ASD/fear of animals-any tips?

[BagLady75]

My DS, age 6, has high-functioning autism and is generally doing very well - he's made a lot of progress thanks to GFCF diet and lots of speech therapy, and most of the time seems to be very much at the mild end of the spectrum. One area where he still has significant issues however is a major fear of animals, particularly cats and dogs. He is simply terrified of them, and on several occasions we have had no choice but to leave a home we were visiting due to a close encounter with a housepet. Would any of you have experience/tips on how do deal with this?

it may be that he will never be comfortable with animals but i know that it can sometimes help to de sensetise them from their fear.

maybe some books with the furry bits on, then pictures of animals, telling astories of hwo funny or cute they are etc.

then you could maybe visit a pet shop where all the animals are safely kept away but he can see them through the glass?

We had years of dog fear. Used to have to cross the road to avoid one. Wasn't helped by the fact my mother said 'what nonesense' and dropped him in the middle of her 7 when he was about 4. We couldn't go to houses where there were dogs.
What helped was firstly getting a kitten when he was 7. A year later we got a puppy. He's 13 now and mostly fine although he still doesn't like dogs.

It can take years (if ever) to overcome this kind of fear. I like the idea of reading books about animals, especially where they highlight their best qualities. Animal Ark stories are nice for this. Gradual desensitisation is a good way forward too.

Perhaps you could also try writing social stories about animals, explaining eg why dogs might bark, cats might scratch etc. Emphasise that they will be more afraid of him than he is of them, that they react because they can sense his fear.

it would help if you can get to the bottom of exactly what it is he's afraid of. There could be lots of sensory reasons for his dislike of animals and if you can work these out then you can begin to look at how to overcome them. But you should also be prepared that he might never like being with animals, however hard you work on it.

Thanks very much everyone - you've given me some great ideas. Off to whip up a social story ...