For 5-year-old Josh Hart, events like his brother's marching band performances or shopping trips to Wal-Mart create a disturbing clamor of unfamiliar sights, sounds and movements.
That means those simple outings also are difficult for Susie Hart, mother and care giver for Josh, who has the neurological disorder autism.
"We are really trapped in our own house -- here he's happy and content," said Hart, who lives with her husband and three children in New York Mills, Minn.
Hart is hoping a motorcycle ride and a specially trained dog will help change her and Josh's lives. The Rothsay Renegades, a service and motorcycle club, is holding its fifth annual Ride, Rally and Roast Saturday to raise money for a autism service dog for Josh.
The event costs $10 per person, or $15 per couple, said Renegades member Deb Erickson. Participants don't need a motorcycle -- Erickson and her husband have ridden in a Ford Mustang, she said.
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With the motorcycle run, which starts at noon in Barnesville, and the dinner and dance at 6 p.m. in Elizabeth, Erickson hopes to scrape together $10,000 for the cost of a service dog to guide and guard Josh.
"I hope it does my dishes, but I bet it's not going to do that," Hart said.
Instead, the dog, likely a Labrador or a golden retriever, would be harnessed to Josh and trained to follow commands from Hart.
Dogs can be trained to stop children from running into traffic or leaving the house, said the Web site for National Service Dogs, a Canadian organization Hart is considering as a source for a dog.
Sometimes, the dogs also produce a calming influence on patients, the site said.
"It will help with over-stimulation -- the dog will be a constant in Josh's life," Hart said.
Autism is a brain disorder that affects development and social skills, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site. No one knows the cause -- or a cure -- for autism.
Symptoms include an intense attachment to routine, poor communication skills, and hypersensitivity to some sounds, sights and textures.
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For example, Josh can't go to sleep without his bedtime routine, Hart said. He's afraid of inappropriate things -- like grass -- but not of dangerous ones -- like trains.
He loves to sit and watch things spin or play with toilet paper for hours, but he won't play with other children and seldom looks up when someone enters a room, Hart said.
Hart hopes her youngest son's symptoms will improve.
She's wanted a dog for a long time, but balked at the cost.
However, Hart was so serious that she was hitting up family and friends for pledges when the Renegades called and offered to take on her cause -- and Hart accepted ecstatically.
"I felt like, 'You've got to be kidding me -- I don't have to do this all by myself?'" she said.
For more information about the Renegades Ride, Rally and Roast, call Greg or Deb Erickson at (218) 867-2342.
Donations can be sent to the East Ottertail Credit Union Dog Fund, P.O. Box F, New York Mills, MN, 56567.
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Readers can reach Forum reporter Joy Anderson at (701) 241-5556
