Understanding Need For Service Dogs

Post Reply New Topic

Hi,
My name is Christine and I am 31 years old and diagnosed with autism in 2020. I was also diagnosed as well with Panic Disorders, Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, Depression, & ADHD. I currently live with my parents in their house and recently my therapist has talked to me about getting a service dog; but my mom is dead set on me not having a dog even if it's for my mental health & my therapist has talked to her twice about it but my mom still hasn't changed her mind. I get a dog is a lot of responsibility but I also have a cat who's 10 years old that I take care of. The situation is just frustrating because my mom wants me to get out of my room and go out places but I have tried and it just becomes too much. But the way I could get the support to get out my mom has her mind completely made up. It's just so frustrating because I'm the only one out of my siblings that has been diagnosed with autism and dealing with the consequences of it. I just wish she would see it as a positive and not a negative. And it's like she worries about me moving out on my own but she won't let me get something that could help with safety; it's almost like I wish I could move out and get my own place so I could make the choice on whether or not I can get the service dog. The situation is just frustrating because I've been the one out of my sisters a whose been consistently helping her take care of my nieces that she used to have guardianship and help out with my nephew that she now has guardianship of. And Ive been helping out with my nieces and nephews since I was 10 years old and now I'm 31; even in college when I would come home I would help out. This is the first major thing that I've asked for that isn't super major and have never asked for anything like this before in my life and this is coming from the reccomendation from a license professional, I just wish she wouldn't be so stubborn and stuck in this idea.

I had a service dog for my autism, PTSD, generalized anxiety, social anxiety (etc.), but I found that she made my anxiety worse because people were constantly coming up to me and asking to pet her even though she had a service vest on and a large patch which said "Do Not Pet." Anyway, service dogs are great for lots of people with these issues. It just didn't work out for me, personally. I don't want to discourage you in any way. It's just something to keep in mind.

Have you given your mom anything to read or watch on the subject? Service dogs are a responsibility, but it's not like having a normal dog. They are trained to behave in ways that most dogs are incapable of.

No, but my therapist is still trying to talk to her about it to get her to understand what it is.

Im pretty sure my moms thing is if I got a service dog is it being in the house because we just moved into a new house that was built in January so she won't even let my cat come in. But it's just frustrating because she's so stubborn some times and won't let me get a service dog but they let my sister go to an Ivy League College.

Is there any sort of option for a short-term trial? That might be easier to get your mum to agree to, and could more clearly demonstrate the benefits (as well as whether you could cope with the responsibility).

Dogs are harder than cats because they need to be walked twice a day, if you have a large garden then there is some flexibility but it's harder than people often realise. You probably wouldn't need to deal with a puppy who are the hardest.

Service dogs are very expensive unless you can train them yourself.