Welcome to our website! This is a website that was first created to use as a tool to fund raise for our son Lucas and his Service Dog. We have added lots of personal experiences that may be helpful to other parents in the Autism world. We would love to help anyway we can. We feel like telling others what has worked and what has not worked so far can help when dealing with Autism. Our Autism treatment approach is somewhat very broad. Our kids have intensive ABA therapy, along with several other therapies, a service dog and some other regular activities that all combined and well managed has helped our son Lucas and our other kids flourish and improve. We have two kids on the spectrum and one that we are always on the fence about it. Our mission in life is to do all we can to help them improve and be the best they can. We hope that we can encourage and help others on our journey. We have been blessed with great people in our lives that have guided and helped us every step of the way. By no means we are experts, but we have learned a lot and we continue to learn each and every day. Our newest tool to help with Autism is our amazing Service Dog, Hudson. Hudson will be the eyes and ears that we can't be 24/7, Hudson will be the extra layer of protection and the bridge that Lucas needs to connect to the world. We are excited about this new chapter and can't wait to tell you all about it!
Our Hearts Are full of Gratitude
HUGE thanks to all of our donors, Arizona Goldens, partners, family, HAB workers and friends who made this day possible. Lucas has went through over 15 sessions with service dogs and was placed with the perfect dog for him, Hudson. A pup who is mature enough to help calm down Lucas and playful enough to match his level of intense energy. This dog will be a lifelong companion constantly by his side to him him cope with the extra challenges of Autism and the best thing we can provide him at this time in his life.
THANK YOU for everyone's time, support and generosity.
Huge thanks to our MVP volunteer Sandra Whiting, who leveraged her experience as the world's greatest saleswoman to generate thousands of dollars in donations from generous strangers.
Another shout out who we can't thank enough, the anonymous donor who put Lucas and his service dog at the center of their thoughts by matching dollar-for -dollar donations bringing us through the final stretch to meet his goal. Lastly, but not least, another HUGE thanks to the wonderful donor that made it possible so we could receive a grant from the Epilepsy Foundation. Because of this grant and everyone's else's efforts we were able to get here today!
Our hearts are full of gratitude and love. We love and thank each one of you who has played a special and meaningful part in our lives to make this possible.
Here is Lucas and Hudson meeting for the first time June 7th 2013
Stay tuned for weekly updates on our progress. We are going to turn our website www.ServiceDogForLucas.com into a place so other families can follow our progress, adventures, experiences, etc as we grow our family with the arrival of Hudson.
Love to you all,
Gabi, Curtis, Lucas, Joshua, Isabel & Hudson
THANK YOU for everyone's time, support and generosity.
Huge thanks to our MVP volunteer Sandra Whiting, who leveraged her experience as the world's greatest saleswoman to generate thousands of dollars in donations from generous strangers.
Another shout out who we can't thank enough, the anonymous donor who put Lucas and his service dog at the center of their thoughts by matching dollar-for -dollar donations bringing us through the final stretch to meet his goal. Lastly, but not least, another HUGE thanks to the wonderful donor that made it possible so we could receive a grant from the Epilepsy Foundation. Because of this grant and everyone's else's efforts we were able to get here today!
Our hearts are full of gratitude and love. We love and thank each one of you who has played a special and meaningful part in our lives to make this possible.
Here is Lucas and Hudson meeting for the first time June 7th 2013
Stay tuned for weekly updates on our progress. We are going to turn our website www.ServiceDogForLucas.com into a place so other families can follow our progress, adventures, experiences, etc as we grow our family with the arrival of Hudson.
Love to you all,
Gabi, Curtis, Lucas, Joshua, Isabel & Hudson
meeting Hudson
I was so nervous getting ready to meet Hudson that I went on a crazy house cleaning project the day before. I just wanted to have everything perfect for Hudson. Maybe I was so stressed that I had Vertigo all day and ended up running all my cleaning plans. I'm sure Hudson would not mind a messy house, so I had no reason to be so worked up. If I was like that, just imagine Lucas. We have been telling him for 8 months that he is getting a Service Dog. This last week was a very long week! The days leading up to Friday were very hard for Lucas. He had tantrums daily. We think he knew something was going to happen and he had a hard time dealing with it. I should have tried to teach him to clean under stress...hehehe :)
Friday finally came and it was amazing! When Hudson walked in, Lucas thought it was just another dog coming to see if it would be a good personality match for him. Lucas has seen well over 10 potential service dogs. We had met Hudson at one of Lucas' fundraising events a few months ago. It was a HUGE surprise for us. I loved every second so did the entire family.
