Animals who help autistic people

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Where I live service animals are not legally defined. The law that enables people with disabilities to have their service animals (service dogs) with them is the law against discrimination, specifically discrimination against people with disabilities (reasonable accommodations must be made for disabled people).

Since service dogs (animals) are not mentioned specifically in that text, I could (theoretically) bring my parrot (who serves as a service animal, although does not have any "official" training or recognition) bring him where ever I go (except for grocery stores as only service dogs (guide dogs, hearing dogs and other service dogs) may enter).

Is there an animal (besides dogs) that you think should be able to be service animals (either generally or for autistic people)?

I think parrots should be able to legally be recognised as service animals.

I’ve heard of emotional support monkeys. I bet certain monkeys could easily be trained to perform a variety of tasks.

Service animals are trained to perform tasks that they wouldn’t naturally do. I think monkeys would be intelligent enough to do so.

Mini horses are now being recognized as service animals as well. They can be trained to do many of the services that dogs do and they are being used more and more because they are small enough to live in houses like large dogs and they live much longer than dogs do so handlers can have one horse for a many more years than a dog. They are now also starting to be allowed in places that service dogs are allowed in. As far as I know, dogs and miniature horses are the only two animals in the US that are legally recognized as service animals.

In the us it is dogs and miniature horses.
I think as long as such an animal can pass a public access test, and isn't in danger by working, then it should be allowed to accompany it's owner.

I think so too. They do have to be able to pass certain health criteria to be able to be in restaurants and food stores and hospitals, nursing homes etc, but if they are able to pass, I don't see why should not be allowed.

What do dogs do for nonblind autistic folks?

Autism service dogs also keep Autistics from eloping (wandering off) and are trained to find them if they do wander off. They also are trained similarly to PTSD service dogs. They provide deep pressure therapy as well. They also provide a type of social safety barrier that helps us with social anxiety. They can also alert others if the Autistic handler needs help and they can be cross trained for epilepsy if the handler also has that. They are also trained to literally pull the handler out of a situation to a place of sensory safety if the handler is in a sensory overstimulating environment and can't handle it.

I only know service dogs. I doubt how much other species can realistically be trained to do.

But, it's also my opinion that emotional support animals should be its own category of service animals because the emotional support they can offer could be the difference between being able to do something or not. I know how much more at ease I am around animals, and it'd greatly help during official meetings etc (like with the employment agency etc)
Any animal you are close with can probably fill that role for you.