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MOTHER'S. OVER THE YEARS..
THOSE
HANDS LET GO MORE OFTEN AS THE
CHILD BECOMES
INDEPENDENT.
BUT FOR PARENTS OF AUTISTIC
CHILDREN.. THAT
CAN'T ALWAYS HAPPEN. NEWS TEN'S
ABBY WALTON HAS THE
STORY OF ONE LOCAL MOTHER..
WHO'S USING HER TWO HANDS TO
MAKE SURE HER SON CAN HAVE 4
PAWS AND A SENSE OF
FREEDOM.
" SEVEN YEAR OLD LEVI WALKER
LOVES TO RUN. IF IT WERE UP TO
HIM..THERE'D BE NO
BOUNDARIES..BUT AS YOU CAN
SEE..THERE ARE. BUT THAT
DOESN'T MEAN
LEVI HASN'T TRIED PUSHING THE
LIMITS. "I LIKE TO SAY WE ARE A
STEP AHEAD OF LEVI. LEVI'S
ALWAYS A STEP AHEAD OF US."
LEVI'S MOTHER..AMY.. SAYS THE
FAMILY HAS TRIED
EVERYTHING..FROM CLIP LOCKS, TO
SPRING LOCKS AND NOW
COMBINATION LOCKS..ALL TO KEEP
LEVI FROM RUNNING OFF. "IN
OUR FAMILY, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF
I'M STANDING RIGHT THERE. IF
HE WANTS TO BOLT. IF HE CAN
FIGURE A LOCK OUT, HE'S GONNA
BE GONE." AND THAT'S A BIG
PROBLEM..BECAUS
E LEVI HAS A NON-VERBAL FORM OF
AUTISM. HE DOESN'T
SPEAK AND HIS BRAIN DOESN'T
PROCESS INFORMATION AS
QUICKLY AS OTHER PEOPLE. SO IF
HE TOOK OFF..FINDING HIM
COULD BE VERY DIFFICULT.
"BETWEEN EVERYTHING THAT
GOES ALONG WITH AUTISM, THE
WANDERING, THE BEHAVIORS, JUST
ANXIETY IN GENERAL, IT'S KIND OF
LIKE 'OKAY HOW CAN
WE ALLEVIATE THIS FOR LEVI" SO
AMY DECIDED TO FIND A
SOLUTION..NOT ONLY TO GIVE HER
PEACE OF MIND..BUT ALSO
TO ENCOURAGE LEVI'S GROWING NEED
FOR INDEPENDENCE.
AFTER LOTS OF RESEARCH ON THE
INTERNET..SHE KEPT COMING
BACK TO THIS SITE..4 PAWS FOR
ABILITY. IT'S A NON-PROFIT
GROUP BASED IN OHIO THAT TRAINS
SERVICE DOGS FOR
CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES. AND
MORE SPECIFICALLY..IT'
S STARTED TRAINING DOGS FOR
CHILDREN WITH AUTISM. "4
PAWS ELIMINATES A LOT OF THE
WAITING LIST THAT OTHER
AGENCIES HAVE BY ALLOWING THEIR
FAMILIES TO FUNDRAISE
PART OF WHAT IT WOULD COST TO
TRAIN A SERVICE DOG."
THE NON-PROFIT SAYS TRAINING A
DOG COSTS AROUND 22-
THOUSAND DOLLARS AND ASKS EACH
FAMILY TO COME
UP WITH 13-THOUSAND DOLLARS.
IT'S A GOAL THE
WALKER FAMILY KNOWS COULD TAKE
AWHILE TO REACH ..BUT
WHAT THIS DOG WILL GIVE BACK TO
THEIR FAMILY..WILL BE
WORTH IT. "WHEN LEVI IS UPSET,
IF I TRY TO INTERRUPT, IF I
TRY TO GET IN HIS SPACE, IT JUST
ESCALATES AND MAKES IT SO
MUCH WORSE, WHERE THE SERVICE
DOG WILL BE ABLE TO COME AND IF
NOTHING ELSE, JUST PLACE HIS
HEAD ON LEVI'S LAP.
AFTER REACHING THEIR GOAL..THE
WALKER FAMILY WILL HEAD TO THE
4 PAWS COMPLEX FOR 11 DAYS OF
INTENSIVE TRAINING..INCLUD
ING LEARNING A SKILL CALLED
TRACKING.
SHOULD LEVI EVER GET AWAY FROM
HIS PARENTS OR
HOME..THE DOG WILL BE ABLE TO
FIND HIM MORE QUICKLY ..BY
TRACKING HIS SCENT. "IT'S GOING
TO GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT OF
COMFORT KNOWING THAT THERE'S
ANOTHER OPTION TO KEEP
LEVI SAFE." AND AS THE MOTHER
OF AN
AUTISTIC SON.. AMY SAYS THAT
MEANS A LOT. AND HOPEFULLY
SOON..A SET OF 4 PAWS WILL BE
WORKING RIGHT ALONGSIDE THOSE
HUMAN HANDS TO MAKE SURE LEVI
REMAINS A HAPPY AND HEALTHY KID.
IN TERRE HAUTE WITH PHOTO-
JOURNALIST JOHN TIMM..ABBY
WALTON ..NEWS TEN. "
YOU CAN HELP LEVI REACH HIS
13-THOUSAND DOLLAR GOAL BY
ATTENDING A FUNDRAISER COMING UP
TOMORROW FROM
6 TO 9 P.M. AT THE "BOUNCING
BARN" IN TERRE HAUTE.
THE COST IS 5-DOLLARS PER
CHILD.. AND DURING THOSE
THREE HOURS..HALF OF ALL THE
ADMISSIONS WILL
GO TO "4 PAWS FOR LEVI".
ALSO, IF YOU CAN'T ATTEND, BUT
WOULD LIKE TO HELP
LEVI..AMY HAS CREATED A
FACE-BOOK PAGE DOCUMENTING
THEIR JOURNEY CALLED "4 PAWS FOR
LEVI".
WE'LL HAVE THIS INFORMATION,
PLUS MORE ON "4 PAWS FOR
ABILITY"..AT WTHI-TV-DOT-COM.