Mother’s plea to give Lauren a better life

Now the teenager, who turned 18 this month, struggles with communicating, going outside and performing simple everyday tasks.

Her mother, Heather, from High Town in Bridgnorth, has begun raising money for an autism assistance dog that she says will have a "life changing effect" for Lauren.

"She used to be absolutely fine. She was on track to do everything she ever wanted. She had hopes and dreams and now they've been lost," said Heather.

"Her and I are very close and it has been a very frightening ordeal for both of us.

"We have always been really positive people but it is difficult to find some sort of a sliver lining or positive aspect to this."

Lauren started showing signs of autism when she was 12, and has now also been diagnosed with ADHD, an attention deficit disorder, and currently attends a specialist school in Shropshire.

"It's been absolutely heartbreaking," added Heather.

"It's very frightening as she's still regressing so nobody knows where it's going to end and with that comes so much isolation and fear.

"She has lost all of her academic skills – school is more about teaching her to manage different situations now. She has her own staff and her own garden to walk in. She can't mix or engage with anyone. It's a very lonely situation."

Life-changing

Heather, who had to leave her job to care for Lauren, is now looking to raise the £8,000 needed to train and purchase an accredited autism assistance dog.

"I honestly think this will be life-changing for her. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't," she said.

"Not only would Lauren feel the unconditional love and companionship that a dog brings, but this would be specially trained to deal with her anxiety and suffering.

"She will also learn about caring and looking after something that will be able to go with her everywhere, which will in time encourage her to go into a shop for example, and to re-enter the world.

"Lauren has a lot of professional people in her life, whereas this will be a more holistic and natural type of healing she needs."

The dog, which would undergo about six months of intensive training, would be an accredited autism assistance dog specially trained to aid Lauren with sensory gains, deep pressure release and reducing anxiety and escalating behaviour problems.

A JustGiving page has kickstarted the initial £1,600 needed to start the accredited dog training process and Heather is now looking to put her savings, along with any donations towards the overall £8,000.

Lauren's JustGiving page can be found at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/heather-mcdougall-2?utm_term=ggyYXD3ve