Pets to help ASD...

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You all have helped so much with my previous post "To tell the host or not tell the host" that I thought I would ask the following. Our son is 9 diagnosed last January with Aspergers (but UCLA said it is Moderate Autism because you can't use the term Aspergers, I know, I know...no comment) He has hinted for the last few months about getting a small furry pet (hamster). I told him that sometimes small animals bite (I wasn't going to lie...) and he should prepare for it if he does get a small furry pet. Give me your thoughts about whether you think small pets are a good idea for kids with ASD, or would it be the same as NT's. I am hoping it would take away from his hyper-focusing on non-violent video games. Due to allergies we cannot have rabbits or cats. Thanks for your help as I am new to this and learning...

We have had a dog since before our son was born...my son is 9, my dog is 15. At 3 we found out he was allergic to dogs and cats. We kept the dog anyway. I have read where having a dog/cat in the house actually reduces allergies for some kids...go figure. We lived in the US and he always had asthma...the carpet, closed home, dry air, etc...we now live next to the beach and he never gets asthma or allergies. We still have our dog.

I believe it helps them a lot. You might want to do some searches on this subject...my experience, definitely get him a pet. Make sure that YOU are willing to feed/take care of the pet if your child isn't. While a pet might benefit a child, no child should be fully responsible for an animal...after all, they are children.

I've had just about every type of domestic animal as a pet at one time or another growing up. I think they helped me a lot growing up, I could always go snuggle with a dog or my favorite goat if people were being jerks. Taking care of the animals helped me have a consistent routine (and more importantly to me: a reason understandable to outsiders to not break my routine). The main difference I see between myself and my NT younger brothers in how we relate to animals is that they seem to lose interest very quickly in the new pet, where I would keep my interest and take care of them no matter what, and I think I have a better natural understanding of animals than most people.

A couple tips if you haven't had pets before: birds are loud and messy, most small rodents are rarely friendly and smell disproportionately to their size. Fish are nice to look at, and you can train them (really, they sell goldfish training kits in catalogs), but are not so good if you want something to physically interact with. Ferrets smell disgusting. I don't have much experience with guinea pigs, but they seem ok to me, I don't know if they would aggrivate allergies, I wouldn't think so, but anyway. Chinchillas are cool, they don't smell, they're fluffy and friendly, fun to watch, again not sure about the allergy thing. Not really a "small animal" but dogs are great, and there are hypoallergenic breeds for people with allergies. So in my humble opinion, pets to look into: freshwater fish, guinea pigs, chinchillas, and dogs.

If you decide to get a dog PM me, I can help you figure out what breed/size of dog would be best for your family, and help you with training, what kind of food to get, and everything. Dogs are my passion.

I think getting a dog would be the best route if you want a pet for an autistic child. I'm terrified of most dogs but can learn to get along with one most of the time. There are dogs that work as therapy dogs, and these are the type of dogs that would work best.

Small animals may look cute but there is less interaction, often more smell and biting...

It seems most autistic kids love animals, or are scared of them.

I've had gerbils since 1st grade. Been my special interest more than a few times. I'm probably very biased, but gerbils are a lot like hamsters, cleaner, and more socially interactive (so less likely to bite.) If you win their trust, they'll even crawl into your hand. However, hamsters can be more solitary. The wee ones are cute and fun to watch. ^_^ Small animals don't require nearly as much care or expense. Rats are bigger, smarter, and can be trained to do tricks. I think they're a bit more socially astute, but gerbils are surprisingly smart. They'll work together to escape, to fool you (in order to escape,) and to protect their territory. I've never had a hamster, but the one my brother had was brilliant. I guess it depends on the individual animal.
Actually, gerbils don't smell, if you keep their potty clean. That's right, they potty train themselves! (Unfortunately, male rats do carry an odor, like a musky scent.) Hamster cages need to be cleaned more often, so I have read.

