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OliveOilMom
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16 Feb 2012, 11:34 pm

pensieve wrote:
OliveOilMom wrote:
To Callista, I've read a bit about Amanda Baggs online and from what I gather she's "been" lots of things in the past and used to be very functional. I've read that the thing about not communicating is new, etc. What's your take on that? It's hinted online that she was faking it for some reason (Munchausen's was implied in one article) and it's said that she used to be schizophrenic and not autistic in any way. I think I've also read that she's "had" several other things. Just curious as to your thoughts on that, I haven't looked anything up about her in a long time.

She may have regressed. During my regression we talked about how things got harder for us so I do know she hasn't always been as severe. She's been on a lot of medications that may have made her worse.
Find me one autistic who hasn't got several other things going on. I've got a buttload of other disorders going on.

Anyway, I don't want to get into a big argument. She also posts here under Anubend so mind who you call a fake. I think it's against forum rules or something.



I didn't call anybody a fake. I asked what someone else's take on it was because I had seen one video online and the interview with Sanjay Gupta, and had read some things. I was asking what others thought about it, not calling her a fake. I'm sure forum rules and mods can distinguish between a question with a reference to something that I've read and an accusation.


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04 Mar 2012, 2:05 pm

Samara1991 wrote:
I have a cat that knows when I'm upset and will lay on my chest and purr. It really helps a lot.

mine does the same ! :-D



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04 Mar 2012, 3:28 pm

I was actually just looking into getting a dog and having him be a service animal for me (I have bipolar, Asperger's, OCD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder).

Does anyone know what service animals can be trained to do for any of those things, especially Asperger's?



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02 May 2012, 7:52 am

Does anyone know of a charity or something who will train cats, based in England, as either Service or Emotional Support animals? I can only find ones in the US :?


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02 May 2012, 8:18 am

Tamsin wrote:
I was told that only dogs and ponies are the only animals allowed to be legal service animals. Cats can be ESAs but have no legal service animal rights due to a bill or some such that was passed recently.


It depends on where the OP is from. In Canada you can still have cats as a service animal. My cat is an ESA, but only because it takes between $25,000 and $40,000 to have a service animal trained and certified here. I didn't even make $20,000 a year when I was working full time with a really good income, so....


BUT in the province I'm from at least, an ESA or any kind of support animal, certified service or not, as long as you can get an RN, psychiatrist/ psychologist, or doctor to write a letter stating you need one, they're allowed everywhere a service animal is. I haven't brought my cat anywhere YET, but the option is there for when I'm having bad days and need to get out to run errands. Getting one accustomed to being an ESA or training to be a service animal IS much easier from kittenhood (or puppyhood or baby ponyhood, etc.) though, but it's not possible to work with an adult animal, just more of a challenge. Belle is 8 and she just got the O.K last December after my therapist suggested the idea in the late fall.

Some good suggestions breed wise- Ragdolls, Main Coons, Ocicats, Bengal cats. The ragdoll is names that because the breed is super docile and you can pretty much do anything with it. The last three are intelligent, social, love interaction with all sorts, like adventures, etc. The Ocicat I'm pretty sure is a breed that forgot it's supposed to be a cat and thinks it's a dog. Of course, it's not completely fool proof to go for a specific breed, I know a few cats who are from a SUPER social breed who are hide more often than they're out and wanting to be social, and I know other cats from a breed who are supposed to be really "mean" cats, and they're really friendly and demand petting by anyone in the house at the time (Siamese, to be specific.) It's best to base the decision on the individual cat rather than the breed, BUT those are good breeds to start with.

Tuttle wrote:

Sensory support is such a nice thing to get from animals. That was one of the explicit reasons for kitty for me (along with her helping recognize my emotions and helping prevent meltdowns because cats just innately help with meltdowns for me). The identifying migraines in me is a really nice side benefit though. (And one I'd totally make her a service cat for if service cats were still allowed)



My cat is really good at preventing meltdowns, too. She seems to know when I'm getting to my last bit of composure energy and forces me to pay attention to her. My focus shifts and I become less and less upset when she can get me to concentrate long enough. She's also awesome when I'm having a bad day pain wise (I have a lot of chronic pain conditions) and will cuddle up to whatever hurts or just curls up beside me and falls asleep letting me pet her. BUT I've always wondered how animals alert their owners about that stuff... Like, what does your cat tell you that a migraine is coming if ok to ask? I know it's possible, I've met many service animals (certified and not) that are meant for things other than seeing eye dogs.. I've had people tell me things like ( Oh, he/ she tells me I'm about to have a bad asthma attack/ seizure/ other thing) but I've never actually seen one in action. There WAS a time that a lady freaked out in the shop I was working, and security had to come in, the lady is a regular there and they had already been told what to do. All they have to say is "Rambo, take Mummy home" and he immediately starts walking toward the door. I know he's trained to alert her of something, too, but I've never seen THAT in action. It seems fascinating.. Is it they make certain noises (like only whining or meowing a certain way) ONLY when it's time to alert you, or do they paw your head or whatever until you clue in? Or something else? Sorry if this isn't ok to ask, I've just always been curious.



