Our family is a loud and exciting bunch. We have adopted five special boys who struggle with various issues related to their autism, sensory processing needs, apraxia of speech, prenatal exposure to drugs and alcohol, and several other issues. We have been learning lots and working hard to provide these boys with every therapy that they need (speech, feeding, occupational, anger management, etc….). The boys are making good progress. But - even through the progress, we all find ourselves overwhelmed at the high needs we still encounter every day.
When Titus was 3, he was diagnosed with Autism and Childhood Apraxia of Speech, and was mostly unable to talk. He knew about 15 words. Now, at 4 1/2, he has made excellent progress and can communicate without screaming quite so much!
Noah, who is 6, has been diagnosed with Autism and struggles with Seizures. Noah is verbal, most of the time, but quickly shuts down if he feels unsafe or unsure of his surroundings. Noah is in Kindergarten.
Samuel is 7 1/2 and he has Sensory Processing Difficulties as well as Anxiety and other things we’re still learning about. He can be a handful - but he does have a fun smile and wonderful laugh!
Aaron is 9 years old and he also struggles with Sensory Processing Difficulties and severe Anxiety. He is in 3rd grade and loves to read.
Benjamin is 11 years old and also has been diagnosed with Autism and also struggles with some developmental delays. His favorite thing in the world is sharks!
We are also extremely grateful we found 4 Paws for Ability! As we looked at the things that 4 Paws can provide and their commitment to work with our whole group of boys, we got incredibly excited! We believe that having a specially trained dog will help us with the severe meltdowns that our boys experience daily. Also, we’ve often read that service dogs can help kids sleep better, and our boys don’t sleep well at all! We’re excited that a service dog is one way to help the boys learn to turn their disabilities into abilities!
You can find out more about our family by visiting our blog at The Normal Beaty Bunch.
You can follow our journey to obtain a special service dog on our Facebook page, Paws 4 Beatys.
You can learn more about 4 Paws For Ability, where we are getting our dog from - by clicking right HERE!
We have raised our money for the service dog, and will be making a trip to Xenia, Ohio next summer to get our dog. It takes about 15 months to fully train a dog to serve our boys!
YEAH!! for school days!
