"Service-Assistance K-9s for Autism/Seizures"

(www.US-K9.com) We are "The UNITED STATES K-9 Academy", which does an extensive amount of work and support for individuals with Autism/Seizures, nationwide. I positively know, that the work we do to help the Autistic/Epileptic communities is dynamic. If you have any information that we might not have, in regards to "Service-Assistance K-9s for Autism/Seizures, can you please let me know. I can also send you information per your request. Thank you, David Caylor Vice-President US-K9 davidcaylor@US-K9.com

Hi everyone. I just wanted to tie K-9's comment to the issue of research topics.

Various types of animal therapy are being used with kids "on the spectrum," including the fascinating work of service dogs. Parents participating in IAN Research report the treatments their children are on, and the current list of treatments they choose from includes generic Animal Therapy, Horse (Equine) Therapy, and Dolphin Therapy. (Parents filling in the questionnaires can add anything that's not on the list, too.) You can find the current list here:

http://www.iancommunity.org/cs/ian_research_questions/treatment_list

What would be interesting is to see these "animal" interventions scientifically studied. What type of animal therapy used with a child with what type of ASD has what type of effect on what symptom? Many of us --and I am no exception-- feel we "know" that a therapy, whether a medication, a vitamin, Sensory Integration, or a relationship with a service animal, is working...but that is not the same as evidence. One of the purposes of IAN and the larger world of autism research is to help us move along the path from individual intuition or belief to scientific evidence.

To read more about how IAN hopes to collect our individual experience and wisdom on the path to scientific evidence, go here:

http://www.iancommunity.org/cs/what_do_we_know/overview

I just wish I lived in Ohio. There's a group that trains dogs to work with ASD kids. Just can't remember their name or website.

We acquired a service dog three years ago. Our goals included improving peer interaction, widening recreational interests and increasing spontaneous expressive language. What we found was that our sons, as in many other skills, required intensive training in these areas, but we have succeeded in meeting those goals, although peer interaction has had the least successful outcome. However, it is amazing to watch my son go from anxiety over animals to truly loving our dog! It was worth the high cost; we had hoped that our older son would be more motivated to interact with people to "show off" his dog, but perhaps in the future he will develop that desire more. Both our sons have an autism diagnosis. The improvement was more marked in our older son who struggles immensely with tantrum behaviors; the motivation of the dog provides a relaxing therapy time as opposed to the rigors of our ABA program.