service dogs for autistic children

[tspretznow]

Did any one get a chance to see (on GMA) how they are using our wonderful k-9 friends to help autisic children?

[hivin]

Hello:

It's marvelous what they're doing for the Autistic kids and their families ... We spent almost 15 years working for the local society for autistic children and adults ... and they need all the support and assistance they can get.

What we find most interesting about the fact that they're having such success in this area is that many individuals with autism are extremely afraid of any sort of animal ( too unpredictable ... they make noises they don't like , etc ) This will open doors for so many families and improve their lives ... make them feel securer ... it's wonderful.

Hivin

[yoyopoodle]

Harmony has two siblings that are in training for this work

[l_l_a]

That's fascinating and wonderful!

The organization I got my service dog through trains a variety of service dogs, and among them are Autism Dogs that they have placed with kids as young as 3 or 4 years old, which is an age that many organizations won't even consider placing a Service Dog with a child that young, but the organization has had some really good successes with kids especially.

[cturtle]

i know in our research we found about 3 to 4 agencies that train dogs for this specific area.

I have met online 2 families with this type of service dog who just can't say enough good things about the work their dog does. The things they can now do that most people take for granted just because they have a helper now. It's fascinating all the things these dogs are trained to do. One said her dog has about 600 to 800 commands.

We are working on learning more about this type of dog.

[ozibe]

i know this is an old thread, but there is a 'company/charity' in australia, Bendigo is the town, called Righteous Pups, they train dogs for autism. They do a wonderful job but like all charities need money to keep, train the dogs. Lions club in tasmania are hoping to get on board and sponser a dog right through its training to when it goes to a new home.

[alyssadfa]

I happen to work for a program that does just this! We're called Dogs for Autism, however our dogs are more trained as an extra set of eyes and ears for the parents, and usually don't respond to commands given by the child as in most of the other programs.