Should aspies have service dogs?

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Honestly, I think I need one to help me walk down my own street.

The ones that need them should have them. Anyone who needs one should have one, Aspie or otherwise. Is there a deeper question here that I'm not seeing?

You're right, this post was just a t...terrier!

Yes. Couldn't a cute dog be a terrieriffic help to conversation? In social situations neurotypicals can be distracted by doggie charm so the aspie can buy time to search her/his mind for conversational answers.

Keep in mind you have to be disabled to the point of actually needing a Service Dog. You can't just say "I have autism/other" and *poof*. Service Dogs assist a person with a disability to mitigate that disability for one or more major life activities such as walking, seeing, mobility. Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) USA

There is a theme of late for parents of children with autism to run out and get a 'Nana' type dog for their children, in most cases strap their children to said dog and go shopping or worse, send them off to school. My own personal problems with this scenario. A dog is still a dog, no matter how well trained. Strapping any kid, let alone a kid on the spectrum to said dog is a dangerous thing. It only takes one time for a dog (again no matter how well trained an SD is still a dog) to see something it fancies chasing and run off with child dragging behind. Extremely dangerous. #2 Now mother (or teacher) for that matter now has not only a child to care for when out and about, but a dog too. It becomes more a 'circus act' really, show off "I have a dog in the store, ya me". I mean in all honesty, if parent or teacher is there, what is the role of the dog? It's not needed as parent and or teacher is there. A dog is not a nanny it's not to take full control, they are trained to assist.

So on that note. I feel they are great and perfect for older teens and adults on the spectrum (and with other disabilities) who actually need an SD to assist them (and who can take care of said SD -- very important). As for children who are still dependent on their parents. I personally cringe at the thought.

SD's bring freedom to the older teen and adult that would otherwise rely heavily on friends and or family/gov assistants. I myself am one of them. I am on my third SD myself. I'm also moderately functioning so am in need of them. Without mine I do not leave the house. One example: For me if I'm in a store and I get overwhelmed and freeze up, say I need to get out asap - I know I can give my dog the command to leave (or another to lead to a quiet area) and he will do so without question. If I were to ask a friend or family member I might get the answer "Oh, sure. In a min though okay? I just need to look at one more thing…." Meanwhile I'd still be frozen and unable to function.


Whether or not an SD is right for a person depends on the needs of each individual. 'Aspergers' (which is really just a cloak for high-functioning autism - autism is a spectrum already) is by definition 'high-functioning autism'. If a person is functioning well they most likely wouldn't need a Service Dog.

Certification for ESA is hogwash. Its worth less than any paper it would be printed on. ESA's are glorified and better behaved pets, they have no public access rights granted by the government. Assstance/Service Dogs have access rights granted to their disabled owner/handler. The dogs themselves have no access rights. The same dog could be taken for a walk by a friend and it would become (in the eyes of the law) just a pet. An SD is only an SD for the individual the dog assists. ESA's are beneficial don't get me wrong. I know a lot of people who don't qualify for an SD who have been helped a great deal by their ESA.





It's important to note that you describe two different types of working dogs. #1 A Service Dog has rights granted to the disabled handler to enter places of public accommodation and assist said handler. #2 An Emotional Support Dog, these dogs are glorified and better trained pets. The owners have no access rights for their dogs.

For information I highly recommend: Service Dog Central
Be sure to check out their forum, there are a lot of great long-time SD teams there to answer questions.

They have dogs trained to interrupt self-harm? How on earth do they do that?

http://www.youtube.com/user/ASDogGeek#p ... 5u6SIswJ_k

Well, do you think you can train a cat to do activities that explicitly help with reducing the impact of a disability?

(Also laws changed in the US such that only certain types of animals can be service animals. Dogs and mini ponies are the ones I'm aware of still being available)

Cats make good Emotional Support Animals though. That's what I'm planning on doing, because having an animal at all is a rather important thing for me (and unfortunately something I don't currently have 'cause of lack of income to be able to take care of a pet).

This here.

I'm a big fan of service dogs and ESAs. Obviously not everyone would need one, but those who do should be able to get one.

I don't know if a dog would help me or not, but I wouldn't go for one simply because I would rather not have a dog. My cats have provided me with a lot of emotional support over the years, though.

Totally possible. Most service cats are self-taught, though; and they tend to do tasks that aren't physically intensive, like helping nudge you out of a brain freeze, helping with social anxiety or agoraphobia, detecting seizures, or providing emotional support.

Tuttle--Check out anbuend's blog for her cat Fey. Fey is a service cat, not just an ESA.
http://catswhoknowtheyarecats.wordpress.com/

My cats are only ESAs, but they do some of that already. (ESA: Emotional support animal. Not allowed to be in public like service animals are, but allowed in any housing you occupy.)

Depends on the person.

I don't think Asperger's is serious enough to require a service dog.

I've never really understood the idea of service dogs for anything other than guide dogs for the blind, and dogs that detect seizures. This is all relatively new, from what I understand. By new, I mean within the last 20 years of so.

I suppose that it's because the first instance I've heard of dogs being used for that, other than the two instances above, was for anxiety. I have had anxiety myself in the past, severe, crippling anxiety, so I'm not putting people down who have it. I do understand. Mine was treated with medication and therapy and learning to calm myself. My problem with having a dog for it is that it's really just a self calming method, or mind trick. The dog itself doesn't calm you, the idea of the dog does. The fact that someone has the dog with them, tricks the mind into a different thought pattern. It's psychological, not physiological. Meds work physiologically, and sometimes psychologically. If I know that I have my Xanax in my purse I am less likely to have a panic attack, because I know I have something that will stop it. But if I do have one, the Xanax works on my brain chemistry and stops it. The dog however, cannot work in any physiological way. To me, having a dog for a psychological condition is in the same catagory as stepping outside the room for a minute to get yourself back together. It's something the mind itself does.

Of course there is no harm in having one, but it seems a bit of overkill to me to have a dog for anxiety unless it's a temporary fix so that the person can learn that they can actually do things. I mean, the dog isn't going to be able to really do anything to help someone. They can bite someone for you if you are being attacked. They can guide a blind person if they know how to do that. They really can't do much to calm you, other than sitting there and letting you pet them, or licking your face or something that they have been trained to do. That works psychologically, a learned response on the part of the person with the dog. I suppose what I'm saying is that if you can teach yourself that something is fine to do with a dog, when the dog is of no practical assistance in any way, then you can teach yourself that it's fine to do without the dog, because it's all simply a learned response.

Frances

I have a letter from my phycatrist that states my pet lizard can go anywhere with me. I take her everywhere and most people don't even ask to see her letter. I took her to a restruant and the waitress who seated me asked what she was and said she was cute. The manager asked me to leave but I showed him my letter and he appoligized. This one lady (maybe another manager) asked me to bring her back anytime and if anyone gave me any trouble about her, to just tell them that she said it is okay. People around here actualy get upset if I DON'T have my lizard with me.

I would not mind having a dog in general.....but a service dog would be cool because then I can bring it everywere with me.

As far as I know placebos or psychological effects can influence brain chemistry as much as pills on many occasions. I have read the placebo effect can account for 30% of observed health improvements in scientific experiments. So why not prescribe a lizard or dog or cat or pet cockroach just the same as Xanax if it works?