On January 26, 2007 our son Joseph, was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism at the age of 2. His journey has been a road we never imagined for him. Even before he was officially diagnosed he was hard at work with in-home therapies trying to regain some of the early skills he had lost. At the age of 3 he was fortunate enough to be offered one of the spots in a full-day autism intervention program. He has continued since that time to have a full-day schedule of therapies and school. He hardly gets the chance to be a kid. When he does have down time one of the things that he loves to do is explore. Joseph in his exploring tries to leave the house and wander the neighborhood. And when he gets something in his mind to do he is determined to do it. He will continually search for ways to leave the house and he has already been successful at it. We have secured the home with various types of locks and he still finds a way out. This is one of the reasons we are working to get a service dog for him. It is for his safety and protection because he has little to no awareness of the dangers around him.
Joseph is a sweet, special, and noble spirit. We have no doubt of the great love he brings into our home. He continues to progress and even though he is still non-verbal, we are optimistic about his potential and the future. Our faith in God has sustained us, and we are very thankful for the blessing he has been in our lives. The way he faces his challenges is amazing and has always brought great perspective to our family. The miracles he has wrought in our family are the ones we want to reciprocate for him. It will be a miracle to raise the funds to purchase a service dog for him because of what it costs (around $13,000). We know that a service dog will protect him and bring him friendship. Please join us as we seek to bring to pass this small miracle in his life; please join us in blessing Jojo.
