking lots and has been known to run away. Having a service dog with Matteo will help keep Matteo safe while we are out in public. Also the dog will serve as an emotional anchor calming Matteo in public. Other families who have received these dogs report an increase in speech because the child talks to the dog as if he were a friend. Families that have received these type of dogs also report their child’s classroom learning and on task behavior improves with the presence of the service dog. While the benefits of service dogs for children with autism vary from child to child, early results indicate that children served by a trained service dog demonstrate marked improvement in mood, socialization, learning and general psychological and sociological development.
To learn more about autism service dogs and Autism Service Dogs of America, please visit the website, www.autismservicedogsofamerica.org. We appreciate your generosity and support in our fund raising efforts.
Please write Matteo's name in the memo section of your check or money order so your donation will be credited to the account of our son, Matteo. Your donation is greatly appreciated. Please make your check payable to ASDA and mail it to our address or ASDA directly as listed below.
Thank you,
Kelly Barriga Chavez
ASDA
4248 Galewood Street, Lake Oswego, OR 97035
PH: 503 675-4340
www.autismservicedogsofamerica.org
ASDA’s Federal tax identification number is 71-0888906"
Here is the link to donate to this great cause!
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/Matteosworld/asda
This is the page for his facebook page. They do updates on how Matteo is doing and share pictures.
