Autism service dog

An autism service dog is a service dog trained to assist a person with autism to help them gain independence and the ability to perform activities of daily living similar to anyone else.

A tri-color smooth collie autism service dog performs a deep pressure task for its adult handler during an outdoor concert.

About

The first autism service dog was trained by National Service Dogs and placed with a child on the autism spectrum in 1997. Autism is a disability with characteristics that vary from person to person.[1] [2] Training for autism service dogs is similar to guide dog training.[3] Autism service dogs cost between $12,000 and $30,000 and there is a long waiting list for the dogs.[4][5]

Anecdotal evidence of the efficacy of autism service dogs is greater than the amount of research on the practice.[6] Without more-objective standards, it can be difficult for parents, caregivers and educators to make a case for the need for autism service dogs.[7]

Function

Autism service dogs help their owners with tasks to help them live independently and navigate the world. Service dogs are trained to perform specific tasks to help their owner gain confidence.They can help their owner get ready in the morning, alerting people of emergencies, picking up items, aiding their owner when they have ameliorate sensory overload, and many more tasks depending on the individual.

Children

The primary focus of an autism service dog is to protect the safety of the children they work with.[3] Autism service dogs are sometimes trained to prevent autistic children from leaving the house unsupervised.[8] When autism service dogs are paired with children, the dog takes commands from the parents, not the child.[3] Autism service dogs also alert parents of dangerous situations regarding the children they work with.[9] Autism service dogs can help open the door for children and keep them from becoming over-stimulated.[10]

Some autistic children have been reported to have an increased sense of independence because of their interactions with the autism service dog.[11]

Sometimes a child harness - attached to an autism service dog - is worn by an autistic child. Autistic adults may also wear such a harness.

Adults

As with hearing dogs for the deaf, the dogs may be trained to alert their handler to important noises or other things requiring human intervention, such as smoke or a smoke alarm, a crying baby, a telephone ringing, or a knock at the door. For an autistic person, it may not be immediately obvious which of the many external stimuli is the urgent one requiring their immediate attention. An autistic person may have to sort through both major and minor stimuli—the sound of crickets, the smell of the fabric softener on their clothes, a car driving past outside—to determine which of these, if any, needs their attention. They may understand that a smoke alarm is urgent and requires them to exit the building, but it might take more time to realize the alarm is sounding in the first place.

Autism service dogs use a command to "ground" their owners by sitting on their feet, applying pressure when the owner is anxious.[12]

See also

References

Citations
  1. 1957-, Pavlides, Merope (2008). Animal-assisted interventions for individuals with autism. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 9781843108672. OCLC 289360730.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. Burrows, Adams & Millman 2008, p. 42.
  3. Burrows, Adams & Millman 2008, p. 43.
  4. Prewett, Nathan (2017-06-02). "Trussville family raising money for autism service dog for HTHS grad". The Trussville Tribune. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  5. "Families seeking autism service dogs face years-long wait lists". CTVNews. 2017-05-28. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  6. Butterly, Percy & Ward 2013, p. 2721.
  7. Butterly, Percy & Ward 2013, p. 2724.
  8. Simmons, Morgan (10 May 2009). "Autistic Child, Family Getting to Know New Service Dog". Knoxville News-Sentinel. Retrieved 9 October 2017 – via EBSCOhost.
  9. Burrows, Adams & Millman 2008, p. 56.
  10. McFarland, Laura (12 April 2017). "Powhatan 5-year-old bonds with autism service dog". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  11. O'Haire, ME (March 2013). "Review of current evidence and future directions in animal-assisted intervention for children with autism" (PDF). OA Autism. 10 (1): 1–5.
  12. Flores, Ben (2017-03-17). "In Focus, episode 1: Service dog helps woman navigate life with autism | Cronkite News". Cronkite News - Arizona PBS. Retrieved 2017-10-09.

Sources
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