School tries to ban autistic boy's service dog

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I'm an aspie and I'm training a service dog for my sister, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy. These stories make me angry because they highlight the bureaucratic blubber that impedes progress.

Even more, you should read some of the comments, specifically those belonging to Mr. Lopez.

Autistic boy must be allowed...

Last edited by rabidmonkey4262 on 17 Jun 2011, 2:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Only from the OC. Have had more than my fair share of run-ins with school officials in this county. Obviously, they still haven't learned anything since the late 60s. Sad all the way around. Good for the boy though & his dog, but the school district is run by complete idiots!

I find the most offensive comment to be from the "alliance of people who care." What is the alliance & who is it they care for since the following statement: "Students who pinch and scratch others should not be in public school. Amazing that a kid can get away with that, but if someone brings a plastic butter knife to school, SWAT is called" is very rude, ignorant, & uncalled for.

I could understand if one of the kids was allergic to the dog, but the article made no mention of that. What's the problem if no one is allergic to the dog and the dog is well behaved?

Most likely, it's the school district who has the problem. They're not educated on what works to help kids on the spectrum. They don't care either. To them, it's a waste of resources better spent on teaching kids English as a second language or focusing on normal kids. If you are on the spectrum, they'd rather that you are home-schooled by your parents so they don't have to deal with you or your issues. They think autism is too much of a distraction over all. How do I know this? I personally experienced it when I was enrolled in another OC school district. I hit the very same wall with my kids too.

I learned some social skills from cats when small, I think if a child has a connection to an animal the animal can teach them a lot of social stuff because animal communication is usually more obvious. The links can then be made to less obvious social stuff with other humans.

There's also the comfort of knowing someone who won't reject them, who likes them even when they make mistakes and someone who a child doesn't have to pretend things to. Why would anyone want to take away someone so precious from a child who needs them?

Yes! We both came up with the same conclusion independently. Even before I knew I had AS, I knew that I could understand dogs easier than humans, and that I felt better when interacting with dogs. It was a comfort thing. Dogs are more predictable and they never mask, but humans always have some hidden thoughts.

The other thing I noticed is that in order to successfully interact with a member of another species, you have to be very conscious of their body language. NTs are not conscious of human nor dog body language. They communicate with intuition, which works fine when you are communicating with other humans, but doesn't work so well when communicating with other species. Being, an autistic individual, you need all the practice you can get being conscious of body language, so a dog or a cat is good preparation. I can decode body language in dogs much the same way I decode body language in humans, and it's a conscious effort. I found that other humans were always ignorant of a dog's body language. For example, they would extend their hand to the dog as the dog's head is turning away. Obviously, the dog doesn't want to be pet and might bite because he doesn't trust the human.

They might be afraid that the service animal is smarter than them, so they don't want it in the school.

Would you be able to give me some tips regarding dogs? I understand some of my boyfriends dogs body language but some of it I have very little idea. I understand cats a lot better but I haven't been around many dogs.

This

I'm most disturbed by the comments on that article and how many people think that there are 'special schools' freely available to anyone with a disability. The dog helps the boy from exhibiting those behaviors. If he was blind would they tell him he couldn't use his guide dog?

Most people have a serious SERIOUS lack of knowledge and are much too quick to pass judgement without any facts at all. I really have little faith or hope in our species. And internet comment boards have just cemented that belief.

Personaly, I think the parents should just pull the kid out and homeschool him.

homeschooling is the best thing for kids on the spectrum, but that requires a parent to stop work so they can take care of the kid.

Plus not all parents are able to do this. If me dad torted me to do scool den I wud be in a pritty bad weigh now! (joke!)

This is obviously a good example of why teachers and admin staff must receive special training in order to teach "Critical Thinking Skills"

Sounds like the same BS any time schools are brought up. "kids should only go to school is they dont need any type of help at all" is there any kid like that? I worked in a puplic school for four years. I have seen kids bring in so much stuff to "help" them(one kid got to bring in a tv set) yet when there is really something that can help its a battle.

Much as I love them, I don't believe service dogs should be allowed in schools. Nevermind allergies or the fact that some kids are scared of dogs, what happens if one bites a child? I know they're incredibly well trained, but all it takes is one freak incident and it would be a nightmare.

I think if you require a service dog, mainstream schools are probably not the way to go.

http://www.servicedogcentral.org/content/node/412

Just doing a quick google, it seems rare that children under 16 get guide dogs.