After a long meet and greet. We spent some time talking about Lucas and Hudson. We then went over the contents of our boot camp initial book. Then finally we took our first test. Curtis and I both got 91% on the exam. I got say, it was a bit harder than I thought it would be. I actually must confess that everything so far has been beyond what I ever thought or expected it to be. AZ Golden's ended up leaving our house close to midnight that first Friday.
Saturday and Sunday we had intensive training, hands on and with exams at the end of each day. Hudson came for good on Saturday. I will never forget it and I'm sure the kids will also always remember it. The process of bonding, the process of teaching Hudson who are his new handlers and who he needs to care for, everything is so new to me. If it's new to me, just imagine how the kids are feeling with this HUGE change in our lives. I didn't expect Lucas to have this hard of a time. However, even though he is struggling I can see already improvement. Lucas is talking a lot more. I totally love the fact that he will be the one responsible to introduce Hudson and tell people all about him. I just can't wait to see it in practice! It's such a great social concept that will teach him a lot. Hudson will be that bridge that Lucas needs to connect with people. We are working on having Lucas pet Hudson when he feels he needs to flap. Saturday and Sunday he was flapping a bunch. Today it has decreased and he is appropriately petting Hudson instead!!
One other huge positive is that Isabel is wanting to talk a storm! She has been the best little girl around Hudson and so much of her personality is flourishing when she is around him. It's just perfect! It's all we needed to have our little girl working hard to fight all the red signs we have been seeing lately.
My poor little Josh is struggling a bit because he really wants and says he needs a service dog. Often he will try to buckle himself to the dog and remove Lucas. :/ With lots of pauses for breathing and little prayers things are moving forward and we are all learning each other well. Hudson needs to know who we are and we have to know how to work with Hudson. A new change and event like this is not easy on Lucas even though we have been trying to prepare for this for months. Nothing really prepares him like the real life practice!
Today is June 10th 2013 and it's past midnight so it's pretty much the 11th. I'm very tired and exhausted from a super busy and tiring weekend. I'm going to bed a very grateful and happy mom. I saw my 6 year old interact appropriately with his Service Dog. I saw him talking a bunch and I saw him petting the dog instead of clapping or flapping. I saw my little Isabel trying to say "sit" to the dog, which is HUGE as she was not really saying or developing more words. I saw all these amazing things today and they all felt like dream even though in reality everything is very intense and hard. I know the end result will be superb and tomorrow will be another day!!
Lots of love,
The Bryans, including Hudson! :)
Friday finally came and it was amazing! When Hudson walked in, Lucas thought it was just another dog coming to see if it would be a good personality match for him. Lucas has seen well over 10 potential service dogs. We had met Hudson at one of Lucas' fundraising events a few months ago. It was a HUGE surprise for us. I loved every second so did the entire family.
After a long meet and greet. We spent some time talking about Lucas and Hudson. We then went over the contents of our boot camp initial book. Then finally we took our first test. Curtis and I both got 91% on the exam. I got say, it was a bit harder than I thought it would be. I actually must confess that everything so far has been beyond what I ever thought or expected it to be. AZ Golden's ended up leaving our house close to midnight that first Friday.
Saturday and Sunday we had intensive training, hands on and with exams at the end of each day. Hudson came for good on Saturday. I will never forget it and I'm sure the kids will also always remember it. The process of bonding, the process of teaching Hudson who are his new handlers and who he needs to care for, everything is so new to me. If it's new to me, just imagine how the kids are feeling with this HUGE change in our lives. I didn't expect Lucas to have this hard of a time. However, even though he is struggling I can see already improvement. Lucas is talking a lot more. I totally love the fact that he will be the one responsible to introduce Hudson and tell people all about him. I just can't wait to see it in practice! It's such a great social concept that will teach him a lot. Hudson will be that bridge that Lucas needs to connect with people. We are working on having Lucas pet Hudson when he feels he needs to flap. Saturday and Sunday he was flapping a bunch. Today it has decreased and he is appropriately petting Hudson instead!!
