advice please

Post Reply New Topic

my son (4) is going through process of possible aspergers diagnosis. we have been told unoffically that this is going to be diagnoses but need to have all tests and assessments done first.

he goes into his own world a lot and while on holiday really came out of himself while we were visiting dolphins. His montisorri teacher (who has been fantastic at getting information for me) read recently that certain dogs like labs can have a calming and beneficial effect on children with aspergers. we dont have a dog at the moment and my hubby would not be a great dog lover.

My question , to everyone who has the experences i dont , is this true about the dogs. Can they help bring the child out of their shell and calm them down (at the moment when he gets frustrated he lashes out) and he is a wonderer. even though we have gates and doors locked and alarmed he still gets out and goes for walks along road and beach. so can the dog help?

Sorry if this is a bit all over the place and thanks a million in advance for all replys.

My 3 y o LOVES dogs and will go out of his way to try and talk to or play with a dog. We do not have a dog and I am not sure if his love of dogs is just his personality. When he is around a dog, he gets really happy (not in a manic way though) but he is def not "calmed" by a dog, instead, dog = playtime.

I have heard though that dogs can be calming for a lot of people in general.

Well I am not much of a dog lover myself but we currently have a cat in the house. My son loves the cat and says "nice kitty" and "I love you" to the cat. He doesn't really understand how to play with/pet the cat, though, and has gotten scratched a couple of times.

I wouldn't go rush out and get a dog on the off chance it might calm your son. It might even depend on the specific dog, as some dogs are trained for that sort of thing (like the ones they use to visit patients in nursing homes.)

we have dogs, and whiley son loves them, he can be hyper or rough around them. Certainly not calming for my kid in any way. We also have cats, same for the cats.

I would maybe take him to a local shelter and volunteer there with him, or visit family or freinds who have dogs.

Just a suggestion - consider the pros and cons of getting a dog that will stick by him and protect him during his wanderings. These are likely to continue and take him further from home in the future. Most human predators are afraid of dogs, and most dogs dislike their masters being threatened.

If you decide to go this route, choosing the dog to match the boy will be 100 percent of the task. My suggestion is that you take the child to the local animal shelter and let him interact with the dogs there. Many of them are already grown and have been reasonably trained, unlike a puppy. When my mother took my brother to the shelter to choose a dog, the dogs were unresponsive to him so she left and went back a week later. About the fourth trip, one dog came up to the fence that formed his cage and tried to stick his nose through it to get my brother to pet him. My brother "took" to the dog, and they brought the dog home. The two were inseparable after that. The dog followed him everywhere he went unless we closed the dog in the house so he could go to school.

If he plays with the dog, it will tire him out and keep him busy so that he'll sleep better and you can get a few minutes to yourself now and then. With something to hold his interest in the yard, it may diminish his need to wander to get the variety stimulation he needs. Also, dogs are very forgiving it they get a few whacks now and then, and training the boy to interact with the dog will be a good precursor for interacting with his peers later in life.

Another suggestion - check that the boy is not allergic to dogs. Allergies run high in these conditions. If so, there are breeds of dogs that don't shed hair. Find out which ones they are and specify that the dog you bring home must be predominantly or pure-bred from one of these breeds. The Obamas had that problem and chose Bo because of his non-allergic breed (they didn't anticipate Bo raising his leg on V.P. Lieberman's leg, though!).

Hope this helps.

My cousin has a lab, my son gets completely hyper around that dog, overstimulated and all. I think he feeds off the energy of the dog, adn that dog is INSANELY hyper! My son loves to play with the dog, but gets way too wound up and has no idea how to calm down. Same for the dog....lol

My sister sent me this link a few days ago:
Autistic service dag
I believe that trained service dogs can be quite expensive but for some people they can be a real asset. A hyper dog would obviously not be a good fit but I remember my best friend growing up had a female German Shepard that followed us around everywhere. Believe me, no one would ever have bothered us with that dog around!

We love our pooches! That said, it important to think carefully about the reality of dog companionship.

We got Deja when DS#1 was 5 and DS #2 was 1, DS #2 is my aspie (or aspie like) son. Deja and he were babies together and have a wonderful bond. Deja is the calmest, gentlest girl. However, she's not a fan of strange men who show up at the door and will scare them off. She's about 90#s and no one would mess with her if she was growling.

Issues:

Puppies REQUIRE lots of attention to become great dogs
Potty training a puppy takes time and attention
In our opinion, and having a quirky family, we have done best with puppies. We have tried several adult dog adoptions and they always had their own issues, which were greater than we could manage.
Your child must be trained how to handle the dog properly. (When DS was little, this was an issue)
The unconditional love provided by a dog is irreplacable for our kids who face so much rejection for just being on any given day. A puppy or dog will give as much unconditional love as your child can absorb!

I have always felt that making that unconditional love available to the boys is part of my responsibility. When I was a kid having a difficult time, having a dog around was the best. that said, if you can't give the time and attention that is required, your dog experience will likely fail, and the dog gets blamed.

When choosing a puppy, we have had the best luck with the shyier pups (not cowering, just not that interested in us). The cute, gregarious ones are usually the hyper difficult ones when they get bigger.

My HFA 14 year old has ALWAYS loved dogs and they have always loved him. He can show them love and affection, and he knows that they will love him unconditionally. He takes them with him to bed each night and they keep him company. My Mom's German Shepherd has an unusual attachment to him; she used to sit and wait for him at the top of the stairs. Interestingly, he also has a special attachment to his fish. I've noticed he feels especially soothed when he can just sit and watch them. We can't have cats, due to my allergies, but my son would LOVE one if he could have it.

Agreed, though, that both dogs and fish can be a LOT of work. While it's nice to think that kids will volunteer to help with doggy duties, it's usually me or my husband trudging through the backyard looking for "treasures."

Just bear in mind that a lot of kids on the spectrum have very sensitive hearing and while my son loves dogs, if they bark, he blocks his ears and becomes very upset. He is also nervous of them jumping on him.