Service Dogs?

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Does anybody here have a service dog for their AS? I've been thinking about this recently and wondering if this might be a chance at having a more normal life.

If you have a service dog, what does it do for you?

Could it help with some of my issues?

-overstimulation and sensory overload
-get overwhelmed, indecisive, and "stuck" in stores (haven't eaten anything other than frozen dinners, yogurt and protein bars in months because I can't spend enough time in the store to buy anything of any real substance)
-get overloaded or upset and can't shake the mood by myself (need something external, like a change of scenery or a friend talking to me about a different topic)
-feel disoriented and almost panicky in new or crowded places
-generally end up calling my parents 2-3 times a day because I don't really have anybody else to talk to and I need to talk to somebody to de-stress
-have trouble maintaining focus in classes or meetings
-stims that annoy others (shaking my leg) or make them think I'm not paying attention (playing with my nails/hands)
-uncoordinated, odd gait, walk into things a lot

Sometimes I feel totally debilitated, like I can't even leave the house alone. Other times I feel mostly fine. I wonder in those times that things seem really bad, if even having a service dog would help, or if I'm beyond help. And then I wonder if it would be superfluous on my good days.

Anybody else think about this stuff?

Outside of companionship and some timing of routine, I don't see how a dog can help. HOWEVER:

-overstimulation and sensory overload

Try to do what you can to avoid and mitigate!

-get overwhelmed, indecisive, and "stuck" in stores (haven't eaten anything other than frozen dinners, yogurt and protein bars in months because I can't spend enough time in the store to buy anything of any real substance)

Make lists, and try to browse the store in your mind before you go. Apparently MOST aspies do that. I do.

-get overloaded or upset and can't shake the mood by myself (need something external, like a change of scenery or a friend talking to me about a different topic)

Try to pal up, or just have an excuse that is honest, discrete and/or brief. I go to the restroom if worse comes to worse.

-feel disoriented and almost panicky in new or crowded places

Try to avoid and mitigate

-generally end up calling my parents 2-3 times a day because I don't really have anybody else to talk to and I need to talk to somebody to de-stress

Try to find others, but the above should make it less necessary.

-have trouble maintaining focus in classes or meetings

Well, I should talk here(sarc), but one bit of advice is to find points to criticise if it gets too bad.

-stims that annoy others (shaking my leg) or make them think I'm not paying attention (playing with my nails/hands)

Try to hide it or make it subtle, but those are kind of minor.

-uncoordinated, odd gait, walk into things a lot

Give yourself a wide berth, and try to anticipate more in the distance, and pay more attention.

Steve

I have a lot of those same problems and have thought about this a lot....I'd love an excuse to just take my dog everywhere with me because so often the world is just too much for me to take, but I don't think this will ever happen fully. I doubt autism service dogs will ever be federally recognized as other service dogs are.

IMHO, I don't see how a service dog would help. It'd just be something else you'd have to take care of. And it's not for anything really important, like being hearing or vision-impaired.

They already are! Any service animal (not even just dogs), must be allowed to go into any public place that their handler goes. Doesn't matter what disability the service animal is for. The qualifications for a service animal are:

1. It must be for a disability recognized under ADA (and if autism is impacting your ability to function or whatever, then it qualifies)
2. Must have a doctor's prescription
3. The animal must be trained by a professional or certified in some way (this part I'm not entirely clear on...)

There are agencies that specialize in training service dogs specifically for autism/AS.

Correct! But here's the fun part: Someone is not allowed to ask you what your service dog is for, not even police. If they do, they risk a law suit. Neat, huh? You don't even need an officially trained one.. just slap a vest on it. =)

For 'mental health' issues, yes, you can get a companion/service dog, you can take it wherever you go, you can keep it even in an apt. complex that normally doesn't allow pets. The training standards aren't real high, but you'd do well to take your dog to at least a basic obedience class and take the Canine Good Citizen test, which is available almost everywhere. I can track down some more info if you like/need it. The dog may or may not help a lot with issues like clumsiness, but can be a great help in social terms or if you live a very solitary lifestyle & would like some company that'll accept you just as you are & not have to deal with human-type contact issues. Have you had a dog before? It's true you can have a cat or whatever for this too. Dogs are probably the most common, though. I know a guy with bipolar disorder, with a small dog he takes with him almost everywhere. I was also, a few years ago, at the NAMI (Natl. Alliance on Mental Illness) national convention & they had some people there who were sharing info on this. It's cool. (I especially think so because I love animals & used to be a pet dog obedience instructor)

Trish - I am very interested in any info you might find on this, since you seem to be quite knowledgeable and it doesn't sound so out of reach as I had thought. Could you please PM me with whatever you find?

