Thousands of pounds have been raised for a 10-year-old boy in Greenwich in desperate need of a specially trained autism assistance dog.

Asaph, or Ace, is diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder with co-morbid ADHD and Epilepsy, which makes daily life a struggle for the family living in Blackheath.

The 10-year-old, who will shortly start secondary school, often runs off into the street chasing birds, and suffers from insomnia, severe mental breakdowns and at times physical violence.

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So to help with the youngster's development, Ace's family are now trying to pay for a service dog specially trained to assist with his autism symptoms.

Autism assistance dogs can be trained to help in many ways, such as 'anchoring' a wandering child, disrupting and offering comfort during breakdowns and ensuring the child stays in bed at night.

They are known to reduce stress for family members, promote positive changes in behaviour, provide comfort for children with autism when upset and reduce behavioural outbursts.

The family are hoping to raise £10,000, including £8,000 for the assistance dog and its training, and another £2,000 for travel, pet insurance and equipment.

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Ace's dad, Tavis Bohlinger, created a GoFundMe page just into the new year, and so far has raised nearly £2,700 for the cause.

Speaking to News Shopper, he said: "We're in a hard place. As Ace grows older his symptoms are becoming more obvious and having done our research, we know that dogs can be really useful for those with autism, especially with kids and helping them socially develop."

"Recently we've reached a new level of desperation.

"Ace is definitely looking forward to his dog, he wants a boy dog so there's three boys and three girls in the family, and for us a service dog could be so useful."

Giving an example, Mr Bohlinger said that his every time they go to Sainsbury's, Ace runs away, which stokes up that parental fear for a child.

The new dog could be trained to anchor Ace by tethering to him and sitting down when he wanders away, and if needs be can attempt a search and rescue.

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They can also be trained to detect seizures and alert the parent/carer, which would be useful given that Ace suffers epilepsy.

The fund is currently a quarter of the way to its target after just under a week, and Tavis said they were "overwhelmed" by the response of strangers who they'd never met before.

He said the family had been especially blown away by the global response, with people from the US, the Scandinavian countries and Brazil donating to the cause.

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Alexandra, Ace's mum, said there was "not one picture that represents autism."

But speaking about the image above, of Asaph during the EEG test for epilepsy, she said: "This picture to me represents the suffering that is a large part of being the parent of an autistic child, with an absence of support for over 10 years of his life.

"And in a very real way, this picture represent his own suffering.”

If you'd like to donate, follow this link.