Autism Assistance Dogs
What is the Autism Assistance Dog program?
Guide Dogs WA has developed a program to provide Autism Assistance Dogs for children and their families. Working with Kites Children’s Therapy (link opens in a new window) our team includes Dog Instructors, Occupational Therapists and Psychologists.
We provide a fully trained dog and individual training for the child and family. Ongoing visits from our team continue for the duration of the dog’s working life to ensure your family is well supported.
An Autism Assistance Dog is very different from a pet or a Companion Dog. Assistance Dogs have legal public access rights, which means they can accompany their handler in public places such as shopping centres, libraries, restaurants and sports centres. There are a few exemptions to this rule which includes operating theatres and some areas of zoos ie: walk through exhibits.
Your family must be able to demonstrate a need for support in the community in order to be suitable for an Autism Assistance Dog.
An Autism Assistance Dog does not replace allied health therapy and we want to ensure the best treatment options have been explored for your child. You need to have accessed regular allied health therapy (such as occupational therapy, speech pathology and/or psychology) for over 12 months, before being considered for an Autism Assistance Dog.
How can an Autism Assistance Dog help?
An Autism Assistance Dog can improve quality of life for both the child and their family by improving social participation, inclusion, connectedness, independence and safe community access.
Autism Assistance Dogs are trained to assist with behaviour management and can help calm the child, reduce episodes of sensory overload and interrupt behaviour patterns.
An Autism Assistance Dog can also help with the child’s safety. Some children living with autism have a substantially lower awareness of danger and may have a tendency to abscond during times of anxiety or stress. Everyday activities like shopping, walking to school, going to a playground, visiting friends or going to a café can be challenging or simply not possible.
When walking with an Autism Assistance Dog, the parent is in control of the dog at all times and holds the dog’s lead while the child holds a special handle on the dog’s coat. The dog is trained to stop at kerbs and respond to vocal commands from the parent such as ‘left’ and ‘right’ or when it is safe to cross the road.
The dog provides constant and consistent support wherever the child goes. Some of the benefits reported by families with Autism Assistance Dogs include:
- Increased outings with the entire family
- Easier transitions between settings
- Reduced stress levels
- Improved social interactions
- Increased independence
- Improved quality and quantity of sleep
What is involved in getting an Autism Assistance Dog?
Application
The program is available to families living in Perth with children aged between 3 and 15 years of age who have a formal Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis and who have accessed over 12 months of continuous allied health therapy. Please be aware that we cannot accept children who have challenging behaviours, such as physical outbursts (eg. hitting, biting, kicking) towards animals.
Assessment
An Allied Health Professional and an Autism Assistance Dog Instructor complete a thorough assessment, which involves developing a profile of your child, a home assessment to determine if the environment is safe and secure for the dog, basic dog handling skills and parent education, a local walk and a community based assessment. There is a cost for this assessment which can be funded through your NDIS funds.
You may also be requested to complete a six week block of Dog Assisted Therapy. This can be beneficial for children who are hesitant around dogs or to help us further assess your suitability.
Please be aware that not all families who are assessed for an Autism Assistance Dog will be deemed suitable. Our team will provide alternative recommendations when required.
Waitlist and matching
Matching a dog to a child and their family is a complex process. It can take over 12 months for a suitable dog to become available and complete its training.
Training and ongoing support
A two-week intensive training program is provided once a family is matched with a dog. The first week involves five full days of training with the parent and the dog. The second week requires the child to be present for an additional five days of training to consolidate the skills from week one and to focus on family goals.
The training program is followed by an Assistance Dogs International (link opens in new window) public access test.
Following successful completion of training, aftercare visits are provided by our team each month for six months and then yearly thereafter. Assistance Dogs International require a yearly repeat assessment to maintain public access rights.
Retirement
Guide Dogs WA will help determine when it is the right time for the dog to retire based on its health and activity level. Our team will work closely with the family throughout this process and a joint decision on the placement of the retired dog will be made, taking into consideration all those involved. In many cases the dog will remain with the family and enjoy a well-deserved rest after their working life. Alternatively, Guide Dogs WA can find a good home where the dog can enjoy its senior years. Retired dogs do not have Public Access Rights.
How to apply for an Autism Assistance Dog?
You will need to:
- Ensure you have previously accessed over 12 months of continuous allied health therapy for your child
- Complete the Autism Assistance Dog application form and upload in the submission form below.
- Provide a report confirming an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis
- Provide a Functional Assessment Report or a Behaviour Support Plan for your child if you have one.
A Functional Assessment determines current level of functioning, strengths and challenges, goals for the future and recommendations.
A Behaviour Support Plan is a comprehensive assessment and intervention plan that focuses on truly understanding and addressing a child’s needs, their environment and overall quality of life.
If you do not already have a Behaviour Support Plan, you can contact Kites Children’s Therapy’s Positive Behaviour Support service or discuss this further with our team.
These reports and plans help us to ensure that an Autism Assistance Dog is indeed the best option for your family.
If you have any queries, please contact us by email at hello@kitestherapy.org.au or call us on (08) 9311 8222.