autism should be hidden away?

[amberlight]

I was given a copy of an email from an autism charity yesterday. In it, the person said that people on the autism spectrum surely all wanted no-one else to know that we're autistic.

The subject was autism assistance dogs and whether they are of use in the workplace for some of us. The writer said that such dogs would surely be seen as nothing more than a badge of difference, and that they couldn't imagine that people on the autism spectrum would want anyone to know that they are in any way different.

The writer also said that most people on the autism spectrum want to work in computers or admin jobs and therefore a dog wouldn't have a purpose as a social skills 'tool' or have any other useful workplace function anyway.

The writer also said that people who are more profoundly affected by autism are pretty much unemployable anyway (!), whereas the higher functioning people wouldn't want this kind of support.

This is all very odd. Guide dogs and assistance dogs work with people who are blind, deaf, mobility-impaired, have epilepsy, etc. They already go into workplaces to support all those people, and to my knowledge none of those people believe the dog is a way for people to be prejudiced against their disability. Why would it be different for us, if we wanted such a dog?

I have an autism assistance dog. He's absolutely great. it's an informal scheme so far, but I'd personally love to see it formalised. I work with the Dogs for the Disabled PAWS scheme, helping train their staff on the autism spectrum. The scheme helps hundreds of families who see the benefits of having a dog for their child on the autism spectrum.

So, as parents of children on the autism spectrum, do you believe that this person is right - that your child should only wish to work in IT or admin away from places where social skills are important?

When they're older, would you see an assistance dog as a negative thing that singles out a worker as 'different'?

Would you like your children to have the option of an assistance dog if they so chose? (i.e. would you like it if the dog helped them to settle into work, make friends, relax, not over-focus on things, be better at timekeeping etc? Would you like it if a dog could help your child's future independence?)

Or do you believe, like this person at a large autism charity, that dogs are going to be negative things for adults on the autism spectrum? He didn't seem to have asked anyone before announcing this, so I thought I would.

You said "thank you for standing up for them". That's why I referred to the plural.

The dog itself would be cheap and therefore people can afford to buy one if they want one; the choice is there.

However, researching it and making it into a formal scheme would be very expensive, as I think I have explained more than once.

So, it's both.

I'm not going to turn this into an us and them thing.

It may be of widespread benefit, but the premise on which that idea is based is woolly. Nobody has been able to answer my question about what an autism dog would do, what it replaces, in comparison to what it does for someone who is blind or deaf (replacing senses) which confirms for me that it's not very concrete, unlike the concrete benefits that spending money training up people has.

Feel free to paint me as an enemy though, if it makes you happy. Amber asked what we thought as parents and I'm telling you what I think as a parent. If you don't agree, that's fine, but I'm giving my opinion as someone who knows lots of people with autism. Just because you don't agree doesn't make me wrong, and vice versa.

I think for some autists, a human support is ideal but they come and go.....a dog has a lifespan which gives hopefully 10 years+ of "being there" consistently.

I understand that. But a human can explain, things, to you and to other people, can reassure, can train, can provide information and insight etc. etc.

I'm not painting you as an enemy at all. Good grief. I'm not making this a personal discussion at all so let's not resort to straw men.

Of course amberlight asked us as parents because they we of behalf of the children with autism who often cannot.
It's the next best thing to the actual opinion of a children with autism though, so I'm speaking as someone who once not so long ago was one myself.

"them" = "my thoughts".

Again, many people who want or need a dog can afford one, whether they have autism or not.

You may not have had your questions about what autism dogs do answered because it is very individual to the owner which is why it is inappropriate for the person of the autism charity or anyone else to generalise.
See here: www.support-dogs.org.uk/dogs.htm

One of the most problematic "concrete benefits" of training people up that I have seen first hand is that many of those people use that to get other new jobs, resulting in a very high staff turnover very distressing to people with autism, which is why I agree with wendihouse22.

Of course dogs can be useful for some people with asd. And we do need some data about how to figure out who they help, how best to train them, and the most cost-effective approach. But the author of the article omitted some background information.

Guide dogs for the blind is one of the richest charities in the UK. But only a small minority of blind or visually impaired people actually benefit from a guide dog. Some prefer a cane, others a taxi, some use only familiar routes. Others simply don't go out unaided (especially those with multiple disabilities and the frail elderly, who are the majority of blind people). But RNIB has only a fraction of the funding that the dogs get.

The public seems to prefer giving money to animals rather than people with disabilities. Maybe the author's fear is of 'autism dogs' getting all the cash, to the detriment of everyone who needs other approaches.

Other approaches?

I've recently seen my MP with the question.....what is available, in our area, for kids like my son. He is autistic, high functioning. Loving, funny, highly articulate, very kind. He is also constantly anxious, has just been diagnosed with OCD, has just started anti-depressants (after months of me resisting on the grounds that ten yr old little boys ought not to take them) and never leaves the house, only to go to school. He has no friends and is so socially isolated and will remain so, if something isn't done.

Now, every week I get bits of paper through the mail "Come to our Fun Day; Bowling; Craft Day; Fun Activity Group on Tuesdays". What the hell do you do IF YOUR DS CANNOT ACCESS THESE THINGS? The other side of the spectrum has children and young people with severe disability who may receive respite provision/someone coming to their home to assist and provide social care. My question is WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS IN THE MIDDLE? Those who don't fit neatly into either group?

I wanted a dog, a highly trained, gentle dog for my son as a buddy, because f**k knows (and I'm sick of saying this) he can't get that anywhere else. I can buy "a" dog. But the chances of my son bonding with a boisterous pup and the whole thing not going belly up, are slim.

I don't give a flying what people think if my son has a label, a dog, a "helper" (which we can't get), because they don't live our lives......this daily round of sadness and being told we don't live in the right bloody area....don't qualify for this that or whatever. And all the while, time's going by.....he'll go from being a lonely little boy to a lonely young man who doesn't know HOW TO access friendships and relationships cause he's had no sodding practice!!!

End of rant.

I was wondering - what proportion of people with VI/HI have trained dogs? I do not know - but would guess it is quite low - because it is not the right help for all. Surely the same applies to ASD. A specifically trained dog could suit some people.

www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/health/Testing-dogs-really-child-s-best-friend/article-3033990-detail/article.html

Looks like the NAS are helping with the research on this.