Service Dog Questions

[sl_underwood]

Our PT mentioned recently that our son could probably qualify for a service dog. He has seizures, has some slight physical limitations, including arthritis due to multiple fractures, he has suffered a traumatic brain injury that has weakened his entire left side as well. He has sensory issues, a pdd-nos diagnosis, and we think he was exposed to drugs and alcohol in the womb (though it was not noted in his birth history) She mentioned that a service dog could provide alot for him, especially as he gets older, allowing him to be more independent but also could help notify us if he were having a seizure and help with his mobility when he is having extreme pain. For those of you who have gone through this process, please share your knowledge.
Thanks
Lora

 

[videogal1]

Our PT mentioned recently that our son could probably qualify for a service dog. He has seizures, has some slight physical limitations, including arthritis due to multiple fractures, he has suffered a traumatic brain injury that has weakened his entire left side as well. He has sensory issues, a pdd-nos diagnosis, and we think he was exposed to drugs and alcohol in the womb (though it was not noted in his birth history) She mentioned that a service dog could provide alot for him, especially as he gets older, allowing him to be more independent but also could help notify us if he were having a seizure and help with his mobility when he is having extreme pain. For those of you who have gone through this process, please share your knowledge.
Thanks
Lora

Look at it this way.1.Does your son's condition meet the ADA definition of disability? and, 2. What could a dog be trained to do that would mitigate your son's conditions/disability?
If #1 doesn't fit he cannot have one. If #2 includes few, if any, trainable tasks the dog cannot be a service dog.

 

[bookwormde]

There is a poster whose child has a service dog for autism so hopefully they will be along.

Videogal has given you the basis for a service dog. Both PDD-nos and if the seizers substantially interfere with normal life would qualify under ADA. If early alert of the seizers is a benefit then often a SD can be trained for this as well as alerting during a seizure. For the PDD-nos the most common services that a SD provides are anxiety alert and reduction, assistance with “social blindness” and for younger children help with the fleeing/getting lost problem. SDs can also be trained to mitigate and interrupt hyper focus and its difficulties and risks when it is a significant issue. With ASDs new tasks are being identified all the time so it is an ever-changing list.

There have been anecdotal reports of substantial improvements in quality of life for some ASD individuals, but with all things the efficacy depend on the individual.

bookwormde

 

[dclfun]

I agree with what the other posters have said. The only way you need to "qualify" for a SD is to be disabled as defined by the ADA, and for the dog to be able to do trained tasks to mitigate that disability. I don't know how old your son is, but he would either need to be able to handle the dog independently in public, or be placed with a "team-trained" dog where a parent is the handler. There are some SD organizations who do not place dogs with children because they cannot handle a dog on their own, and some who do place with children. Having a SD isn't easy- you would have the responsibility to feed and care for the dog and provide for it's medical care- so costs and responsibilities are something to consider as well. Some organizations require that you pay for the dog or do fundraisers, and some place dogs free of cost, so it takes some research. You'd do best to investigate the SD organizations and their reputation- I have read at least one story on this board where a dog was placed that was poorly trained, and the family had paid a great deal of money then for a pet which did not help the disabled individual at all. So, as in all things, do your research, talk to others, join a SD group either online or in your community, and decide whether a dog would improve the quality of your son's life. Good luck with your decision!---Kathy