Liam Morgan is nine years old and has been diagnosed with high functioning autism, ADHD and Tourett's. For the past ten months, he and his mother have been fundraising the $25,000 it takes to get a service dog for him.
Monday, Liam got to meet his dog for the first time.
According to Cheri Campbell, Training Director for SDWR, service dogs for people with autism are useful because they help them relax in potentially stressful situations.
"They can have the dog to focus on. It helps bring that overload down. It helps calm them down that much quicker. A breakdown that may last 45 minutes now lasts five," said Campbell.
Now that Liam has met his dog, Norman, they'll spend the next 18 months training Norman to learn tricks specialized to Liam's needs.
