I saw on the news something called an Autism Dog. :-)

Post Reply New Topic

Well as you know there are handicap dogs for the blind,parlyzed etc. but while watching the news I saw something called an Autism Dog for a child who had Asperger's Syndrome. The dog helps the child if he's going to have an outburst which is nice. They mentioned a waiting list and the dog cost $13,000 dollars (U.S.)! !! It was a neat article that I thought I'd mention here. (Here's a link.) Although unrelated to my topic here I also saw an article on the whole vaccine Autism thing and I'm not sure how people here feel but IMO there probably isn't a link and as stated countless times there's no 100% proof. (I'm sorry if I offended anyone.)



http://www.wftv.com/video/16512557/index.html

A friend of mine saw something like that on a show over here and told me about it. I think a dog for Damo would be the best idea ever. I just need to find um $LOTS

they've just started training assistance dogs for autie children here [uk], dont know if they would include aspies or autie and aspie adults though.
have thought of asking for one eventually,but have yet to be put in a residential home that had residents that didnt have some sort of problem with a animal.

I was too angry when posting this. I am asking a moderator to delete this post please.

Instead of leaving the forum over one topic, why don't you just leave the thread instead or is that too hard?



And low functioning autism doesn't necessarily mean autistic people with mental retardation (I used to think the same thing). They have normal or above normal IQs but they have troubles taking care of themselves (eg. cooking, dressing themselves, showering) because of poor self help skills. So of course they wouldn't hurt a dog unless they are sick people. LFA's are capable of bullying too. We have a LFA member here and she is an example of someone who is LFA and my god she is not ret*d. Her name is Amanda Baggs and you can find videos about her on youtube. There is also another LFA named Droopy and she has videos of herself on youtube also.

But yes there are some autistic people who do have mental retardation.

No, my point is kids should not have service dogs. Too many here support service dogs for kids and I am afraid that I cannot be a member of a community like that. And I never said that people with autism had mental retardation, and please do not assume that I am saying that. I said that it is unsafe in many ways. And people with Aspergers have trouble with independent living too.

After reading your posts in my topic I agree with the part in the video where it showed the boy pulled around (they have these devices anyway regardless of autism and are for any child and I find them awful myself.) KEEP TRACK OF YOUR KIDS THEY ARE NOT A DOG TO BE PUT ON A LEASH!! !! ! I do like the idea of helping the child deal with outburst surely there are plenty of WP members that if they would of not had a certain outburst they wouldn't of did certain behaviors. (AKA ME: I mentioned going "Postal" as a joke not knowing what the word was at the time and was suspended from College) I REALLY LOVED COLLEGE TOO!! !! "

Yes, but helping people deal with outbursts is not a task and therefore it is illegal to bring the dog in public under US law. There are plenty of good tasks that can help people on the spectrum that want to be more independent, but when a dog is used with young children they are merely for the parents, which is also probably not lawful as service dogs always have to be for the person with the disability. Dogs for home use are perfectly useful for children as no laws are being broken.

Well, it really depends on the person. I should not have phrased it that way, sorry. And I am not being a bully. I am simply stating my point.

Shidash I don't think you should leave.
Over here the stories are so positive and when I first saw the articles and the program/news article I was filled with such joy at the thought that maybe one day there would be a way to go outside on my own. This is the very first time anything like this has been introduced over here so there is no negative information at all.
I had not even thought or considered any of the points you made until you made me aware of them, I've been trying to research them for ages and I've struggled to find information.
If you want to make people aware, which you should, because so many people don't know about this, then you have to keep telling people and letting them know.
People are only going to keep supporting them if they don't know the facts.
I'm not sure if that makes sense.

Really, now. Such thigs can help but is it a good idea to give people a crutch? I'm saying in rare instances this might work, but for every Autistic or Asperger? Nah. It'll make too many people dependent on something.

Who on earth isn't dependent on something?

And, on a tangent, where do people get this idea that crutches are a good metaphor for using something you don't really need and getting used to it? I wonder if people who say that have ever had to use them.

Because, they're uncomfortable. Massively uncomfortable. They can do long-term damage in the form of repetitive strain injury to the arms, neck, and shoulders (and in what area depends on what kind of crutches you use -- I've used both underarm crutches and forearm crutches). Generally the faster a person gets off of them (assuming the need for using them is temporary) the more comfortable they are.

I can't imagine many people actually using crutches they don't need. I mean I know there's people with fetishes who use them, but that's really rare. They're so uncomfortable that everyone I know who's been on them for something they got over, has shed them at the earliest opportunity. In my case, as in a few others, when I either sprained or broke my toe I actually stopped using them long before I should have, doing further damage to my toe rather than try to work the awful things.

I now have a pair of the forearm kind that I use for walking at times, but it's rare that I use them. I use them only in certain particular situations. (Most of the time I'm in a wheelchair these days, but I can also walk either unaided or with crutches at times. The crutches aid in balance and in taking the weight off of severely painful ankles, but I have to be careful not to mess up my arms and neck using them the way my cane probably permanently damaged my right arm and shoulder.)

Service animals, also, are difficult. I had a service dog when I was sixteen or seventeen, to aid in getting up after falls and standing over me to alert other people and protect me (I had atonic seizures and balance problems), and other things like that. He was poorly trained and didn't work out. But it took a lot of effort to keep him current on his training, to handle his bathroom needs, etc. I would not have taken him out in public if I didn't need him to help me, it was too much of a pain to have to be tracking a dog as well as myself.

My cat is actually a service animal, but due to her own limitations she can't travel most places with me. She assists with motor problems. I don't see relying on her as "becoming dependent on something" either -- if she didn't help me, a lot of the time I wouldn't be able to move and I'd have to have other people do a lot of things for me that I can do for myself with her help to move.

I just don't see the "becoming dependent on something you don't need" thing happening much with either service animals, or the much-maligned crutches and other mobility aids.

http://web.syr.edu/~jisincla/dogs.htm
http://web.syr.edu/~jisincla/dogtasks.htm
http://web.syr.edu/~jisincla/horse_tribute.htm
http://web.syr.edu/~jisincla/getadog.htm