After he lost his life-saving dog, Berkeley rallies to get teen with autism a new one

In the summer of 2020, Jennifer and Glenn Lawrence were desperate to do something positive for their son Ryan. A teenager with profound autism, Ryan had been struggling amid the COVID lockdown, the closure of school and the disruption to his all-important routine.

So they took a mini-vacation in the Poconos. All went well until the final night, when Ryan suffered a prolonged seizure. Ian, his autism service dog, sprang to the rescue.

“Ian turned him over on his side and wiped his mouth clean of vomit,” Jennifer said.

It was extraordinary, but not isolated.

“Ian actually saved Ryan’s life a couple of times,” Jennifer said.

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Kristy Mackown has seen it, too. She was attending a PTA meeting at the Lawrence home, in the Bayville section of Berkeley, when Ian barged into the meeting to alert Jennifer that Ryan was seizing. This one was less severe and nearly imperceptible to the casual observer.

“It was the most unbelievable thing,” Mackown said. “Ryan is nonverbal and can’t communicate how he’s feeling. It’s incredible, that Ian could have that kind of intuition.”

This special relationship ended last month when Ian died suddenly, at age 9.

“It was a devastating loss for the entire family,” Mackown said. “This one knocked them down.”

The community helped them back up, raising money for a new service dog, which is on the way this week. April is Autism Awareness Month, and this compelling story shines a light on what a canine can do for a youth on the spectrum.

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‘Ian was his best friend’

Ryan, who is 16 now, is the fourth of six siblings in the Lawrence family. Ian came into his life seven years ago. A yellow Labrador retriever, Ian originally was intended to be a seeing-eye dog but that wasn’t a great fit, so he was redirected as an autism service dog. He was matched to Ryan by Heeling Autism, a nonprofit that has since been dissolved.

“What a dog can do for a child with autism is offer friendship,” Jennifer Lawrence said. “Ian was his best friend.”

Ryan has complex medical challenges in addition to autism and epilepsy, and his health care involves regular testing.

“Before Ian, Ryan would scream and yell and Glenn and I would have to hold him down so he could be sedated to get him through testing for his health problems,” Jennifer Lawrence said. “It was torture. When Ian came, he would just lay with him and Ryan would allow the testing.”

Through it all, Jennifer became a pillar in Bayville. She served on the PTA for two decades, volunteered with the soccer leagues, and did everything she could to give Ryan a normal youth.

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“She understands his limitations but also understands he’s got to be as much of a kid as he can,” said Mackown, a longtime friend. “She takes him out and does things with him, and Ian calms him down so he can focus better. Ian was a godsend.”

Ian was trained to assist someone having a seizure, but his responsiveness went above and beyond that training. The bond he formed with Ryan was that deep.

Then one morning in mid-March, when it came time to accompany Ryan to his bus stop, Ian didn’t get up.

“Ian was not moving and laying there,” Jennifer Lawrence said. “Ryan put his head on him.”

Cancer had crept up on Ian. A veterinarian confirmed the worst: It was too widespread to treat.

In school that day, a teacher would tell Jennifer, Ryan cried hysterically.

“It was shocking, and Ryan felt it,” Jennifer said.

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Boo is on the way

Sensing the Lawrences needed a lift, Mackown launched a GoFundMe campaign for a new service dog. They can cost upward of $10,000, plus fees for the training. Mackown set the goal at $20,000. At $18,000, they had enough for Boo, a 14-month-old yellow lab. Any surplus will go toward Ryan’s medical bills, which Mackown describes as “astronomical.” You can find the campaign by searching "Jennifer Lawrence" at Gofundme.com.

For years, Mackown wanted to do something like this for the family.

“Jen does so much for the community and never asks for anything in return,” Mackown said. “We are overwhelmed by the response. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to thank everybody. They have no idea how much of a lifechanging situation this is.”

Jennifer expressed gratitude for Mackown’s friendship and added, “I never would have done it myself.”

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So Boo is on the way. Ryan picked him out.

“We hope they can have the same bond,” Jennifer said. “When Ryan was 3, I never thought we’d be able to take him to a restaurant. Now he lives in the world, and Ian was a huge part of that. Our hope is Boo, even though he’ll be different, can get Ryan even further than where Ian left him.”

Even if their relationship is a bit different, Ryan will once again have a loyal friend at his side.

“One of the things we always say is, Ryan can’t speak, but love needs no words,” Jennifer Lawrence said. “I don’t have the words to thank people, and there are no words to describe the love this community has given to us and Ryan. Ryan’s love is unconditional and so was Ian’s, and what the community has given us has been amazing.”

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Berkeley NJ teen with autism, epilepsy loses service dog, gets new one