One other huge positive is that Isabel is wanting to talk a storm! She has been the best little girl around Hudson and so much of her personality is flourishing when she is around him. It's just perfect! It's all we needed to have our little girl working hard to fight all the red signs we have been seeing lately.
My poor little Josh is struggling a bit because he really wants and says he needs a service dog. Often he will try to buckle himself to the dog and remove Lucas. :/ With lots of pauses for breathing and little prayers things are moving forward and we are all learning each other well. Hudson needs to know who we are and we have to know how to work with Hudson. A new change and event like this is not easy on Lucas even though we have been trying to prepare for this for months. Nothing really prepares him like the real life practice!
Today is June 10th 2013 and it's past midnight so it's pretty much the 11th. I'm very tired and exhausted from a super busy and tiring weekend. I'm going to bed a very grateful and happy mom. I saw my 6 year old interact appropriately with his Service Dog. I saw him talking a bunch and I saw him petting the dog instead of clapping or flapping. I saw my little Isabel trying to say "sit" to the dog, which is HUGE as she was not really saying or developing more words. I saw all these amazing things today and they all felt like dream even though in reality everything is very intense and hard. I know the end result will be superb and tomorrow will be another day!!
Lots of love,
The Bryans, including Hudson! :)
Lucas & Hudson June 2013
Buy Gold Canyon Candles and Support Lucas' Therapies!
Early 2013 while we were fundraising we came upon Gold Canyon Candles. I have never been a candle person and I had never heard of Gold Canyon before. We have always been worried about having too much chemicals in our home. I have always told Curtis how I wanted to buy air fresheners as I'm always cooking and our home smells good some days and like burnt food other days.
I can happily say that I lightened up my first Gold Canyon Candle and right away could tell what all the fuss was about. I have had my big size candle for a while now and still going strong. The smell is delicious and pure. Lucas is not bothered by it, he actually likes it. There are no chemicals and the quality, duration and style is superb!
I'm a very busy stay at home mom. It's not easy keeping up with the kids therapies, doctors, etc. There are lots of things we would like the kids to be involved in, that are important for their progress. Lucas' speech therapy session cost $60 per hour. We have seen tremendous progress in his communication once he started working with Ms. Irene. However, keeping up with all the therapies and other things he needs is very costly. I have decided on taking on the Gold Canyon Candle business to help support my kids therapies, my goal is to add another hour of speech therapy for Lucas and eventually for our little Isabel too.
Therefore, if you love candles, or if you are new to it, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to be your own Gold Canyon Candle consultant. I'm happy to have candle parties or help with fundraising. I will even carry the most popular scents on hand ready for purchase. My mentor, Iris, has been phenomenal and I want to help you have the same experience. I will be placing candle orders once a month. Email me at gbryan5@gmail.com or call me at 480-216-7077. I will love to be worthy of your referrals! :)
I can happily say that I lightened up my first Gold Canyon Candle and right away could tell what all the fuss was about. I have had my big size candle for a while now and still going strong. The smell is delicious and pure. Lucas is not bothered by it, he actually likes it. There are no chemicals and the quality, duration and style is superb!
I'm a very busy stay at home mom. It's not easy keeping up with the kids therapies, doctors, etc. There are lots of things we would like the kids to be involved in, that are important for their progress. Lucas' speech therapy session cost $60 per hour. We have seen tremendous progress in his communication once he started working with Ms. Irene. However, keeping up with all the therapies and other things he needs is very costly. I have decided on taking on the Gold Canyon Candle business to help support my kids therapies, my goal is to add another hour of speech therapy for Lucas and eventually for our little Isabel too.
Therefore, if you love candles, or if you are new to it, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to be your own Gold Canyon Candle consultant. I'm happy to have candle parties or help with fundraising. I will even carry the most popular scents on hand ready for purchase. My mentor, Iris, has been phenomenal and I want to help you have the same experience. I will be placing candle orders once a month. Email me at gbryan5@gmail.com or call me at 480-216-7077. I will love to be worthy of your referrals! :)
