| 330 East Coffee Street, Greenville, SC 29601 |
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Is there really a need for more service dogs?
Not too many years have passed--perhaps ten or fifteen at most--since a time when most people barely knew what autism
was. Today, almost everyone has seen an ad, billboard, or TV program about autism. Or they know someone who has
been diagnosed with autism.
Yet, in the United States, how much private funding for assistance and research does Autism receive compared to other
childhood disorders or diseases?
Not too many years have passed--perhaps ten or fifteen at most--since a time when most people barely knew what autism
was. Today, almost everyone has seen an ad, billboard, or TV program about autism. Or they know someone who has
been diagnosed with autism.
Yet, in the United States, how much private funding for assistance and research does Autism receive compared to other
childhood disorders or diseases?
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By supporting the training of ASA dogs, you can give parents extra arms for holding, extra legs for running, extra eyes for
seeing. By supporting Practical Partners you can give new hope to parents facing the challenges of autism.
- We are developing an integrated function with a clinic that excels in Applied Behavior Analysis for children with autism
- All our graduating dog/client teams are subject to evaluation by independent, qualified, outside individuals with
appropriate credentials.
- We have excellent cooperative relationships with several other assistance and guide dog schools.
- In 2001, we became an approved provider of service dogs through the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and
Special Needs.
- We are committed to non-proprietary duplication of our program in any location possible, if personnel and financial
support are available.
How does a service dog help with autism?
to the provisions outlined in the Americans With Disabilities Act. ASA dogs work both in the home and in public as members
of a team which includes the child's parents. Each job description is unique, tailored to the individual needs of the family, but
generally the work falls into three broad categories:
Assistance
The dogs can provide logistical safety and more independence in public. A natural byproduct of this help is greatly reduced
conflict between parent and child.
Searching
A trained dog provides an instantly-ready means to locate a child, whether in the home or outside.
Alerting
In a similar way to how a hearing assistance dog would alert a deaf owner to sounds, an ASA dog is trained to alert a parent
to certain activities or situations.
How does a trained dog help teachers and clinicians?
Dogs trained to work in classroom or clinic settings are not "service dogs," but they play an important role of their own that's
impossible to duplicate without their help.
Dogs for Autism has approached dog training with an innovative vision, believing that dogs can do a far reaching variety of
tasks that most people have thought impossible. This willingness to try new things has opened doors of opportunity to
families who thought there was no hope.
to the provisions outlined in the Americans With Disabilities Act. ASA dogs work both in the home and in public as members
of a team which includes the child's parents. Each job description is unique, tailored to the individual needs of the family, but
generally the work falls into three broad categories:
Assistance
The dogs can provide logistical safety and more independence in public. A natural byproduct of this help is greatly reduced
conflict between parent and child.
Searching
A trained dog provides an instantly-ready means to locate a child, whether in the home or outside.
Alerting
In a similar way to how a hearing assistance dog would alert a deaf owner to sounds, an ASA dog is trained to alert a parent
to certain activities or situations.
How does a trained dog help teachers and clinicians?
Dogs trained to work in classroom or clinic settings are not "service dogs," but they play an important role of their own that's
impossible to duplicate without their help.
- Dogs provide 3-dimensional, interactive illustrations of many academic and practical concepts
- Dogs provide the opportunity for a child to participate in giving--not merely receiving--directions
- Dogs often provide intense motivation for children to "work" when other enticements are not sufficient
- Through structured interaction, they can provide at least some benefits of the human-animal bond to children whose
home situations cannot accommodate a dog
Dogs for Autism has approached dog training with an innovative vision, believing that dogs can do a far reaching variety of
tasks that most people have thought impossible. This willingness to try new things has opened doors of opportunity to
families who thought there was no hope.