Family Spotlight: How an Autism Assistance Dog Helped Transform Leo’s Life

At 12 years old, Leo is bright, curious and kind. But during the difficult transition from primary school to secondary school, Leo experienced a severe mental health crisis while trying to cope with the demands of mainstream education alongside his autism diagnosis.

Once a child who loved sports, cooking and building Lego, Leo gradually lost interest in the activities he once enjoyed. He struggled to leave the house and often found it difficult to eat, drink or sleep. At his lowest point, Leo felt suicidal and unable to see hope for his future — until his family discovered Autism Dogs Charity UK, and the possibility of an Autism Assistance Dog.

Last year, we spoke to Leo’s mum, Beth, about her family’s fundraising journey for an Autism Assistance Dog and how support from Tree of Hope helped make it possible.

How an Autism Assistance Dog Can Help a Child with PDA Autism

Leo has a genetic condition called hypothyroidism alongside a PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) profile of autism. Over time, his difficulties became more apparent, but by the time his needs were fully understood, he had reached crisis point.

PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) is a profile of autism often associated with high levels of anxiety and an overwhelming need to avoid everyday demands. For Leo, this anxiety became so severe that he was unable to sleep, play, eat or sometimes even speak. Despite this, he desperately wanted help and longed to return to the life he once loved.

Through their own research into support for autistic children and PDA autism, Leo’s family discovered that animal-assisted therapy and Autism Assistance Dogs can have a particularly positive impact on children with PDA and anxiety-related autism challenges.

Leo had always responded well to animals, so his family applied to an Autism Assistance Dog programme through Autism Dogs Charity, a certified Assistance Dog training organisation with exceptionally high standards of safety, care and behaviour training. Leo was accepted onto the programme, giving him renewed hope for the future and helping him move closer to achieving goals like travelling the world independently one day.

Fundraising for an Autism Assistance Dog with Tree of Hope

While Autism Dogs Charity funds around a third of the cost of training the dogs, families are still required to raise more than £14,000 themselves to cover the remaining costs. For many families of autistic children, this can feel overwhelming. Unsurprisingly, Beth explained that “that was a lot of money for us - so we reached out to Tree of Hope to help us with our fundraising.”

Leo is a private young man, and at first the family found it difficult to publicly share the reality of their struggles through a fundraising campaign. However, Beth eventually decided to post honestly about their journey on social media. She said: “I put it off for so long, but in the end, just on a whim, it was Leo's birthday when he was turning 12 and I just started writing a Facebook post. I shared a picture of him in the garden at sunrise and just was really honest and I just said: this kid is 12 and he is amazing and he has fought so hard and been through so much, but there's some hope: we're hyping to raise money for an assistance dog that we really think this is going to make the difference for Leo but we just can't afford to do this by ourselves.”

Community Support for Families of Autistic Children

The response from friends, family and the wider community was overwhelming. Donations came from people the family had not spoken to in years, alongside messages of encouragement from others who understood the realities of raising an autistic child.

For Beth and her family, sharing their story created an unexpected support network. The fundraising campaign also had a hugely positive impact on Leo himself. Beth explained that: “every day he could go on the page, and he could see how many more people had [donated]”.  She encouraged other families considering fundraising support to “give your community a chance because they might just really surprise you.”

How Tree of Hope Supports Families Raising Funds for Autism Assistance Dogs

Tree of Hope worked closely with Beth and her family throughout their fundraising campaign, helping them raise the money needed for Leo’s Autism Assistance Dog.

Beth said “they've been amazing. It's been really helpful [to have support] because they put the page together on their website, offered us some credibility with the people that we were going out to try to fundraise with, and the other huge bonus is that we're able to then claim gift aid as well, which made a big difference to the amount that we were able to fundraise. It gave us a lot more confidence to go out to fundraise and I think made all the difference in actually helping us achieve our goal.”

For many UK families raising money for specialist disability support, Tree of Hope helps by providing fundraising guidance, campaign support and access to Gift Aid, helping families maximise donations towards life-changing care and equipment.

Meeting Bucky: Leo’s Autism Assistance Dog

By the time we met with Beth, the family had successfully reached their fundraising target and Leo had been matched with his Autism Assistance Dog — a dog he named Bucky.

As a huge Marvel fan, Leo chose the name because “Bucky is a really great helper to Captain America. He's got his own powers in his own right, but he's also someone who really helps them.”

How Bucky Is Transforming Leo’s Life

Life changed quickly for Leo and his family after moving house and welcoming Bucky into their new home, full-time. Together, Leo and Bucky are already building a strong bond, with positive changes becoming clear for the whole family.

In Beth’s words, Bucky is simply “transforming Leo’s life.”

Support for Families Seeking an Autism Assistance Dog

For families across the UK raising an autistic child, Leo’s story is a reminder that support is available. Autism Assistance Dogs can provide life-changing emotional support, confidence and independence for autistic children, particularly those experiencing severe anxiety or PDA autism.

With support from organisations like Tree of Hope, families can access fundraising help to make Autism Assistance Dogs more achievable financially, while also building a supportive community around their child’s journey. Begin your own fundraising journey for an Assistance Dog here

Help us continue providing support to families just like Leo here