I just wanted to say something about Amanda Baggs. I know absolutely nothing about her, I don't even know the name. I do know that you can most definitely regress and the make progress regardless of age and "current" placement on the spectrum as well as having several co-morbid conditions. I also know a person, who is 19 now or 20, that went from being a little socially awkward (but not diagnosed with asperger's or anything at all) as a child to full out severe, non verbal autism when she hit puberty. I don't think she's faking and I don't think it's all that weird either. It's just late onset autism. She's getting better I believe, but it's been a hard struggle for the family over the years. Just because someone else says you might be faking (Not saying anyone accused anyone here, just pointing out that it was said that some online stuff claimed it) doesn't mean it's true, especially if they've never met the person and it's all hearsay.



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02 May 2012, 8:46 am

Perhaps a Bengal? Why a cat? Why not some other type of animal like a pig or lizard? My service animal (yes, service animal, not just emotional support) is a bearded dragon. Unlike a cat, dog or pig, I didn't really have to train her. I take her EVERYWHERE.


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02 May 2012, 9:41 am

twich wrote:
I just wanted to say something about Amanda Baggs. I know absolutely nothing about her, I don't even know the name. I do know that you can most definitely regress and the make progress regardless of age and "current" placement on the spectrum as well as having several co-morbid conditions. I also know a person, who is 19 now or 20, that went from being a little socially awkward (but not diagnosed with asperger's or anything at all) as a child to full out severe, non verbal autism when she hit puberty. I don't think she's faking and I don't think it's all that weird either. It's just late onset autism. She's getting better I believe, but it's been a hard struggle for the family over the years. Just because someone else says you might be faking (Not saying anyone accused anyone here, just pointing out that it was said that some online stuff claimed it) doesn't mean it's true, especially if they've never met the person and it's all hearsay.


I was the one who mentioned what I had read online after someone else brought her up. I wouldn't know enough about ASD to know if anybody was faking, really. I'm 48 and was only diagnosed in my early 40's, and I only know what I've looked into to learn about my own AS. I remember looking her up online after the interview and was impressed, then I started seen those other pages and all, so I don't know. It doesn't matter to me really, either way, I was just asking what people thought, and I hope nobody took offense.

I had no idea you could do that though. Now I'm going to worry that I'll suddenly do that. How common is it? I don't really think that's going to happen, but now that I know it can, I'll have to read online about it until I'm either frantic with worry or I see something that makes me think it won't happen to me.

Are there signs beforehand that it's happening, how fast does it happen, etc? Is there something that triggers it like medication or hormonal changes? I'm just curious now, because I had never heard of that.


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02 May 2012, 10:05 am

OliveOilMom wrote:
twich wrote:
I just wanted to say something about Amanda Baggs. I know absolutely nothing about her, I don't even know the name. I do know that you can most definitely regress and the make progress regardless of age and "current" placement on the spectrum as well as having several co-morbid conditions. I also know a person, who is 19 now or 20, that went from being a little socially awkward (but not diagnosed with asperger's or anything at all) as a child to full out severe, non verbal autism when she hit puberty. I don't think she's faking and I don't think it's all that weird either. It's just late onset autism. She's getting better I believe, but it's been a hard struggle for the family over the years. Just because someone else says you might be faking (Not saying anyone accused anyone here, just pointing out that it was said that some online stuff claimed it) doesn't mean it's true, especially if they've never met the person and it's all hearsay.


I was the one who mentioned what I had read online after someone else brought her up. I wouldn't know enough about ASD to know if anybody was faking, really. I'm 48 and was only diagnosed in my early 40's, and I only know what I've looked into to learn about my own AS. I remember looking her up online after the interview and was impressed, then I started seen those other pages and all, so I don't know. It doesn't matter to me really, either way, I was just asking what people thought, and I hope nobody took offense.

