Schools Fight Families Over Autism Service Dogs

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That one gets tough and will always need to be case by case. My AS son is terrified around dogs so if another AS child brought one into the classroom, the net result to the school would be a loss, ie my son freaking out more even if the other child is freaking out less.

I think kids develop fears at dogs from bad experiences. Having a nice gentle dog around is probably going to help prevent development of phobias.

In my son's case, the phobia developed when he was 1 1/2, and was profoundly disabling for a decade. Dogs he had known and loved, that were gentle, were instantly transferred into the phobia, as well. Phobias do not usually develope during the school years, it is usually before, and we are talking about taking dogs into schools.

It is going to have to be case by case. What the school should not do is say, "there might be ..," it should discover if there IS.

I can see how another kind of animal might also be helpful for calming and facilitating interaction with other people. However, problems obviously arise if one person has a dog, another has a cat and another has a bird.

When I am meeting a new person, things just go better if I get my bird out and play with her. There's an affectionate aspect in my behavior that comes out, and is not normally expressed when it's just me, and it carries over to how I interact with the other person. This has been quite beneficial to me. However, that doesn't mean I can take my bird to school, to the grocery store, etc. because I don't want my bird to get lost or eaten.

The school might be seeking to limit the potential liability of other students getting bitten or the health/hygiene problems of a dog possibly pooping on the floor or on school grounds.

I like the idea of people on the spectrum being able to have service dogs/animals. The only issue I can think of that hasn't been covered is allergies. It wouldn't be good if someone w/ a service animal ended up being near someone w/ allergies to dogs/said other animal.

I agree with DW Mom. I have a dog phobia, and do not get along well with animals in general. I couldn't be around someone with a service dog. Also, what about people with allergies to dogs or other animals?

Absurdly obvious solution get the kid a service human

I think the scale has tipped too far in favor of fear of allergens. I worked in a school where a program in which disabled students were raising ducks, and the program was cut off because a single student not in the program was having a severe allergic reaction. I think she should have been given support to transfer to a different school so that one child's allergy did not destroy the progress eight other children were making.

I think it makes sense for school districts to recognize that not all students can be educated in the same physical building. Have one elementary school where service animals are allowed and another where they are not. In districts so small that there is only one middle or high school, partner with a local district or take advantage of whatever flexibility the physical building allows.

No child should be forced to be a room with an animal that terrifies him. No child should be deprived of the support of a service animal. Fortunately, the one-room schoolhouse is a thing of the past. The trick is logistics, equally prioritizing each child's needs.

Districts digging their heels on this have no moral or legal basis for their argument.

Well, is it a "service animal" or a "comfort animal"?

From the justifications that many parents of children with service dogs give, I think that it's much closer to the latter.

"Well, he likes dogs". Good. Get a pet.

I just find it kind of funny that you could get a pet, train it not to attack children, house-break it, and call it an "Autism service dog" for the purpose of selling it for $13,000. In many cases (especially when the child has HFA or AS), these parents are getting royally ripped off.

The district's justification is that they are concerned about other students with phobias or allergies.

Are they applying this reasoning to forbid the classic "seeing-eye dog" for blind students, as well? Or for that matter to forbid students from wearing real fur on their clothing (which can still contain allergens)? Sauce for the goose, after all...

I should definitely add this to my stand-up act!

Fleas! Uh, I mean... Please! I do not see how a service dog would help an autistic child through school. A child that can hear and see adequately enough to be in public school, what can a dog do but make school more of a hassle for everyone else? I didn't have a service dog when I went to school and I didn't try to run into the road or eat any rocks! This has to be one of the funniest things I have ever read in my life!

I could come up with a list of a million problems bringing a dog to school would prompt, but most of them are obvious. Fleas, for example.

That's a little less funny when my daughter's teacher sends home a note saying that during one of the "inclusive" outdoor activities at school, she was distracted by chewing on rocks.

More to the point, that's a bit like complaining about security measures in modern schools just because when you went to school there were no such measures, and you didn't get shot! So of course the families of the Columbine victims are just crybabies, and children in other schools must not have anything to worry about...

If I remember my laws correctly, public health regulations
prohibit the presence of animals in any premises
where food is served or is likely to be served--with the sole
exception of recognized service animals.

I have a bunch of allergies and chemical sensitivities which are not allergies but do similar things, and
I wholeheartedly agree.

Complete elimination of allergens would leave a vacuum.

I've known someone allergic to cotton. My wife is allergic to nylon. There's people allergic to fragrances of detergents and fabric softeners, and what comes off clothes washed in them.
There's allergies to ingredients in cleansers, air fresheners, soaps, furniture polish, chalk dust, inks. There's been a couple cases of reactions to chlorine and fluoride in water.

