Guest guest Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 Wow, you did have a bad experience. We are just starting with our service dog, the lady we are working with has trained dogs for many different reasons, but now she mainly trains service dogs for Autistic kids. Our dog is 12 weeks old and is a black lab. We have a puppy raiser, she trains my sons dog along with attending the weekly training sessions with the service dog trainer. We have been lucky, our dog and training have been at no cost. This has been great, we are use to hearing sorry we cant help you or it will cost you a big sum of money. This has been the first time something has actually gone our way since my son's Aspergers dx. I have seen other Aspergers kids with their service dogs and I see a big difference in the child's behavior and I can see where the child connects with the dog. My son has a few visits with his dog and I already see their bond. I just wanted to share our experience, I feel that service dogs do make a difference in the lives of Autistic children and adults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 Pam: I hope it works out with getting a service animal for your daughter.So I hope you don't mind some advice concerning the use of animals. First piece of advice - always refer to the animal you pick (whether it is a dog, lizard, pig, or moose, or whatever) as a 'service' animal and not a 'therapy' animal. Service animals are trained to fit the needs of individuals with disabilities. Therapy animals are trained to work with larger groups of stangers usually in insitutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, etc. If you get your doctor to agree that your daughter could benefit from the use of a therapy animal it's also important that they use the correct term. If I remember correctly a service dog is not considered a pet but a working animal and is classified in the same category as a wheelchair or oxygen. I also think it's really neat that dogs arn't the only animals that can be service animals. If someone responds well to a bird that bird could be considered their service animal. And because each person with a disability is different the law only requires that the service animal meet the needs of that individual person. I'm not against highly trained animals at all. Especially when it comes to obedience. I have a bloodhound that will soon be going into the Open Obedience class at our local training club. But if an animal has the ability to get a person with Asperger's or Autism to deal with their issues it wouldn't have to do much more than sit there like a bump on a log, providing that the bump on a log was under control. One more major piece of advice - know the laws, both local and national, the apply to your situation! Big one - the American's with Disabilities Act. Also become familiar with case law that is relevant. I wish I could remember the case where a child was penalized for their behavior that was related directly to their disability. Ive had my son removed from the classroom simply because he wasn't focusing on the work being done and was being considered a destraction. This school system thinks I was a pain in the butt last year - well, they haven't seen anything yet! Hensinger From: susanonderko <susanonderko@...> Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 8:31:25 PMSubject: ( ) Re: service dog? wow, what a great idea. My daughter loves all animals. She is practically mute around people. But when she has an animal with her at school (she brought her lizard one day) or at the 4H fair she is like another person.You have given me an idea. Her school anxiety is so high even on medication. I may talk to the psychiatrist about the possibility of letting her have a pet at school to check in on and feed. She would be happy with her hermit crabs. I do think for some kids and my daughter is one of them animals are very therapuetic to her.great idea!!!Pam $ro>> Hello, Everbody!> My name is and we live in Columbus, Ohio. My oldest son, who is 10, is being evaluated for Asperger's. I really don't think there's any way I could be convinced he doesn't have it. It would explain so much - the emotional outbursts, the repetitive drawing, handling social situations so poorly, co-exisiting with his ADHD, behind in reading but advanced in math, his need for ritual behavior, etc. etc. etc. I'm not wanting a diagnosis of AS. I just want the truth about what is going on with him. In some ways I think it might be a relief to finally put a name to what is causing his issues. At least then we could take the appropriate steps to get him the help he needs.> Has anyone out there ever tried to work with a service/therapy dog for their Asperger child? I had a lady friend of mine that is a social worker that has been with lin County Children's Services for years voice her concerns over our son and the possibility of ASD. She said she had suspicions about him but didn't know how to approach the subject. One of the things she asked me was if our son was ever mean to animals. Sometimes he's carelessly too rough. I'm not making excuses for him to allow this behavior to continue. But from his point of view he doesn't set out to intentionally hurt them. I have, however, noticed a difference when Noah is around animals, dogs in particular. When we are at the Columbus All Breed Dog Training Club we often run into a lady and her golden retriever, Donna and Shammy. Nicest lady and nices dog you'd ever meet! One goal for Shammy is to be a therapy dog. Noah absolutely loves that> dog. He calms down and focuses better. Do any of you kind people out there have an opinion on using therapy/service dogs with ASD children?