I had no idea you could do that though. Now I'm going to worry that I'll suddenly do that. How common is it? I don't really think that's going to happen, but now that I know it can, I'll have to read online about it until I'm either frantic with worry or I see something that makes me think it won't happen to me.

Are there signs beforehand that it's happening, how fast does it happen, etc? Is there something that triggers it like medication or hormonal changes? I'm just curious now, because I had never heard of that.



As far as I know going to such extremes is pretty rare, just pointing out that it is possible. I personally have days where I'm definitely feeling more autistic than others (and people who know me well can tell as well) but I don't go into such extremes. I'm not sure what triggered the extreme change in the person I know, but I've always suspected something in her brain happened when the hormonal changes began. I'm sure she was high functioning enough to pass for "normal" before, because autism is something you're born with. Your brain is wired differently, it's not something that can suddenly be done to your brain. Nobody could really say much from a few videos or blog postings, etc. Even if they were trained in diagnosing autism.



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02 May 2012, 10:05 am

twich wrote:
It depends on where the OP is from. In Canada you can still have cats as a service animal. My cat is an ESA, but only because it takes between $25,000 and $40,000 to have a service animal trained and certified here. I didn't even make $20,000 a year when I was working full time with a really good income, so....



Good point. In the US its not an option :( (or I'd actually be training my cat to be a service cat at the moment), but other places it might be.


Quote:
She's also awesome when I'm having a bad day pain wise (I have a lot of chronic pain conditions) and will cuddle up to whatever hurts or just curls up beside me and falls asleep letting me pet her. BUT I've always wondered how animals alert their owners about that stuff... Like, what does your cat tell you that a migraine is coming if ok to ask? I know it's possible, I've met many service animals (certified and not) that are meant for things other than seeing eye dogs.. I've had people tell me things like ( Oh, he/ she tells me I'm about to have a bad asthma attack/ seizure/ other thing) but I've never actually seen one in action


I'm not entirely sure how I can explain how she tells me that something is wrong in general. If something doesn't seem right to her she'll act differently, including far more clingy without wanting to play or such. Generalizing from that to alerting to migraines, I found her actively trying to physically get my attention while in that state - headbutting me and pawing at me, not trying to play. I had no clue what was going on until after I'd gotten a migraine and realized she was trying to tell me that the migraine was wrong.



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02 May 2012, 2:13 pm

I have 3 cats, all of whom are extremely well trained. Cats are probabably even more trainable than dogs, it's just that you must have their respect to do so. All of my cats picked up training much quicker than my dogs. My other 2 cats are pretty good about stuff, most of my animals are actually.

One cat in particular is incredibly helpful. She's very anti social and hates people and other animals, but I walk her on her harness down to the corner store and the deli and everything. She jumps in my bag when we get there and stays in there while we are in the store, usually looking and smelling everything (she's way too curious).

She extremely intelligent, and when I start to overload at home she usually turns up as soon as she realises what's going on, let's me pat her as much as I need to when usually she only likes patting in small doses. She has prevented many meltdowns.

She also let's me know when my blood sugar is too low (she nudges my hand and wakes me up if necessary). She alerts me if she can smell something I am not supposed to eat in my food (saved me from getting glutened 2 days ago by a new product actually, she walks over to the product and refuses to let me touch it if it has gluten in it). On bad pain days she doesn't really leave my side for the day except to eat and drink.

I don't take her to work with me or anything though. She's not an offical support animal or anything, she just kind of took on that role. She's a very one person cat though, she doesn't like anyone else, she won't even let people touch her. I tried getting her used to people when she was young, but it's just her personality.

I think if it's the right kind of cat and it's intelligent and loyal, it's probably very trainable. You would need a good understanding of animals to train it yourself though. Professional training would cost a boatload I imagine.


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02 May 2012, 6:50 pm

Regarding "regression," there is a condition called "autistic catatonia" or "Parkinson-like deterioration" that can happen with some ASD people. I gather that it can cause ASD adults (it tends to happen at adolescence or later) to lose speech and develop serious issues with movement (and probably other things, too).

There's a paper where about 500 people who had been referred to an autism clinic were checked and about 17% had a serious decrease in functioning due to that condition. And, apparently, exposure to antipsychotic drugs (which are used for non-psychotic reasons all the time) seems to hasten along the progress of the condition.

http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/176/4/357.full

I've been wondering for a while if that condition exists on a continuum, and I think it probably does. (My reasons come from anecdotal stuff at this point, but research on the condition is still thin and confined to severe cases.) There have been the threads here and elsewhere about burnout and/or depression leading to speech or cognitive problems in ASD adults. And on a personal note, this week I've been withdrawing from a drug that can cause catatonia (in anyone) when you withdraw from it, and it is reminiscent of my "burnout days" (in the sense that in that my inertia and spacing-out is worse than usual).

