According to the American Disabilities Act, a person has the right to use a service dog if he or she has a disability that severely limits one or more major life activities. In most cases, children with autism can greatly benefit from a service dog that is trained to perform tasks to mitigate their disabilities. Here are the specific ways in which an assistance dog can help children with autism.
Protects Autistic Children from Danger
Because most autistic children have no concept of personal safety, they are likely to wander outdoors unsupervised. In order to prevent children from accidentally running into traffic, a child can be tethered from his harness to the dog’s harness. While a child grasps a handle from the dog’s harness, an adult is always holding the leash.
Provides Autistic Children Emotional Support
An autism assistance dog can provide children with emotional support. Sometimes humans are unable to tolerate an autistic child’s unusual noises, unique body language, and compulsive behaviors. However, a service dog is trained to handle these abnormalities by using touch intervention. Additionally, these special companions can help autistic children ease sensory overload by grounding their unceasing environmental experiences. Children with autism often hear, feel, and smell everything simultaneously; therefore, an assistance dog can encourage them to filter-out sensory input.
Alerts the Public of a Child’s Condition
Many people associated the actions of autistic children with those of a spoiled kid; however, a trained assistance dog can alert the public that a child has a neurodevelopment disorder. Once the public understands a child’s condition, then it is possible that interactions with autistic children can run more smoothly. An autism assistance dog can help children overcome any gross delays that they may experience in public or crowds.
The kindness and gentleness of an autism assistance dog can encourage children to live his life to the best of his ability. A child may benefit from a service dog if he shows some of the following signs of autism: non-responsive to verbal cues, difficulty maintaining eye contact, obsessive attachment to objects, noticeable physical over-activity, apparent over-sensitivity, and resistance to change.
