The only Irish charity to breed and train assistance dogs solely for children with autism is celebrating the birth of its first litter of puppies.

Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland (AADI) is based in Mallow in Cork and it recently welcomed eight golden retriever/labrador cross puppies as part of a breeding programme initiated two years ago.

This programme was started in an attempt to tackle the five-year waiting list for children with autism who need a highly-trained assistance dog. It currently costs €15,000 to provide a fully-trained dog free of charge to a child with autism.

AADI receives no funding from the Government and relies solely on donations. It suspended its waiting list over two years ago and since then, it has received over 800 enquiries.

As part of this new breeding programme, it is hoping to train and place 20 dogs a year. To date, it has trained and supplied 27 assistance dogs, and 19 companion dogs, to children with autism.

The new puppies are currently with volunteer puppy foster carers throughout Munster, where they will stay for 12 months. The dogs will then enter training, before being assigned to families.

An assistance dog's main role is to keep children safe, however they also offer other benefits, such as companionship and reducing anxiety.

According to the charity's CEO and founder, Nuala Geraghty, these dogs are ‘life-changers' for children and their families.

"This puppy breeding programme is a huge step in helping us to provide these dogs to children with autism. For the first time, we have the ability to breed our own pups which will dramatically increase the rate at which we can provide assistance dogs to children with autism who have been on the waiting list for some time. Receiving one of these dogs would be a dream come true for many families," she said.

She emphasised that as the charity relies heavily on volunteers, it urgently requires funds to support the puppies in their journey to become highly-trained assistance dogs.

"Our organisation depends entirely on the generosity of the public to raise the €15,000 needed to train each pup. We are asking people to donate money or to get in touch with us if they have an idea for a fundraising initiative," Ms Geraghty added.

To donate €4 to AADI, text ‘autism' to 50300. AADI will receive a minimum of €3.25 for every €4 donated. For more information on the charity, click here