ALLBIDS Blog

#RallyforHarry Auctions Raise Funds for Assistance Dog

Friday, 05 October 2018 | Mike Leano

Meet Harry Isbister, a fun, cheeky and lovable eight-year-old boy. At first glance, you probably wouldn't think that a child his age faces many challenges every day - but he actually needs your help. Harry needs an assistance dog. Why?

His mother Tammy summarises these challenges as such: "Imagine a two-year-old child in an eight-year-old body." At eight years of age, Harry still cannot speak, is still in his nappies, and watches Mickey Mouse on repeat. He struggles to interpret his surroundings, and has to regularly deal with anxiety and night-time terrors, among others.

Harry's struggles

Harry has been diagnosed with Severe Autism (or Level 3 Autism, according to the DSM-5 manual). Symptoms of his condition include the following:

• Severe deficits in verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
• Very limited desire to engage in social interactions.
• Tremendous difficulty in dealing with unexpected change to his environment or routine.
• Difficulty in changing behaviours.
• Great difficulty or distress in re-focusing his attention.

The child was also diagnosed to have Severe Intellectual Disability (ID), Sensory Processing Disorder and Anxiety.

People with Severe ID experience major delays in development and have difficulty understanding speech. They can learn simple everyday routines and perform simple self-care tasks, but they need lifelong support because their condition won't change for the rest of their lives.

Given all the these challenges, Harry is also expected to behave like an eight-year-old boy by going to school, making friends, playing games, and being part of his community.

But because of the Harry's condition, he needs 24-7 supervision. Right now, he is getting the highest available support at his special needs school. Because of his anxiety, it often takes up to four hours just to get him to sleep.

Harry's next best friend

That's where the need for an assistance dog comes in: it will be trained in skills specific to Harry's needs. This will include (but isn't limited to):

• Calming or distracting Harry when he's anxious or frustrated.
• Redirecting him in case he experiences a meltdown.
• Accompanying him to shops, school and doctor's appointments.
• Distracting Harry's attention from his immediate surroundings to keep him from getting overwhelmed by the environment.
• Creating a safe distance between Harry and other people to keep him from getting anxious and overstimulated in social situations.
• Helping Harry in play and social interactions to feel like a member of the community - just like any growing boy.

Getting an assistance dog isn't easy, however. As it is, the Isbister family is already spending a lot to give Harry access to the best therapies available, which should give him the tools to make his life easier and happier. But an assistance dog costs about $30,000.

Fortunately, there's been an outpouring of help. Since August, the Isbisters have been able to raise over $6,000 via the fundraising effort's GoFundMe page. But clearly, $30K is still quite far off.

How you can help Harry

ALLBIDS has also been lending Harry and his family a hand. We're auctioning off a wide assortment of donated items and vouchers including:

• A gorgeous yellow gold and white gold diamond ring.
• An eye-catching topaz and diamond ring.
• A portable Ziegler & Brown BBQ grill.
• A staggering number of vouchers.

Harry's auctions will be up for a few more days so if you want to help out, take a gander at what's on offer - there's plenty of goodies to choose from - then start bidding when you see something you need or like.

Remember: whenever you buy something from any of these auctions, you're directly taking Harry a step closer to his goal of having his own temperament-tested, fully trained assistance dog, which will help him face his many everyday challenges and make his life relatively easier but far happier.