Tupper was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder just after turning two. From the time he was born Tupper struggled with sleep, sounds, and speech, self-harming, aggression, as well as stomach issues. He is also a bolter. We began looking into ways to make life easier for Tupper as well as us.

On one of the autism Facebook pages, we saw pictures of a child and their service dog. We asked questions and learned about MSAR. We fundraised and saved towards paying for a dog for Tupper.

Tupper was matched with a Yellow Labrador Retriever named Lego. We began working with Lego and his trainer Janet and we began to see changes. His vocabulary increased incredibly. He was able to be at the mall or in a store without meltdowns. The incidents of bolting and self-harm, as well as violence, reduced when with Lego. When Lego came for a home visit he stayed for the night and Tupper slept better. Tupper was in a panic when Lego went out for a bathroom trip and then settled back to sleep when he was back. He didn’t fight or scream for hours! Lego stayed! Tupper sleeps, is learning to self-regulate with Lego’s help and we can go shopping and for walks without having to strap Tupper into a stroller the whole time.