DISABLED VETERAN & BLACK-OWNED BUSINESS LAUNCHES FUNDRAISER TO BENEFIT THE SERVICE DOG INSTITUTE / CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Grandfather of three Low Country children with Autism To Raise Funds for Service Dogs

Charleston, SC, April 2021 -- World-Wide Training, Investigations & Consulting Services’ (WWTICS) LLC owner announced today that they will partner with The Service Dog Institute to benefit their organization of providing customized Service Dogs to families in need.

Inspired by his daughter’s three children all recently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Willi Ellison, a disabled Vietnam Veteran and retired Federal Law Enforcement Officer, understands the value of having a Service Dog in the home, having owned one himself. The Henderson family resides in the North Charleston area and is need of a Service Dog for their household.

Launching on April 26th, in honor of Autism Acceptance Month, WWTICS is doing its part in bringing awareness to the growing numbers of persons with Autism and their daily challenges both at home and in the public, especially during the global pandemic, and the need for specially trained and customized Service Dogs to bring a better quality of life to persons with disabilities.

What is Autism? Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complicated lifelong neurological disability that impacts communication and social interaction, and is often a accompanied by other co-morbidities or health conditions like ADHD, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia. Autism is characterized by a set of certain behaviors. Some of the behaviors are obvious or recognizable like a fascination with wheels spinning on toy cars, lining up objects by color, or rattling off obscure facts, but many behaviors are invisible to most people in everyday situations or persons unfamiliar to the Autist. Struggles in school and with learning social skills and making friends all make life even more complicated. These challenges impact each individual differently and to varying degrees which it is why it is known as a “spectrum” condition. “If you’ve met one person with Autism, then you’ve only met one person with Autism,” is a popular and true adage.

Owning a Service Dog can be the keystone in making a significant impact on sensory management, aid in developmental success, and give the ability to feel secure due to bonding with the animal.

Specially trained Service Dogs provide many essential daily tasks, including:

The Service Dog will rest his head on the child’s lap. This can calm or interrupt an unwanted behavior, flip on a light switch, mitigating a child’s fear of the dark
Use of the "My Lap" command which is can be given while the child is seated in a chair, to give the sensation of deep pressure to help with sensory integration or the dog barks on command, alerting the parent that the child needs assistance
The Service Dog is trained to reduce the resistance going to medical, dental, orthodontic appointments or other professional appointment, and calming the child(ren) during medical appointments (drawing blood, shots, etc.); assist with therapies

· Tethering, stay with the family member in public; Aid in reducing elopement issues

· Aiding in longer and better sleep

· Addressing fine motor skills like dexterity and gross motor skills like daily Exercises Aiding in needed behavioral, life, self-care and social skills in the public/school

· Assisting with learning eye contact and aiding in conversational skills

A recent article discussed the costs on raising a child on the ASD. The financial strain is estimated to range from about $85,000 to $107,000 annually (depending on age and needs) or over $2 million for the lifetime cost to cover things like speech, occupational, and physical therapies; lost or reduced wages from parents’ productivity losses, medical expenses special education, pharmacy, and various out-of-pocket costs. This cost estimate is for one child with special needs. Can you imagine the life-time cost for a family with three children that have Autism? Over $6 million needed for their care!

Donations on behalf of the “Henderson family” can be made online at FirstGiving.com/Fundraiser/Holly-Henderson-1/HelpForTheHendersonFamily or mailed directly to The Service Dog Institute: 655H Fairview Rd, #173, Simpsonville, SC 29680. All donations and gifts made to TSDI are tax deductible.

Visit: http://www.TSDI.org or connect via Facebook or by e-mailing Melissa@tsdi.org.

About The Service Dog Institute

TSDI located in Greenville, SC, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of those with special needs by providing trained service dogs to boost confidence, provide comfort and perform skilled tasks that enable partners to lead more independent lives. TSDI committed to making the best possible match between a family and dog, extensively training both the family and dog, and providing ongoing support, to ensure a long-term successful partnership. TSDI provides services dogs to Children ages 5-18 years old, Adults and Veterans.

About World-Wide Training, Investigations & Consulting Services LLC

WWTICS has over 300 years of combined experience in law enforcement and is fierce in its ability to expertly train and mobilize individuals, groups, and companies in the latest best practices in the security arena. WWTICS provides superb state-of-the-art training, investigations, security and consulting services based on integrity, transparency, and accountability by professional Subject Matter Experts (SME) with federal, state and local experiences. Visit: WWTICS.com for more information.

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The Messenger Mom

Monday, April 26, 2021