Everyone meet Zayden. Zayden is 2 years old and the sunshine on everyone’s rainy day. Zayden enjoys watching Cocomelon, playing with his sister, and playing with his toys.
Around 18 months old, I noticed that Zayden was not meeting the average milestones that a child should be. He wasn’t talking at all, he had a lot of stimming behavior such as flapping his arms and shaking his head. Once Zayden reached 2 years old, he was screened for autism by his pediatrician and referred to the Neurodevelopmental Center.
Around 28 months old, Zayden was diagnosed with level three autism. In October of 2022, Zayden started having seizures and was officially diagnosed with epilepsy in November. Zayden’s genetic testing showed that he has a deletion of his SCN2A gene. A service dog with assist Zayden with his seizures as well as tracking since Zayden is a flight risk. Zayden’s dog will be trained in tethering and tracking Zayden’s scent.
You can help Zayden by making donations directly to 4 Paws for Ability and putting Zayden’s name in the memo line. Checks can also be made out to 4 Paws for Ability with Zayden’s name in the memo line of the check and mailed to 4 Paws for Ability In Honor of Zayden Hill 253 Dayton Ave.Xenia, Ohio, 45385
Contribute to Zayden’s dog below
Training a service dog to meet our child’s requirements can be very costly. On average it costs between $40,000-60,000 to raise, train, and place a service dog at 4 Paws for Ability. While 4 Paws for Ability fundraises to help cover a significant portion of this cost, families are tasked with raising $20,000 of that amount or $23,000 if receiving a poodle, doodle or papillon. We hope that we can receive assistance from our beloved family and friends to help make our service dog dream a reality.