Autistic teenager fundraising for assistance dog

A teenager with autism is raising money to buy an assistance dog to help with everyday needs.

Amelia Burridge, 15, from Benfleet hopes to raise enough money to buy a Labrador to assist her with everyday life. The teenager suffers with Asperger Syndrome and anxiety and often gets overwhelmed in situations.

Miss Burridge’s family dog currently helps with her anxiety and calming her down in stressful situations however the pet is proving to be insufficient in fully assisting Amelia.

Her mum, Claire Burridge, 44, believes her daughter would benefit from a specially trained service dog.

The family have got in touch with the charity Angels With Paws who provide one to one assistance in training service dogs.

The charity will work with Amelia directly to help her train her support dog. The animal will act as a PTSD service dog and will help her during anxiety attacks etc.

In June the teenager was attacked by a large gang of people while at Thorney Bay Beach, Canvey, with friends. She was punched at least seven times and knocked unconscious. The attack was completely unprovoked and left Amelia in hospital.

The teenager’s mother said: “The attack has really knocked her confidence, she’s scared to leave the house.” The 44-year old believes that a service dog will help Amelia to regain some of the confidence she had before the attack.

Amelia is currently unable to attend mainstream school and does all her classes online. She hopes to one day study forensic psychology at Writtle College, Chelmsford. Her mother is worried that if her confidence does not improve this will not be possible.

Sadly the teenager has received some negative comments on Facebook from individuals who believe she does not need a service dog. Amelia and her family have tried their best to ignore these comments and are hopeful that Amelia will achieve her £600 goal on her gofundme page to pay for the service dog.

The mother and daughter are both part of a Facebook group that help support families with children who suffer from autism and ADHD. Amelia said: “I hope an assistance dog will provide me with the freedom and courage I once had.”

To donate visit www.gofundme.com/assistancedogfreedom