And, allergies exist to any given food item or ingredient.
Therefore, children should not eat, drink, or even be in the same room as food while at school, right?

If I had a child severely allergic to fragrances of detergents; fabric softeners; and dryer sheets; which often do remain on clothes for several days, could I sue to make every parent wash their kids' clothes in hypoallergenic detergent?
And use no fabric softener?
That might be fun to try.

Seeing eye dogs are not provided to 3 year old kids!! ! Lets get clear here, service dogs for people who are blind are rarely if ever provided to people under the age of 16. They do through very strict testing procedures to ensure that they can handle the dog. Dogs are not and nor will they ever be robots. Like all living creatures they make mistakes. NO Guide dog school anywhere in the world has yet been able to teach a dog how to cross the road. They do attempt to teach them to be wary of moving cars, but that is thought to be to the equivalent of a 3 year old child. Blind people must proove they have appropriate orientation and mobility skills, ie. the use of a white cane, before they are given a dog, as they must be able to use their hearing to judge the flow of traffic and the like. They must be able to control the dog, to issue commands to the dog, to predict the dogs needs, to toilet, have a drink, a rest, etc and can we really expect a child in an elemtary school class to be able do that?? Who is it that is going to be looking after these dogs during the school day? Are we to now say that a part of a teachers job description is to babysit a child's dog, because I am yet to know of any 5 year old that can fully take care of a dog without any prompting from an adult and that was before we added autism into the equation!!

Sure the dog may be trained, but it is not a robot. Blind people know when other people are around them, they can stop people interfering with the dogs if needed, take action, etc. Are we to assume that no child would ever attempt to pull this dogs tail or the like, and who is going to looking out to ensure that the dog is OK?? The child with Autism sure can't do it, and the teacher believe it or has a job to do, teach the class. And aides are not employed to babysit dogs any more than teachers are. Who is going to pick up the dogs poo and the like?? These dogs are usually trained to toilet on command, who is going to command the dog to do that.

The idea of these dogs is that the parents hold a second leash, and the child is tied to the dog. Do not even get me started on the inherient risks, not to mention animal cruelty concerns of tying a child to the dog, but the fact is the parents are the authorised handler of the dog, and the way I see it if the parent is not there to handle the dog, the dog is not there. A guide dog for blind does not have public access rights in the hands of anyone other than its certified handler, all of whom are retested on a regular basis. If and when the child can pass a public access without the parents present and without any assistance from an adult then we can consider them being allowed to have the dog at school, but until such a time and then the dogs belong at home, or with the parent.

There is no doubt that children with many different types of disabilities benefit greatly from the presence of animals and I do feel that dogs are great for many autistic children, but keep them as a pet, and/or only use them when the parent is there to handle the dog.

Fear is a legimate concern and one that does have to be taken into account. This could involve trying to change classes, sitting on different sides of the room, etc. To say that no dog for a disabled person can be on bus because people might be fearful is crazy, but nor does it say that these things are not real and in places where people are together all day as in classrooms and workplaces do need to consider this.

As for allergies, that is very misunderstood. Most people who are allergic to dogs are allergic to the dander, and any reasonably well groomed dog will not have dander. People are not allergic to hair in 99% of cases, but that does not mean it does not exist, there is actually more chance of being allergic to dog salvia than hair! Everyone who owns and lives with a dog carries the dogs dander with them on their clothes, etc. The best way to remove dander is to bath the dog and brush them. This is why people are rarely allergic to non sheedding dogs, because they have to be groomed and shaved every 6 weeks. That 6 week groom is enough for the majority of people to not be allergic to them.

I do use a service dog for Autism, actually a fully trained guide dog for the blind, for someone who is functionally blind due to autism. I have perfect vision, but my autism is such that I cannot screeen out what is around me, etc. But I am a 36 old adult, fully capeable of caring for the dog and ensuring that it's needs are met. I do consider other people's needs and am at college but so far there have been no real issues. One person had a fear of dogs and actually told the teacher of the class and we discussed me always being on one extreme side of the room and her on the other, and she was fine. She has over time come to like my dog, but it had to be at her time not something that was forced onto her. But this is in an adult environment and expecting a bunch of five year olds to behave as adults is wrong.

A service dog by law must be trained to perform tasks to alleviate the effect of the disaiblity. I am yet to see how a dog being there for someone is peforming a task?? WE all gain emotional support from an animal and can do that from a pet. We do not need the dog with us all the time for that. If the child cannot be without the dog, what happens if the child or dog has to be hospitalised, if the dog get sick and cannot work, go to school and the like. And what must it be like for the dog to be physically tied to a child throwing tantrums all day long??