> > Thank you,> > H.> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 14, 2009 Report Share Posted August 14, 2009 To Pam and everyone else that is interested in a service animal for their child with Autism/ASD: Dear Friends: The big question is; where do we go from here? I bet there are so many of us that have talents/education/ and/or employment that could benefit these children and the families that would like to have a service animal. How do we organize to form a cohesive group that can speed up the process for children that could benefit from such an animal? For instance, I am a social work student at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. I could probably do some research about the College of Veterninary Medicine and what resources they have. I am also an active member of the Columbus All-Breed Dog Training Club. This club offers a wide variety of dog related activities/classes and I'm sure someone could put me on the right track to some more resources. If there is anyone out there in this support group that would be willing to throw in their 2 cents worth on what to do now I'm quite willing to let them have my personal contact information. My email is lovemy2sonz@.... If anyone would like my phone number and mailing address just let me know. Thank you, Hensinger From: susanonderko <susanonderko@...> Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 2:23:24 PMSubject: ( ) Re: service dog? , thank you for all the advice. I see what you mean about the terminology. Since my daughter is so anxious and finds it upsetting to go anywherewithout a safe person I think a service animal would helpher. I have not considered this before. Even for safetlyshe always has her head down when she gets out of the carand is walking. I am not sure how to go about the next steps but you have me considering a new direction.thanks so much,Pam > >> > Hello, Everbody!> > My name is and we live in Columbus, Ohio. My oldest son, who is 10, is being evaluated for Asperger's. I really don't think there's any way I could be convinced he doesn't have it. It would explain so much - the emotional outbursts, the repetitive drawing, handling social situations so poorly, co-exisiting with his ADHD, behind in reading but advanced in math, his need for ritual behavior, etc. etc. etc. I'm not wanting a diagnosis of AS. I just want the truth about what is going on with him. In some ways I think it might be a relief to finally put a name to what is causing his issues. At least then we could take the appropriate steps to get him the help he needs.> > Has anyone out there ever tried to work with a service/therapy dog for their Asperger child? I had a lady friend of mine that is a social worker that has been with lin County Children's Services for years voice her concerns over our son and the possibility of ASD. She said she had suspicions about him but didn't know how to approach the subject. One of the things she asked me was if our son was ever mean to animals. Sometimes he's carelessly too rough. I'm not making excuses for him to allow this behavior to continue. But from his point of view he doesn't set out to intentionally hurt them. I have, however, noticed a difference when Noah is around animals, dogs in particular. When we are at the Columbus All Breed Dog Training Club we often run into a lady and her golden retriever, Donna and Shammy. Nicest lady and nices dog you'd ever meet! One goal for Shammy is to be a therapy dog. Noah absolutely loves that> > dog. He calms down and focuses better. Do any of you kind people out there have an opinion on using therapy/service dogs with ASD children?> > > > Thank you,> > > > H.> >> > > __.._,_.___> Messages in this topic (4) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic > Messages > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 I'm glad this is working out for you! Still, calling it "fund-raising" is a nice way to say "buy." I mean, I guess it sounds better to say "donate" than "give me." lol. But you are still paying for the dog/service. Roxanna "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." E. Burke ( ) Re: service dog? Usually I'm more of a lurker than a poster on here but I had to jump in on this one! We are curently fundraising to get our ten year old an Autism Service Dog. Our son has Asperger Syndrome, OCD, and Generalized Anxiety. We have researched a lot on Autism Service Dogs and the organization we are going with is amazing. They go above and beyond to make sure your child gets the best dog match possible and personally train the dog to your child's specific needs. It is 4 Paws For Ability in Ohio (www.4pawsforability.org). We are fudraising $11,000 for 4 Paws in exchange for fundraising for their organization our son will receive his Service Dog (you're not 'buying' your dog you're fundraising for their organization, it costs a lot of money to train and place all these amazing dogs). There are other places you can go with to get a dog for 'free' (they do their own fundraising) but you typically have a 2-5 year wait list. With 4 Paws you