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An autism service dog is a service dog trained to assist an autistic person to help them gain independence and the ability to perform activities of daily living similar to anyone else. For the most part, these dogs are trained to perform tasks similar to those of service dogs for other sensory processing disorders.
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Function
Autism service dogs are trained to help their disabled handler live independently. Many autism service dogs are trained in guide work/obstacle avoidance (similar to a guide dog) to help the handler with visual stimuli, find specific locations to help with navigation, signal to sounds, and provide targeted deep pressure therapy. Herding breeds are better suited for autism service dogs. Autism is a disorder that has to do with the brain, thus the companionship and bond with the child or adult is most critical. Many autistic people have sensory issues that prevent them from having a traditional breed, such as a labrador retriever (due to the hair texture), so many autism service dogs are non-traditional breeds.
As with hearing dogs for the deaf, the dogs may be trained to alert their handler to important noises or other things requiring human intervention, such as smoke or a smoke alarm, a crying baby, a telephone ringing, or a knock at the door. For an autistic person, it may not be immediately obvious which of the many external stimuli is the urgent one requiring their immediate attention. An autistic person may have to sort through both major and minor stimuli—the sound of crickets, the smell of the fabric softener on their clothes, a car driving past outside—to determine which of these, if any, needs their attention. They may understand that a smoke alarm is urgent and requires them to exit the building, but it might take more time to realize the alarm is sounding in the first place.
How service dogs are trained to respond to certain behaviors:
Autistic Adults
Autistic adults can also benefit from a service dog. Unfortunately, most service dog programs only "train" dogs for autistic children, rather than training dogs for autistic adults. Because of this, it is common for adults with Autism to train their own or hire a private service dog specialist to train one.