Re: service dog?

August 13, 2009

I think a service dog would be a really good idea. I wanted one for my 4 year old AS son but my husband won't let me get one. You have to fill out an application and get qualified first. The only thing you have to pay for is to take care of the dog from what I gather. Good luck!! TinaFrom: Hensinger <lovemy2sonz@...>Subject: ( ) service dog? Date: Thursday, August 13, 2009, 9:03 AM

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.

August 13, 2009

>

> ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ Has anyone out there ever tried to work with a service/therapy

dog for their Asperger child?ï¿½

We don't use one, but I know people that do. I wish I had saved some links, but

I didn't. They are wonderful for kids that are a good fit. They are typically

over $20,000 to train and sometimes the person receiving the dog has to help pay

because there is nobody else to pay. There is also ongoing training. Usually the

organization supplying the dogs will carefully screen the applicants, to see if

their particular problems are something a dog can really help with. So, you

probably don't need to worry about wasting your money, if you actually get the

go-ahead to get a dog. They are especially useful for kids with extreme sensory

issues and coordination problems. They can also be trained to handle the child

if the child goes into a seizure, if your child is seizure-prone. From what I

have seen, what they help with are things like helping the child walk a straight

line (or go along with the group)/keep proper personal space and sensing

meltdowns. They actually teach these dogs to physically restrain the child in a

non-hurtful way that also typically helps calm the child down. The kids report

that the dogs also give them more self-confidence and more of a sense of

calmness simply by their presence/them knowing they will be there for them.

Given the price tag, they are generally only used (as far as I can see) for kids

who are so severe that they have great difficulty going out in public. Their

families can finally get them out with the help of the dog. They are life

altering for these families.

August 13, 2009

Tina:

Thank you for your reply to my email with a question about service dogs.

I may have some interesting information for you. You may want to check out the laws concerning the use of service dogs when it comes to your son. A few years ago my husband and I won a case concerning his service dog (he has cerebral palsy) against a former landlord. Our case went all the way to the U.S. District court here in Columbus, Ohio. People are under the misconception that a service dog has to be professionally trained and certified as such. If the laws have not changed, all a service has to do is to be able to serve the needs of the person they are a service dog for. We got his dog (a boxer named Tiqui) from the Heart of Ohio Boxer Rescue. We trained her ourselves. You do not have to get a dog from one of the organizations that train them as a profession. I'm not discouting the value of those dogs at all. But if your doctor will verify that your son needs one, it is

well behaved, it provides the help your son needs, you can get the dog that will be trained from anywhere you want. We my fhusband's first service dog was from the lin County Animal Shelter. You would be able to take the dog anywhere any other piece of medical equipment, such as a wheelchair, would be allowed - including restaurants and hospitals. And you don't have to explain to anybody why your son would need the dog. It does help to carry papers from a doctor to verify the need for the dog in case a business has a dispute with you over allowing the dog on to their property. If I were you I'd prepare myself. if you do end up with a dog, to politely learn a way to say to those asking what your son's disability is that it's none of their business.

Good luck with your son.

Hensinger

P.S. My favorite saying about dogs is this, "Money can buy a pretty good dog. But it can't buy the way in his tail."

From: tina palvado <tpalvado@...> Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 1:17:46 PMSubject: Re: ( ) service dog?

I think a service dog would be a really good idea. I wanted one for my 4 year old AS son but my husband won't let me get one. You have to fill out an application and get qualified first. The only thing you have to pay for is to take care of the dog from what I gather. Good luck!! Tina

From: Hensinger <lovemy2sonz@ ymail.com>Subject: ( ) service dog? Date: Thursday, August 13, 2009, 9:03 AM

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.

August 13, 2009

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.

>

August 13, 2009

We had a not-so-great experience with a service dog training organization. They

found us a dog, standard poodle, which is great for the allergy issues since he

has hair and not fur. Then I signed a contract that said I would " participate

in " the training. Then they left me high and dry with the dog for 3 months

because trainers were sick with the flu and stuff. I had never had a dog before

and had no clue about socializing them. I also had a 5 year old son with AS and

a 2 year old extremely anxious and clingy but not autistic daughter. My son

would just run off, my daughter would hang on me. Trying to train the dog

without any supervision at all under these circumstances was horrible. He is

also a very head strong and dominant dog. I had no clue about how to deal with

that. I tend NOT to dominate and don't know how to be a pack leader. Then once

the trainers could work with me they still wanted ME to do all the training and

to come to all these training sessions without my children. So I had to invest

in drop-in daycare. My son sometimes did okay with this daycare but sometimes

didn't. If he was at preschool then I'd have to leave my daughter in daycare

along which stressed her so much she would vomit. Then I was told I was not

holding up my end of the bargain, not fulfilling my end of the contract. I

didn't have a copy so asked for one. They never gave me a copy. I had to pay

for doggy daycare and my dog was thrown out for being aggressive and this was

blamed on ME. He is NOT aggressive but he's a poodle and he plays like a poodle

which tends to annoy labs so that THEY become aggressive with him.

Check out any trainers well. Ask them how much time they expect you to spend

actually DOING the training. Ask if there will be training before you get the

dog. Ours had zero training in advance so I had to do EVERYTHING. Talk to

other families who worked with the trainers. Ask them what will happen if, for

some reason, they are unable to help you for an extended time. Ask them what

will happen if you become incapacitated and will not be able to work with the

dog for a while. Get a copy of any contract you sign. Make sure there are

protections in the contract for you.

We managed to extricate ourselves when my husband lost his job and we had to

move to another state. The trainers couldn't find anyone to work with us in

Texas so nobody ever mentioned the contract again. The service dog thing was a

big mistake. We still have our dog and he's sweet and I still work with him on

training to be a good pet but I stopped the service dog training because I had

bigger worries like the stupid school in Texas (the first one, not the second

one) telling me my son was emotionally disturbed (yeah, right after every expert

including developmental pediatrician Barbara from s Hopkins famous

for her potty training tape, It's Potty Time, said he was " WELL ADJUSTED " thank

you very much). was miserable and more aggressive than ever before. I

told the school, " If he's disturbed then you're the ones who have disturbed

him! " Training the dog was at the bottom of my list.

This dog training organization made my life hell. I told them it was going to

be too hard for me to do that much training and they said, " We're not here to

make your life easier. We're here to make your son's life easier. " YEAH?

Well, that's just stupid because making MY life more difficult only made HIS

life more difficult. Sure the one person who deals with all the hard stuff in

his life is suddenly so stressed she can barely cope and that makes his life

easier. SURE.

Turns out I have neurological issues similar to my son's. I don't have enough

for an AS diagnosis but I'm physically very very awkward. I can't hold a leash

and give the dog training treats at the same time. I can't get the timing right

on the training treats. I can't walk down the block without stumbling and have

broken more bones falling and running into furniture, walls etc. than anyone I

know!!! I'm the one who always always always spills drinks at parties. The

trainers said, " Other people seem to be able to handle the training " . Sure.

I'm not them. UGH.

Miriam