Autism and Service Dogs?

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I mainly only '' look '' here, I don't participate in conversation or create post but I've been around for a while just reading you guys. I don't post because I have no social skills and I don't know how to be included. Anyway.. I have autism and panic disorder and I'm considered disabled by it. I'm 18 and well I can't go out of the house alone, terrible melt down and panic attacks whenever I'm around people and crowds, I'm a danger to myself because I space out when I'm over stimulated and well, I can't always remember to check both sides of the road before crossing and other normal things. And I can't recognized people out of context either. I can't answer question in public or anything. But my life has taken a turn for the best when I ended up being paired with a service dog.

He calms my melt down, prevents them, alert to panic attacks before they get out of control, block streets and such to remind me to look both sides, body blocks to avoid people getting close to me overall or when I'm waiting in line at a store or shopping and other similar tasks.

I was wondering if any other people have a service dog for their autism ?

PS : Sorry if this post is not okay or anything I really can't tell what is socially acceptable or not this is horrible I'm definitely not at peace with my diagnosis even tho I've had it when I was really young

Hi,

I am currently doing research into this for a research project at college and from my questionnaire it does seem apparent that many people do feel animals would benefit them, whether it be a service dog or purely as a pet for emotional assistance.

If you would like to talk about your experience, it would be great if you could answer my questionnaire? The link is http://goo.gl/forms/i1SW8Ob3nd

I am glad you found the courage to post, you write and articulate your thoughts better than I do at the moment. I hope you continue to post and share your experiences on WP. I don't have a service dog but I have read a thread that another user on this forum was looking to get one for her autism. I think that is really sweet that your service dog can do all those things that you mentioned for you. I hope your service dog allows you some more independence and a step towards having a less restrictive, more fulfilling life and some peace.

Hello Sammi, I think your post is good. I also have problems with writing what I feel and talking to people too.

It makes me happy to hear that your dog is helping you so much. I used to have dogs and miss them, not a service dog though, I think this is still relatively uncommon for people with autism.

Best wishes, NW.

I joined recently too. I think the cool thing about this forum is you don't need social skills to participate, I don't have social skills either and find other forums overwhelming, I never know what the hell they are on about. Here, I always get what people are on about.

We have a service dog, mainly for my 6 year old son who is also ASD (so am I). The dog is his best buddy, they even sleep together and she is so protective. I also work with kids with special needs and take her to work with me. She can see a meltdown coming and will drop down and crawl over to them so they can pat her and calm down. I didn't teach her to do that, she just does it, she just gets it.

More people need to understand what an "autism service dog" is. I actually had another mother at school stop me one day and ask, "why is it an autism dog, does the dog have autism?". Seriously? I couldn't believe what she just said.

Thank you for all the answer it is very kind, does makes me want to post again in the future. I'm glad to know that people are very open regarding lack of social skills and I'm glad I was easily understood.

There is actually dogs with autism but it is very rare, as though I think here it was a joke?

I wonder if I could get a service cat for University? *Mew*

I would love a service animal but both my hearing and my autism are too mild (afaik).

You write well.

My first day to WP forums and I am happy to see some of have good experience with your dogs, whether service or not.
Our daughter has severe Autism and loves her three dogs, none of which are service dogs. Two of them put up with her as she can be aggressive, she usually chases them and they are ok with that. Her other dog is a male black lab rescue. From the moment we brought him into our home, they were best buddies. She can jump on him, bite him, tug on his ears and he never cries or runs from her. She will turn up her radio too loud and he will unplug it ( no joke ). When other dogs are around, like at the dog park, he stands between them and her when they approach. When she swims in a lake we go to, he is in the water playing with her the entire time. I can not say enough about their relationship, truly something to see. I looked into a service dog years ago and I'm not sure how expensive it is or if there are programs to get one with little cost. Either way, a good dog does a lot of good !

Welcome, Sammi.

Yes, I have an Autism Service Dog, too. His name is Anubis. He alerts me to rising anxiety, stops self-harm, and calms meltdowns. He prevents me from wandering off, does guide work, and searches for my family, if we get separated.

I believe there is another user called ASdogGeek with a Service Dog.

_________________
31st of July, 2013
Diagnosed: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Auditory-Verbal Processing Speed Disorder, and Visual-Motor Processing Speed Disorder.

Weak Emerging Social Communicator (The Social Thinking-­Social Communication Profile by Michelle Garcia Winner, Pamela Crooke and Stephanie Madrigal)

"I am silently correcting your grammar."

I didn't mean to offend.

It's not so much that I want to be more disabled, or that I want a service dog for the 'cool' factor (in fact, the thing I'd like least about having one is being marked as disabled - even though I know that's not a nice thing to think).

It's more that I think I fall into a too disabled for/not disabled enough gap. I have really quite variable functioning. For example, I can't reliably be counted on to cook safely by myself. Things like that make me more reliant on my wife than I'd like to be.

Sorry it came out wrong.. I'm bad at expressing myself.. I mainly said that for the person who quoted you, saying that they should be allowed for everyone on the spectrum.

I think I understand where you're coming from.. I think all of us are challenged by things that neurotypical found normal. I definitely can't cook either but sadly it's one of those things a service dog can't help with.. Wish they could cook for us I could not rely on my mom or pre-made frozen meal..

Sorry for the confusion