As printed in The Citizen of Laconia, NH
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
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ALTON – Now that enough money has been raised for Brian Newman to get a
"service" dog, his parents want to raise more to help others who have
children living with autism.
A
service dog for children with autism is a relatively new concept. The
dog stays with the child, calms the child and keeps him or her from
running into the street or running away.
When Christine and Neil
Newman set out to raise the money for their son’s service dog, their
goal was to raise $13,500 for the dog. As of Tuesday, the Newmans have
raised $16,296.
Christine Newman said the extra money collected
from this point will go into a nonprofit organization that the Newman’s
are setting up to help other parents of children who are struggling to
find ways to help their autistic children.
The foundation,
simply called Brian Newman’s Autistic Foundation, is still very much in
the early stages. Christine Newman said that they planned to start out
small, starting with parents within the Lakes Region.
"Our hope
is to have a nonprofit and have fundraisers to help pay for services
and expenses that insurance doesn’t cover," she said.
Newman
said most insurance companies will not help to pay for alternate
therapies for autistic children, and many parents of autistic children
cannot afford to pay for these therapies.
"It’s ambitious," she said.
The foundation would also help those who might have problems paying for legal help for autistic children.
"We
are setting up a disabilities trust for Brian, because if something
were to happen to me or Neil, the state can come and take money back,
and can force him to pay out because he’s on Medicare now," she said.
Newman
said that she will be flying to Oregon to pick up the dog, which is
currently in training, and is currently still raising money for not
only the foundation but the travel expenses to pick up the dog.
A
softball tournament will be held on May 5 at Memorial Park in Laconia
to raise money for the trip and the foundation, with a rain date of May
12. To donate to the Brian Newman’s Autistic Foundation, go to
www.firstgiving.com/briansdog.
You can respond to my email. I am looking into a service dog for my ASD grandchild whom I am guardian to. He is 5yrs old and a runner/escape artist. He has PICA and sensory integration disorder and speech/language disability. It is so very expensive. Were you actually able to get a dog here in NH? It seems like online you can only find them far from here. We are unable to afford them ourselve also and even if you find one that will not “charge ” for the dog you have to pay for everything for the training, food and thats just the dog, then you have to pay for your hotel stay for however long the training and everything else you need for your self, then pay for the way to get both yourself and the dog home and some want both parents and child there too. Where were you able to find a dog and what kind of dog is it? Thanks.