Rats actually make really good pets for a lot of people. The girls don't smell (if you keep their house clean, of course - cleaning out one a week is usually enough) and they are very friendly. Also they are much less likely to bite than hamsters are - most rats will push you away with their paws rather than bite (unless startled). They are "sturdier" than hamsters, too. I'm kinda clumsy and often worried about dropping or accidently hurting small furries, but rats don't seem to provoke the same anxiety... Mine are lovely - they zoom up to you and lick your hands to say "hi", and we have loads of fun. You might be able to teach them tricks too.
One of the few downsides I should really mention is that rats have very sharp claws. If you can find a way of trimming them, that's good, otherwise just be prepared to be spiked!

Rats are nice pets but they don't live very long. Mine only lived for three years and I hear that is unusual. My bearded dragon has helped my social skills and social anxiety. I'm trying to have her registered as an offical service animal but that might not be fair to her so it looks like I will have to look into a dog. Anyway when I take Pippin places I feel like people are too distracted to notice there is something off about me. People naturaly are going to ask qiestions about a lizard. She has helped my social skills tremendiously. I didn't plan to use her as a service animal, that was sort of an accident. I just noticed how calm she made me and I felt left out when people at pet stores brought their pets. Bearded dragons can live for ten. Bearded dragons are naturaly, friendly, curious lizards and only bite if they have been abused. I've socoliazed Pippin religiously as well. Bearded dragons tend to be more like little scaley dogs. Pippin sometimes even gets upset when she has to go back in her cage.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrj7DiGVz3o[/youtube]

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Taking care of Pippin is very routine oriented. She has to have her lights turned on at a certian time, be fed at a certian time, played with at a certian time, her cage has to be cleaned at a certian time, and her lights have to be turned out at a certian time.

Just on the subject of rats, as we had them as kids plus my daughter has had them, (white rats we're talking about here. ) They do make good pets but as with all small mammals with a child the parent has to monitor the care to see thats it's ok, I pretty soon found I was the one who was doing the looking after.
The males are more into being handled than the females, females will scuttle around , trying to leap off you whereas the males are happy to sit on your shoulder / be brought around under your shirt to the library, (a thing I loved to do as a child,) or peep out endearingly from beneath your hair, charming all who meet them, apart from the few who flee with blood curdling screams.
It's also not kind to only have one rat, the human company you give them is not enough, they need their own kind.
Also they are nocturnal creatures, While you're sleeping the rat is awake looking for action, and if it has a partner life is far more interesting, plus they groom each other . Two males or two females is fine.
They are really intelligent, and need a spacious cage with interesting things in it, things to climb on, food hidden in tubes to make it harder to get etc. They also need to be out of the cage and for at least an hour a day, preferably more. Anyway I could write realms on the care of rats, but I wont.

But APART from that, get a pet that you the parents are happy and comforable with, because at the end of the day, you have to live with it, (and if its a dog , and you're the one that feeds it, you will be the number one person in the dogs life)

DS is lobbying for a hedgehog like one of his buddies has. We own dogs - they both pre-date DS, and so are not "his" dogs although he is responsible for feeding them. I'd agree that fish are a good way to start - particularly goldfish, DS is actually very caring about his fish (and was very upset when a couple of them died of transplant shock; prepare your child that this sometimes happens.) Goldfish also gave us an idea of whether he was able to handle the routine stuff that Punkykat is talking about; that's important (you DON'T want another thing to have to nag your kid about.)

However, DS has serious sensory issues. He really, really wants to play with the hedgehog, but absolutely can't stand the tickly feeling of its nose or feet. He's really motivated, so we are continuing to discuss it, and I've explained that he needs to demonstrate that he can properly socialize his pet - which will mean touching and handling it. We've also talked about other kinds of animals (he's anti-lizard, but might be pro-snake and possibly pro-bird) which might be less disturbing to his senses. We are going to take a long time to think about it and maybe make a decision this summer.

