Dog for my son with autism?

[CraigN2016]

Hello,
My son is 7 years old and has Autism , global development delay and epilepsy.. for a while now I have been noticing he has started to become increasingly frustrated and this sadly has been leading him to self harm and get very upset.. However at Christmas something breathtaking happened at that was when he was at our aunties and he started to get very upset and distressed when suddenly my aunties dog entered the room and placed its head on my sons knee... Instantly my son was calm and stopped punching his chest and poking his eyes... This has never happened before! It normally takes me ages to get my son calm but as soon as he saw the dog he was calm and relaxed!

I am now seriously considering getting my son a dog, I thought about it before but decided to put it on hold but after seeing him with the dog at Christmas and New Years I am now wanting to get a dog more than ever... My son is so calm around the dog, HOWEVER I am very worried because we also have a cat and the cat is also my baby, and I am worried how he will react ...

My son is going to have a big big change in his life soon and I know a dog may help him a lot ( he is going to meet his mum for the FIRST TIME in 7 years... She gave him up the moment he was born)

Has anyone ever got a dog after having a cat? How did they react? any tips?

Would you say a dog would be a good idea?

Thankyou!

I know a little boy with autism who sounds similar to your ds. He has a medical assistance dog (I think from the autistic society.) He acts a bit like a guide dog when out and about as the little boy has no sense of danger so he wears a harness attached to the dog. This is also helping him learn how to criss the road etc as the dog always sits etc.
He is highly trained and helps with socks etc but the emotional support that he provides is amazing. The difference in the lad is great. The dog goes everywhere with him.

Thinking about it the little boy isn't so little anymore he is now 12 ! He received his dog at 10. His mum had to go on a 6 week training course on how to look after him and continue training etc.

hi my son is 4 years old and has autism we have a boxer dog.my son loves our dog and the dog is great with him too where ever my son is my dog is always close by when he is upset he usaully calms down when our dog goes over and he sits and pats him they have a close bond i would def reccomend a dog xx

i ment to add we had a cat before we got our dog our cat was 5 years old when we got our dog the cat wasnt too happy when we brung him home. would often hiss at dog but after a few months the cat evenually got used to our dog and they do not bother each other at all now they both have the roam of the house when i am out and are often in livingroom sleeping together. i would do research on what kind of dog would suit your family.

I was going to say a labrador might be a good choice. Not a chocolate one though they are bonkers (in a lovely way but more boisterous than golden)

We got an elderly Labrador from a Rescue after DD wore me down. He was great for DS, who has ASD