As most of you know, our daughter Sydney was diagnosed with severe Autism when she was two years old. She also suffers from seizures. Over the years, we have faced many challenges with Sydney’s development and behaviors. She is happy one minute, and angry the next. Unless you’ve dealt with Autism you just can’t fully understand what it’s like.

Some days, it can be a two-hour struggle to get Sydney ready to go somewhere. This can lead to some pretty severe meltdowns. She can become aggressive and grab our arms, causing a lot of bruises. In the car, she has even grabbed at the steering while we are driving which is a huge safety concern.

Her list of behaviors is quite extensive and include many situations that you wouldn’t normally even consider. For instance, Sydney is mesmerized by bathrooms. In public restrooms she will lock the doors so that the next person cannot get in. Communication is very difficult for Sydney and it takes a lot of time to reason with her.

Sydney needs a lot of routine. She attends a special school geared towards Autism and spends a lot of time at the YMCA. Both have helped her tremendously. However, we have longed for more available resources for her. We know that she capable of so much more.

Sydney is now 20 years old and still has mountains to climb. We want to give her every opportunity to grow and overcome her delays that create obstacles for her everyday life. We’ve recently discovered Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and learned of its benefits in treating individuals with Autism. The treatment provides 100% oxygen in a pressurized chamber. The success stories for clients with Autistic tendencies are amazing. In many cases it has helped with focus, sleeping patterns and eating habits. It has also helped the clients’ development in communication skills, emotional skills, social skills fine and gross motor skills, and cognitive abilities. We discovered there is a facility called Sara’s Garden right here in Northwest Ohio that specializes in this treatment.

Despite the success that Sara’s Garden has had in treating clients with Autism, insurance companies do not recognize it as being therapeutic for the treatment of Autism and therefore do not cover the cost for the treatments. This is where we could really use your help. HBOT for Autism is only $100 per treatment at Sara’s Garden (as opposed to $1,500-$2,500 per treatment at a hospital). However, since the plan is for Sydney to have at least 40 HBOT treatments that cost adds up quickly.

As parents, we have been devastated in regards to all the issues we have faced in both family and public situations. It is very difficult for us to go out to eat or see a movie. We receive many condescending looks from people who simply don’t understand Sydney and what she is struggling with.

If you could assist us with the cost (or even just part of the cost) of a single $100 HBOT treatment, it would help reduce our overall expenses greatly. 100% of funds will go into an account in Sydney’s name and will be used for her treatments. Any contribution made in this manner would be considered a tax-deductible donation, as Sara’s Garden is a 501(c)(3) non-profit facility. Checks can be made out to Sara’s Garden with Sydney’s name on a sheet of paper accompanying the check. Please do NOT write her name directly on the check. You can also donate securely online via credit card by clicking on the DONATE NOW button below.

Sydney is truly a gift from Heaven and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. Every day we try to consider what is must be like to put ourselves in Sydney’s shoes for just one minute to understand the challenges she faces. We hope this could be a different approach for Sydney and help provide her with an even better future. Thank you so much to everyone for considering to support our family and provide this opportunity for HBOT. You are making such a huge difference in her life.

Thank you!
Eric and Jessica Schimmoeller