[/end of off-topic reply]



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02 May 2012, 9:00 pm

OliveOilMom wrote:
To Callista, I've read a bit about Amanda Baggs online and from what I gather she's "been" lots of things in the past and used to be very functional. I've read that the thing about not communicating is new, etc. What's your take on that? It's hinted online that she was faking it for some reason (Munchausen's was implied in one article) and it's said that she used to be schizophrenic and not autistic in any way. I think I've also read that she's "had" several other things. Just curious as to your thoughts on that, I haven't looked anything up about her in a long time.


Someone else posted about autistic catatonia, which is a condition that can cause autism to become more severe over time. Amanda often refers to it as a "movement disorder," which it is. It has Parkinsons-like symptoms, but also schizoprhrenic catatonia-like symptoms. Tony Attwood talks about the condition in his Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome, but there is at least one more book about it (I think I have a recommendation for it from Amanda in my PMs, but I have a few hundred of those right now and it'd take awhile to dig it up).

There are a lot of stories about Amanda online, but I don't really give them much credence. Having interacted with her online and seen her videos, and read the material her detractors have posted and watching at least a couple of those videos, I don't really find their accounts particularly accurate.

My understanding is that Amanda was diagnosed with PDD-NOS in her early teens at the latest, and later re-diagnosed with autism. I never asked her about the schizophrenia story, but I think she explained what was going on with that somewhere. My recollection was that it had to do with people gaslighting her, and some of the online material is an extension of that.

I am not sure who is trying to follow her around and debunk her, but I am dubious about their motives and veracity, and I have not so far seen any reason to doubt Amanda herself.

Anyway, here's a study about catatonia in autism:

http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/176/4/357.full



ADAhelper84
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25 Jun 2012, 3:33 pm

even though cats are great pets and can be very helpful there can not be used as service animals

"In addition to the expanded definition of service animals, it was also revised to limit the type of animal used. Previously, the term left the option open for people with disabilities to choose the use of such animals as a monkey, cat, bird or pig as their service animal. Now, the regulation states, “Service animal means any dog…” (DOJ). Effective March 15, 2011, this restriction will be applied (with some limited exception to miniature horses)."

(wont let me post links so i just did that paragraph for more info go to invisibledisabilitiesDOTorg)

the new laws limits it to dogs like mine and miniature horses hope that helps sorry bout the mad news



twich
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25 Jun 2012, 3:54 pm

ADAhelper84 wrote:
even though cats are great pets and can be very helpful there can not be used as service animals

"In addition to the expanded definition of service animals, it was also revised to limit the type of animal used. Previously, the term left the option open for people with disabilities to choose the use of such animals as a monkey, cat, bird or pig as their service animal. Now, the regulation states, “Service animal means any dog…” (DOJ). Effective March 15, 2011, this restriction will be applied (with some limited exception to miniature horses)."

(wont let me post links so i just did that paragraph for more info go to invisibledisabilitiesDOTorg)

the new laws limits it to dogs like mine and miniature horses hope that helps sorry bout the mad news



It all depends on where the original poster is from... In Canada, it's not limited to dogs and ponies.



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25 Jun 2012, 7:16 pm

your right i was just assuming that they were from the states witch i should not have done. However, for people that come here now that are looking for this answer from the states will now have the information :D



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25 Jun 2012, 9:32 pm

ADAhelper84 wrote:
even though cats are great pets and can be very helpful there can not be used as service animals

"In addition to the expanded definition of service animals, it was also revised to limit the type of animal used. Previously, the term left the option open for people with disabilities to choose the use of such animals as a monkey, cat, bird or pig as their service animal. Now, the regulation states, “Service animal means any dog…” (DOJ). Effective March 15, 2011, this restriction will be applied (with some limited exception to miniature horses)."

(wont let me post links so i just did that paragraph for more info go to invisibledisabilitiesDOTorg)

the new laws limits it to dogs like mine and miniature horses hope that helps sorry bout the mad news


That is crazy. I know monkeys that help with different sorts of paralysis (fetching and grabbing things, even feeding assistance). If that is not a service animal I do not know how they define service.


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