Valor Keane is love, laughter, kindness and joy wrapped up in a 2-year-old boy.

His parents Madison and Kevin Keane of Lexington say he is sweet and always smiling.

But sometimes it’s hard for Valor to share these gifts with the world around him.

Valor has autism spectrum disorder with language impairment.

He is still non-verbal and has a sensory processing disorder.

This means he has gigantic hurdles to overcome to comfortably function in a world that is often not quite built for someone whose brain processes experiences the way his does. The frustrations that come with living with his disabilities cause Valor to experience meltdowns and engage in stimming, a self-stimulating behavior usually repetitive movements or sounds.

He also displays repetitive and sometimes self-injurious behaviors, running away in public and unsafe environments and isolating himself from others.

This brave little boy works hard every day to make progress through therapy.

But there are many environments that are overwhelming and inaccessible for him.

To help open up the world for Valor as much as possible, his parents are raising money for a service dog.

The tasks his autism service dog will be trained to perform will be life-changing and could be lifesaving for Valor.

Here are a few of the tasks Valor’s dog will be specifically trained to do:

• Tethering – providing an anchor for Valor in public so tha he doesn’t wander or run away into an unsafe situation.

• Tracking – should the unthinkable happen and Valor manages to get away from his parents, his service dog will be trained to track Valor using his scent and safely help reunite him with his family.

• Behavior disruption – his dog will be trained to recognize and interrupt stimming, or will alert his parents to Valor’s behaviors so that his family can intervene.

• Calming and preventing meltdowns through deep pressure therapy – when Valor is overwhelmed, he currently has to wear a weighted compression vest to help him calm down. His dog will be trained to provide this deep pressure for Valor when this happens and serve as a welcome distraction from Valor’s frustrations through cuddles and licks.

• Assistance with transitions – Valor relies heavily on predictability and routine. The dog will act as a source of consistency and comfort for Valor when daily transitions in his preferred routines are interrupted.

• Social bridge and communication – through partnering with his dog, Valor will have a best friend who offers unconditional love with no expectations. This relationship will help Valor learn and practice social skills that now cause him distress and anxiety. The dog will be Valor’s “safe space” to work on engaging with others.

Valor’s autism service dog is coming from 4 Paws for Ability. It costs 4 Paws an average of $50,000 to raise and properly train a service dog to perform these lifechanging tasks.

The Keane family is raising $17,000 of the total cost.

If you are not familiar with 4 Paws, you can see 4 Paws in action in Episode 1 of “Dogs” on Netflix.

To help Valor get his lifesaving service dog, credit card gifts can be made by going to: Support Valor’s Service Dog Fundraiser or www.4pawsforability.org/ donate-now.

On the 4 Paws website, please be sure to include Valor Keane in the description box on the 2nd checkout page.

Credit card donations can also be made over the phone at 4 Paws by calling 937-374-0385 Monday - Friday 9 am to 4 pm.

Support Valor’s Service Dog Fundraiser

Raising the funds needed to train and bring home Valor’s greatest help to assist with his the challenges presented.

To donate by check, please make checks to 4 Paws for Ability, write on the check memo line – Valor Keane and mail to:

4 Paws for Ability

In Honor of Valor Keane

207 Dayton Ave.

Xenia, Ohio, 45385