Published: July 21, 2008 10:01 am            

Area family raising funds for autism service dog

By KANDACE MCCOY

kandace.mccoy@register-news.com

BLUFORD — Like most children his age, 5-year-old Kaleb Drew loves to watch movies and television. The difference, though, is that often he wakes up in the middle of the night, sometimes as early as 3 a.m. to watch television.

Kaleb is autistic — he was diagnosed at the age of 2. And though Kaleb’s parents have been using as many resources available to help him, they believe getting him an autism service dog will not only help him, but perhaps save his life at a minute’s notice.

“The hardest thing is the language barrier,” said mother Nichelle Drew. “Some things he understands. He doesn’t know how to express things to us so we understand and we don’t know how to express things so he understands.”

Safety is a concern for Nichelle and her husband Brad, as Kaleb has no sense of fear or danger. “He has no concept of fear,” explained Brad Drew. “He hurts himself — once he was in the hospital for dislocating his shoulder from jumping from a bed.”

And though jumping on a bed may seem like a normal thing for a young child to do, the Drews say Kaleb does not understand to practice caution, even when it comes to playing outside.

“He runs away from the house,” said Nichelle. “We have to put special child-proof handles on doors — but he figures it out eventually. We live in Villa Grove [near Champaign] and live near a train crossing. Most times by the time I check on my other children, he’s slipped outside. That’s the big thing about the Autism service dog — the dog can try to stop him or even help find him.”

Autism service dogs of America (ASDA) is a non-profit, community based organization that provides uniquely trained service dogs to children living with autism and their families, according to information from the organization. Founded by Priscilla Taylor, the organization places a dog with the child and enables the child and family to increase their mobility and socialization as a family and the child individually. In most cases the dog accompanies the child at all times when the child leaves home — even to school — and the presence of the dog calms the child, reduces emotional outbursts and “serves as a positive social link for the child to their home, school and community.”

And, since Kaleb doesn’t sleep well overnight, often going to bed as late as 11 p.m. and waking up as early as 3 a.m., the dog would be able to ease the Drews’ fears of Kaleb escaping outside.

“Kaleb is definitely high functioning, it’s just that you have to unlock the doors in his brain for him to express his level of functioning,” Nichelle said.

The difficulty in getting a service dog, though, is the cost — $15,000. And with the next group of service dogs set to graduate from training this January, dogs are placed with families between January and April on a first come, first serve basis.

In an effort to help raise funds, the Drews are organizing a poker run on Aug. 16, beginning at 11 a.m. with one group meeting in Mt. Vernon at Dale’s Harley Davidson and another group meeting in Urbana. Both groups would meet at a midway point at the Effingham County Fairgrounds in Altamont. A 6 p.m. dinner from Neimerg’s, auction and music entertainment will follow.

Brad is the son of Larry and Janet Drew of Bluford, and Nichelle is the daughter of Bill and Glenda Hutchison of Dahlgren. The couple moved to Villa Grove while Nichelle completed veterinary school. They are trying to move back to the area to be closer to family, and hope others would be interested in helping organize the event in the Mt. Vernon area.

Registration for the ride begins at 10 a.m. There is a $25 fee per person for the poker run or $45 per couple. All motorcycles and vehicles are encouraged to participate.

For more information on the poker run, contact the Drews at (217)832-8549 or (217) 621-3021.

        

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