AT the age of six Matthew Houtsma already has the numeracy ability of children almost twice his age.However, that prowess with numbers is part of Matthew's autism that also means he relates poorly with other people and is sometimes highly anxious.His mother, Rachael Houtsma of Colac, said numbers were Matthew's ''best friend'' and he was obsessed with them.But he had no sense of road safety and would run into the middle of traffic to get a better look at numbers that took his interest, she said, while another of his passions was keeping track of the passing of the Melbourne to Warrnambool train.Mrs Houtsma said caring for Matthew was hard and sometimes frustrating work, but also rewarding.His past year at the Colac Specialist School had got him talking and relating more with others, she said. Mrs Houtsma and her husband Chris are hoping to ease Matthew's highly anxious states and improve his road sense by getting him an autism assistance dog.The dogs are trained to bond with their autistic companions and give affection when they are distressed."It will interrupt his highly anxious stages," Mrs Houtsma said of the dog.''It will help him be calmer and will assist with his safety in traffic." The Bendigo-based Righteous Pups Australia has had success with using dogs to reduce the highly anxious, or "meltdown" stages of people with autism.To have an autism assistance dog placed with Matthew, the Houtsmas hope to raise about $29,000 to cover the cost of training a dog over an 18-month period.Mrs Houtsma said the training would include a two-week stay in Bendigo during which it was hoped Matthew would bond with a dog and the family would learn the commands that would help the dog respond to Matthew's situation.People wanting to help the fund-raising efforts can donate to the righteouspups.com.au website and should mark their donation for Matthew Houtsma.