All -

I've just been reading up on "Emotional Support Animals"...not classified as service dogs but still allow you to have pets in otherwise no-pet housing. I don't know about anyone else, but this is PERFECT for me since I am completely isolated and suffer from severe depression and stress and the only time I am relaxed and able to cope is when I am with my dogs, and since the only apartments I can find that allow dogs are either a) very far away from school and work and b) very expensive, this is PERFECT for me.

Here's a link with info for all interested...seems relatively easy to make this happen.

http://www.bazelon.org/issues/housing/i ... heet6.html

service dogs arent nessecary, you just need regular dogs. I remember when my parents got our second dog (my dog) topaz. I was 5, she absolutely adored me. I still remember my little topaz. She really helped me, she was a little boston terrier. My opinion is that it can be any dog.

phenomenon
Autism service dogs are real service dogs and are afforded the exact same acsess rights as other assistance/ service dogs.

cowlypso a service dog does not have to come from a special trainer or program , you can train them yourself , the key is that the dog needs to be individual trained to mitigate your disability. Certification is not required by federal law , many service dogs are not certified.

Ramsus
a business etc cannot ask you what your disability is , however they are aloud to ask what your dog is trained to do for you . You cannot just slap a vest on any dog because the standard of training neccersary , first to enable your dog to be safe and reliable in public and then also for your dog to be trained in a way that mitigates your disability, is High and a lengthy process , most people spend about 2 years training there service dog, before it becomes a service dog , prior to that it is called a service dog in training .

Trish c

the standard of training is High , service dogs have to be beyond reproach , they have to be non disruptive , non reactive and 100% safe , you have to rain the dog to cope with every eventuality and to work despite any distractions , you have to be able to drop food in front of your dogs nose and know that it wont pick it up , your dog has to be able to lie silently under a desk or restuarant table until you tell it to move , they need to be able to potty on cue . they have to get used to lifts ridng on buses and trains , going up and down stairs being immune to children and there unpredictable behaviour etc etc .
bb natty

For who? You can't really speak for the people on this site, each case is different and for a lot of us, service dogs ARE necessary.

If you think it will help you, and you think you can take care of it, then I would go for it. Just know that having a service dog will naturally draw more attention to you from strangers, and this in itself might make someone with AS feel more awkward in some situations. When I walk through a crowded mall I don't want people to look at me at all, and if I had a dog they'd be more likely to stop and want to pet the dog.

I'm torn between how well I think I function, so I don't know whether I think I 'deserve' a service dog, although I think I would benefit in some ways. I'd feel much safer if I was out with a dog rather than on my own, and I'd feel better able to go places that I normally would avoid due to being on my own. After attracting negative attention on a few occassions outside in that big scary world I'm quite paranoid about it, and so tend to not go out on my own, even if it's just for a walk.

However, as having a dog with you in places where dogs would normally not be allowed is likely to attract attention, that in itself could also be problematic.

For things like travelling on public transport (which I can only do to a certain extent, because when I'm on my own the more difficult it becomes to get home from somewhere the harder it is for me to go places - for example if I have to go on one underground line there and back I can cope, but if I had to make three or four changes or then get a bus in a strange area it becomes too much) it would be perfect to have a companion (I'm not too sure of the rules on public transport and dogs, and if I'm going somewhere that an ordinary dog can't do then it doesn't even matter about the rules on transport).

I could always get an 'ordinary' dog (or two) to go out walking with, when my beloved Sam departs (he has arthritis and bad paws so can't go for long walks), although I'd rather just live my life as I'm living it now and have Sam for as long as possible.

So for me there are pros and cons to a service dog, some of which could be met by a non-service dog, and it's more a tool to make things easier/ give me more confidence rather than an actual necessity.

I think a service dog is a great idea for anyone who thinks they will benifit from it, although I don't think all people with AS need one, some don't even like dogs! Others would do well with just a "companinion.

But training one yourself sounds like a lot of work. I would think that for the majority of people that "need" a service dog, putting in this amount of training would be a little beyond them. Afterall, they are having a hard time getting themselves through life, let alone "training" an animal how to behave in public / aid them. I can see a lot of hours of frustration here with questionable results. Not to mention, what if the dog they have picked out is not "cut out" for the job? How heartbreaking and frustrating would that be? To attempt this type of training with a dog that never will really be able to do the job. Where does that leave you 6 months to two years down the line?

I think maybe a family member could train a dog, but the actual person with AS? Definately something to proceed with caution.

I think companion animals are a great idea though! I would suggest though getting a dog that is over 2 years for this purpose though, the last thing most people need is a crazy puppy on their hands when they are afflicted with sensory overload and struggle with getting stuff done!

I've heard of service dogs for autistics and in fact there is a lady in nearby town that trains them. For an Aspie I don't see how a dog could be of help. Dogs are so needy, constantly want attention, move around too much and can be noisy so I would think the average dog would annoy the heck out of an Aspie. I know most of them bother me just in the few minutes I visit with a friend that has a dog. Isn't that why many of us have cats? Because cats aren't as needy?