Companion pets for kids with ASD ??

[mbb]

We're in the early stages of welcoming a furry addition to our family for our two boys.....as in, we haven't told the kids yet

One of our OT's suggested a companion dog for us a year or so ago, but at the time, both boys- they just turned 7 - were unable to handle proximity to our neighbour's dog. He's a big loveable galoot (the dog, not the neighbour) and since then, with some people training, our guys have fallen in love with the whole canine species.

Does anyone out there have experience with this? Or know of anyone who does? I'd appreciate any help

 

[tmli]

I have no experience but would love to know more. Would this dog be trained similar to a see and eye dog?

I have heard of them being used with autistic children but wasn't sure if it was effective with the ASD or not.

 

[Figment1964]

We've toyed with the idea of a service dog for our son but he tends to be afraid of dogs and has allergies to them (although standard poodles are supposed to work well if a person is allergic to dogs since they have hair not fur). I found a site that has some info:

http://autism.about.com/cs/serviceanimals/l/blsvcdog.htm

I also believe that www.northstardogs.com has info.

I'm really curious to hear how it goes for you!

 

[videogal1]

A service dog is not a companion dog.
A service dog is not a pet
A service dog is not a therapy dog
A service dog is be trained to do specific things that mitigate a disability.
The ADA does not define service dogs

AND

To use a service dog you must be disabled as defined by the ADA and SCOTUS.
The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has very narrowly defined disabled. Become familiar with the law before expecting access to places of public accommodation with what you call a Service Dog.

 

[mbb]

A service dog is not a companion dog.
A service dog is not a pet
A service dog is not a therapy dog
A service dog is be trained to do specific things that mitigate a disability.
The ADA does not define service dogs

AND

To use a service dog you must be disabled as defined by the ADA and SCOTUS.
The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has very narrowly defined disabled. Become familiar with the law before expecting access to places of public accommodation with what you call a Service Dog.

We totally agree which is why I wanted to make sure that I used the term "companion dog"... I do think that the effectiveness of service dogs, and the jobs they do so well, is what has made others more aware of possibilities for those with other kinds of disabilities

Thanks for the information everyone...and I promise I will post as our journey goes along

 

[welovedis]

One of the boys in my DS's school has an autism service dog. It is not a companion pet, but a classified service dog. He is very helpful to this young boy, according to the school staff. His mom said that the dog especially assists with dangerous situations as her son tends to quickly get away from her, etc... and needs to be monitored every minute...even when he is sleeping.

GL with your companion dog!

 

[Selket]

Not entirely on-topic but I've even read of a group that trains dogs to detect low blood sugar in diabetics. Not like I'd stop checking him but that would be nice if it worked - especially overnight. Here is the website for that: http://www.dogs4diabetics.com/index.html They refer to them as "medical alert" dogs.

Good luck with your search.