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11th July 2017
12:44pm BST

The dogs will eventually be assigned to families free-of charge to help autistic children.
The programme was initiated two years ago to tackle the five-year waiting list for children with autism who need a highly-trained assistance dog.
CEO and founder Nuala Geraghty said: "These dogs are life-changers for the children and their families. As our charity relies heavily on volunteers, we urgently require funds to support the puppies in their journey to become highly-trained assistance dogs."
The charity says it costs €15,000 to provide a fully trained dog to a child with autism. AADI relies solely on donations, receiving no funding from the government to breed, train or place these assistance dogs.
With its new breeding programme, AADI now hopes to train and place 20 dogs a year with families who have children with autism.
To date, the charity has trained and supplied 27 assistance dogs, along with 19 companion dogs to children with autism.
And while an autism assistance dog’s primary role is to keep the child safe, they also offer additional benefits such as providing companionship and reducing stress and anxiety.
Nuala added: "This puppy breeding programme is a huge step in helping us to provide these dogs to children with autism. For the first time, we have the ability to breed our own pups which will dramatically increase the rate at which we can provide assistance dogs to children with autism who have been on the waiting list for some time.
"Receiving one of these dogs would be a dream come true for many families."
AADI will receive a minimum of €3.25 for every €4 donated by texting ‘autism’ to 50300.
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