My wife and I would like to introduce you to our daughter Sierra. Sierra is a beautiful 8yo girl who has been diagnosed on the Autism spectrum with Aspergers Syndrome. She also has Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD and high levels of anxiety. At first glance Sierra looks like every other child. She is a very fun loving girl who wants to enjoy life to it’s fullest. Sierra is very caring and is the first to help someone in need. What people don’t see is the daily struggle that Sierra has navigating the “typical” world. Sierra does not understand normal social cues and has trouble with relationships. She is very sensory sensitive and has trouble processing normal sensory input. Her senses are easily overwhelmed by loud noises and crowded places , just to name a few. She gets so overloaded that she wanders away into the street or other dangerous places. Sierra has frequent “meltdowns” and is unable to calm herself. Her high levels of anxiety make it hard for her to leave our side and prevents her from enjoying many of the activities kids do everyday. Sierra’s passion in life is animals, dogs in particular. My wife and I have reached out to 4 Paws for Ability to obtain an Autism service dog for Sierra. With the help of Sierra’s Drs we were approved, and with a lot of help from some very generous people we raised all of the money for the training of the dog. We will be traveling to Ohio from June 6th thru the 19th for training on handling the dog. Autism Service dogs are certified service animals trained to help Autistic children in many ways. This dog will accompany Sierra everywhere and be trained to do many things to help our family. Sierra’s new friend will help us keep her from wandering into dangerous situations and keep her safe. The dog will help her with behavior correction and assist her in calming herself when she gets overloaded. The estimated cost of buying everything we need for the dog and traveling to Ohio is $5000. Any gift card or monetary donations will go a long way toward helping Sierra gain the safety, independence, and happiness every child deserves. You can visit the How you can help page for information on where to send money. Thank You! WE HAVE OUR TRAINING CLASS DATES!!! WOO!! HOO!! We will be leaving for Ohio on Saturday June 6 2009 and returning with our new addition Friday June 19 2009. WE ARE SOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!! SIERRA MOST OF ALL!!!