Are you entitled to?

Question

a friend of mine has a kid who has aspergers syndrome,selective mutism and social anxiety disorder. he has a dog and finds it much easier to socialise when he is with his dog and refuses to goanywhere if he cant have his dog with him but not all places allow dogs. is there a dog like a guide dog that is allowed to go in most places that pet dogs arent allowed and would my friends child be entitled to this type of dog? is there a therapy dog that does this sort of work?

Answer 1

therapy dogs can be used for this purpose-----they must be allowed just like a gog used for mobility by a person who is blind.......

Answer 2

Dogs can be registered as therapy dogs and may be allowed in some places that other dogs are not, but I don't think they would have as much access as a guide dog.

Therapy Dogs International is one organization that registers these dogs:

http://www.tdi-dog.org/

Answer 3

have the dog licensed as a service animal.  he'd have access to anywhere the child goes because of his disability.  use the website that was listed above to figure out what needs to be done to start the process.

Answer 4

Absolutly. There are several organizations that train therapy dogs specifically for people with autism. These therapy dogs can go anywhere a guide dog can go which is any public place. I am a special education teacher and I had a student with autism with therapy dog in my classroom this year. The dog went every went everywhere with the student. It was a great exerience for all. I really saw the benefits not only for her but for my other students and for the general education students. It was a great social connection for the student. The student was able to tell people about her dog adn it helped keep the student calm during times of sensory overload.

Answer 5

Depends where you live. In some areas you can get an assistance dog or a service dog. The most well known are ones like guide dogs, hearing dogs and mobility dogs but you may be able to get a dog for the Asperger's thing.

Get in touch with either a Service dog group (generic) or an Asperger's group and ask if this is aloud in your area.

Not sure about whether a child would be entitled to it though there are some organizations who have rules that say the client has to be over 18 to get a fully certified dog. He may still be eligible for a companion dog which will still have more training than an ordinary pet dog though.