do your own fundraising and as soon as you're done it takes them about 9 months to train your dog. If anyone has any questions let me know. I am so excited about this opportunity for my son, I'm more than happy to share the info with others : ) Wells www.4pawsforsean.webs.com > > > > Hello, Everbody! > > My name is and we live in Columbus, Ohio. My oldest son, who is 10, is being evaluated for Asperger's. I really don't think there's any way I could be convinced he doesn't have it. It would explain so much - the emotional outbursts, the repetitive drawing, handling social situations so poorly, co-exisiting with his ADHD, behind in reading but advanced in math, his need for ritual behavior, etc. etc. etc. I'm not wanting a diagnosis of AS. I just want the truth about what is going on with him. In some ways I think it might be a relief to finally put a name to what is causing his issues. At least then we could take the appropriate steps to get him the help he needs. > > Has anyone out there ever tried to work with a service/therapy dog for their Asperger child? I had a lady friend of mine that is a social worker that has been with lin County Children's Services for years voice her concerns over our son and the possibility of ASD. She said she had suspicions about him but didn't know how to approach the subject. One of the things she asked me was if our son was ever mean to animals. Sometimes he's carelessly too rough. I'm not making excuses for him to allow this behavior to continue. But from his point of view he doesn't set out to intentionally hurt them. I have, however, noticed a difference when Noah is around animals, dogs in particular. When we are at the Columbus All Breed Dog Training Club we often run into a lady and her golden retriever, Donna and Shammy. Nicest lady and nices dog you'd ever meet! One goal for Shammy is to be a therapy dog. Noah absolutely loves that > > dog. He calms down and focuses better. Do any of you kind people out there have an opinion on using therapy/service dogs with ASD children? > > > > Thank you, > > > > H. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 looks like a nice organization. I am in Ohio too! Roxanna "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." E. Burke ( ) Re: service dog? Usually I'm more of a lurker than a poster on here but I had to jump in on this one! We are curently fundraising to get our ten year old an Autism Service Dog. Our son has Asperger Syndrome, OCD, and Generalized Anxiety. We have researched a lot on Autism Service Dogs and the organization we are going with is amazing. They go above and beyond to make sure your child gets the best dog match possible and personally train the dog to your child's specific needs. It is 4 Paws For Ability in Ohio (www.4pawsforability.org). We are fudraising $11,000 for 4 Paws in exchange for fundraising for their organization our son will receive his Service Dog (you're not 'buying' your dog you're fundraising for their organization, it costs a lot of money to train and place all these amazing dogs). There are other places you can go with to get a dog for 'free' (they do their own fundraising) but you typically have a 2-5 year wait list. With 4 Paws you do your own fundraising and as soon as you're done it takes them about 9 months to train your dog. If anyone has any questions let me know. I am so excited about this opportunity for my son, I'm more than happy to share the info with others : ) Wells www.4pawsforsean.webs.com > > > > Hello, Everbody! > > My name is and we live in Columbus, Ohio. My oldest son, who is 10, is being evaluated for Asperger's. I really don't think there's any way I could be convinced he doesn't have it. It would explain so much - the emotional outbursts, the repetitive drawing, handling social situations so poorly, co-exisiting with his ADHD, behind in reading but advanced in math, his need for ritual behavior, etc. etc. etc. I'm not wanting a diagnosis of AS. I just want the truth about what is going on with him. In some ways I think it might be a relief to finally put a name to what is causing his issues. At least then we could take the appropriate steps to get him the help he needs. > > Has anyone out there ever tried to work with a service/therapy dog for their Asperger child? I had a lady friend of mine that is a social worker that has been with lin County Children's Services for years voice her concerns over our son and the possibility of ASD. She said she had suspicions about him but didn't know how to approach the subject. One of the things she asked me was if our son was ever mean to animals. Sometimes he's carelessly too rough. I'm not making excuses for him to allow this behavior to continue. But from his point of view he doesn't set out to intentionally hurt them. I have, however, noticed a difference when Noah is around animals, dogs in particular. When we are at the Columbus All Breed Dog Training Club we often run into a lady and her golden retriever, Donna and Shammy. Nicest lady and nices dog you'd ever meet! One goal for Shammy is to be a therapy dog. Noah absolutely loves that > > dog. He calms down and focuses better. Do any of you kind people out there have an opinion on using therapy/service dogs with ASD children? > > > > Thank you, > > > > H. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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