Autism Service Dog for Adult

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I'm an adult (26 year old) Aspie living in the Chicago area. I've had dogs my whole life (as pets) and have been missing having dogs since I moved to Illinois from Colorado. I believe I could benefit from an Autism service dog especially for emotional stability and anxiety. I was wondering if anyone on here had experience with an Autism service dog as an adult or knew of any organizations for getting an Autism service dog as an adult, especially one in the midwest (preferably IL or southern WI).

I'm interested in this information too, as I've been giving consideration to looking for an autism service dog recently.

Don't do it. Service animals are taken from their families and trained for a lifetime of servitude, servitude to deal with your problems. Imagine being taken as a child and brainwashed your whole life so that you could help other people handle their problems, regardless of what you want to do with your life. It is slavery and psychological torture.

If you truly care about dogs, do not support the service animal industry.

They looked into getting one for me through the local agency that supplies them. It is a bit of a process. Decided I do not need one yet as am always with a family member.

I feel I wouldn't meet their qualifications to get a service dog. Hell, it's hard enough for me to get any type of help because I'm "too normal looking...have a job...drive...yadda yadda yadda..." (sigh)

I actually think service dog would really help me. I wonder if an ordinary dog would do, I get great comfort form spending time with my mum's dog. Obviously a dog needs a special jacket to go places.....
Don't think my landlord would agree to it... I couldn't leave a dog all day while I work, so I'd want a dog I could take with me, a service dog is the answer....
I also look normal and work and drive...

It sounds like you are looking for an Emotional Support Dog as opposed to a Service Dog, no? The laws differ between the two. Obtaining a trained service dog is a rather lengthy process.

As relating to US law:

Service dogs CAN be owner trained, do not require any sort of identification or special vest (though most handlers put them on their dogs, it's just easier), but they are expected to maintain a much higher standard of behavior than your average pet dog while they're working. The handler is required to be disabled and by the laws regarding ADA a business owner is only allowed to ask two questions: "Is this a service animal?" and "What tasks does it perform?"

The dog can still be asked to be removed if it proves a nuisance (barking, growling, lunging, using the restroom indoors) but it is otherwise required to be allowed access to public places.

An emotional support animal, what many of you are talking about, does NOT have ANY access rights under federal law. It does, however, have allowances in two places: pet restricted housing, and airplane travel. They require a doctors letter explaining that the dog is an emotional support animal. "While Emotional Support Animals or Comfort Animals are often used as part of a medical treatment plan as therapy animals, they are not considered service animals under the ADA. These support animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities."

There is a lot of misinformation about service animals out there. Buying an "ID" for your dog does not make it a service dog.

Some further reading:

http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

http://www.ada.gov/archive/qasrvc.htm

https://adata.org/publication/service-animals-booklet

I am unaware of the laws regarding service animals in other countries.

If this is a route you want to go, whether an emotional support animal or service animal, just remember animals are a major commitment. They require time, care, and training. They live 10+ years, and you shouldn't just get rid of them when you tire of them or when you don't want to clean up after them anymore or when they make a noise or a smell you don't like. I am all for having pets, they're very rewarding. I'm all for people who require service dogs having service dogs, enabling them to live much fuller and richer lives.

For whatever it may be worth, when somebody tried to get me a service dog, the basic idea was to get one from the SPCA and train the dog to help me. We didn't do it, though.

A major problem with fake service dogs is that they make people become less tolerant of real service dogs. Fake service dogs are not carefully selected for the job and are rarely well trained. As a result, they are much more likely to misbehave or cause other disruptions.

Another thing to remember is that only service dogs and in some cases miniature horses count as service animals. There is no protection whatever, to the best of my knowledge, that any business have to put up with any other animal and in some cases such as restaurants it may be illegal to even permit them at all.

Fake service dogs are a real pet peeve of mine. Any bozo who wrongly complains his dog is a service dog should spend a week in jail without the dog.