The long and short of it is, see if you can find a way for him to be exposed to the kinds of pets you are considering - can you find a neighbor, a school program, or even a local nature center or pet store that can help you offer your child multiple exposures to the animal before you take the plunge?

i think pets are great for kids, asd or nt. the only thing i would caution is to take into account your childs particular abilities and match up an appropriate pet.

my son will be 5 next month but we cannot have small animals in the house. he has issues with physical spacing of his body and physical expression. basically, he would squish a small animal. it wouldnt be intentional, but it would happen, and it wouldnt be the first time =/

we plan to get a dog when we get into a bigger place in a few years. medium to large size, something a little more sturdy than a cat or small animal

Rats are really great (as a few people have already said). We have had several pet rats over the years. My oldest son had a pet rat named Roger. He carried him all over with him on his shoulder. He lived to be nearly 6 years old which is really long for a rat. Its true that they do not live long and we decided not to get my 8 year old Aspie any more rats as he has lost two and the last one was very difficult for him. We have cats and two dogs but he is definitely more of a cat person.
I had hamsters growing up and they do bite and they also tend not to live over a year or two at the most. They get sick easily. Guinea Pigs are also a good choice. They are more sturdy and they live a bit longer. If you handle them a lot when they are babies and dont startle them when you pick them up they will rarely bite. If he wants a pet who will play with him though I would go with a rat. The males do stink a bit but you can wash them. I prefer males because they live longer and they are more affectionate. Also it is better to buy from a rat breeder than a pet store. The ones from the pet store are smaller and they have shorter life spans and have a tendency to get tumors at only a year old. The last thing you want your son to see is huge tumors that can rupture all over their beloved pet.

Our Labrador retriever dog has done wonders for our 8 year old son. The week after we got the dog he started playing more with other children and his concentration on school improved. It is always difficult to know for sure how much something is influenced by getting the dog but we found it a nice surprise.

If you look for pets, just make sure it is robust

I think a pet would be great. The family cat was my best friend in middle school and in college getting a beta fish for my dorm helped my depression alot. I like the idea of exposing your son to as many kinds of pets as possible to see if there are any sensory issues and it would also allow him to pick the animal he likes best. I used to work at a pet store and (like many people have said) I've found that hamsters do tend to bite much more than rats or gerbils. Dogs are fun, but sometimes I find their high activity levels a little disconcerting. If your son is open to something reptilian I agree with PunkyKat that Bearded Dragons are awesome. They are extraordinarily calm and are often happy to sit still for long periods of time just watching the world go by, even as babies. For snakes I'd recommend a Ball Python. They are also very calm without being inconveniently large. I think hedgehogs are very, very cute, but you need to be careful to get one that is socialized. Whenever we got in new hedgehogs at the pet store whenever you tried to handle them they would curl into a ball, puff up, and jump so that their spines would be jabbed into your hands requiring the wearing of protective leather gloves. It took them a very long time to get used to people and stop doing this, but perhaps with lots of attention the socialization process will go faster. Good Luck!

We got each of our kids w/ asd a dog. My daughter loves her dog more than anything and my son likes his dog at times, but still greatly prefers computer games to her. To be fair though, my daughter's main area of interest is dogs and my son's interest is video games. So there you have it. My dog was my best friend growing up. If he really wants a pet, go ahead with it, but don't expect him to magically like the pet better than the games.

What about a blue-tounged skink? They are lizards but aren't bumpy or stratchy feeling to the touch. I've never touched one myself but I hear they are smooth. I guess they might feel like a snake. Blue-tounged skinks are nocturnal though.

Why is your son so against a lizard? Is it because of the texture of their skin. Most reptiles are rough and stratchy to the touch. Snakes and many lizards flick their tounges to taste the air. Is this why he is against a lizard? I had a baby savannah moniter do so to my face and hands and it tickled. This might bother your son if the sensation of tiny paws and whiskers does. Pippin, a bearded dragon dosen't flick her tounge in and out. She just licks things in the enviroment that catch her intrest. Pippin is stratchy and bumpy to the touch though and all the other adult bearded dragons I have handled are too.

What about a turtle or a tortise. A species like an African spurred is something that you are going to have to leave in your will if you give it proper care but they are worth it. Turtles have a bad rap because of people who don't clean their cages and wash their hands after handling them.

Turtles and tortoises are things we are talking about and he's interested in - a skink is an interesting idea. I think it's the little tiny feet that have him freaked out sensory-wise, it doesn't seem to matter whether the creature is a bug or a mouse or a lizard (this is why I'm thinking snake.)