Service Dogs and Autistic Children

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the civil rights of people with autism and other disabilities.  Sometimes disputes involve service or support animals.

From the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine:

Imagine a companion that not only supports a child with autism but could positively reshape the dynamics of an entire family. That’s the story behind service dogs for autistic children, as explored in a recent study. This research delves into how these unique interventions influence families, offering a blend of emotional support, social bridges, and stability in ways you might not expect. 

Key Takeaways from the Study 

1. Enhanced Social Interactions: Service dogs serve as more than just a comfort to the child—they’re social connectors. Families reported that these dogs acted as "social bridges," encouraging interactions between the child and peers. Whether at school or in public spaces, the dog’s presence made others more approachable and patient, reducing stigma and fostering inclusivity. One parent noted how the dog became a magnet for friendly attention, breaking the ice and making social encounters easier.
2. Emotional Support and Stability: Within the family unit, service dogs offered a source of calm and companionship. They helped regulate emotional responses not only for the autistic child but for parents and siblings as well. The dogs’ natural ability to sense when someone needed comfort added a layer of emotional resilience to family life. For example, a dog might instinctively lie beside a distressed child, providing deep pressure that eases anxiety.
3. Positive Family Dynamics: These furry friends contributed to better interactions among family members. Their presence turned routine moments into opportunities for bonding, with activities like walks, playtime, and grooming sessions fostering togetherness. Families often viewed the dog as an integral member, akin to a sibling, creating shared experiences that strengthened their collective spirit.
4. Individualized Help for the Child: Beyond social and emotional benefits, the study highlighted how service dogs tailored their support to the unique needs of each child. Whether through assisting with chores, enhancing the child’s sense of independence, or even improving physical coordination, these dogs adapted to provide more than what traditional interventions could.

Challenges and Considerations

The study also touched on some hurdles, such as the responsibility of dog care and potential worries over future expenses. However, participants overwhelmingly cited the benefits as far outweighing any negatives. High training standards for these service dogs played a pivotal role in their success, ensuring a smooth integration into family life.
Final Thoughts

Service dogs for autistic children do more than aid the individual child—they enhance the family unit’s overall functioning. They break down social barriers, build resilience, and inject joy into everyday life. As service dog placements grow in popularity, these findings highlight the importance of understanding the broader, family-wide impacts.

For families considering this option, the study provides hope that a well-matched service dog can be a powerful partner in navigating the complexities of autism, turning challenges into moments of connection and strength.

Support Ducks

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the  civil rights of people with autism and other disabilities.  Sometimes disputes involve service or support animals.

Caroline Blackmon at The Detroit Free Press:

Parents of a 12-year-old Michigan boy with autism have started a GoFundMe page to raise money to fight for what they say is their son's right to keep his two ducks as emotional support animals. 

Mark and Jen Dyke of Georgetown Township in southwest Michigan allow their son, Dylan, to keep the ducks at their home and someone complained to local officials, according to the GoFundMe campaign. The family was told to remove the ducks, named Nibbles and Bill, because they violate local zoning ordinances. 

"This would devastate Dylan as he needs these ducks to function at his best, so we won't give up that easily," the parents wrote in their campaign.

Americans with Disabilities: Data

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the  civil rights of people with autism and other disabilities. 

From the Census:

On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodations, commercial facilities, telecommunications, and state and local government services.

This Facts for Features provides a demographic snapshot of the U.S. population with a disability and examines various services available to them. The statistics come from various Census Bureau censuses and surveys, covering differing periods of time.

Population Distribution

56.7 million  The number of people in the United States with a disability in 2010, representing 19.0 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. People with a disability have a physical or mental impairment that affects one or more major life activities, such as walking, bathing, dressing, eating, preparing meals, doing errands alone or doing housework. A disability can occur at birth or at any point in a person’s life.
Source:
Americans With Disabilities: 2010
How Common Are Specific Disabilities by Age?
Percentage of civilian noninstitutionalized population

15.7 million The number of people age 65 and older with at least one disability, according to data collected from 2008 to 2012, which makes up 39.0 percent of the population in this age group. Of this group, two-thirds had difficulty in walking or climbing stairs. The second-most cited disability was difficulty with independent living, such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping.
Source:
Older Americans With a Disability: 2008-2012

...

14,060 The number of business establishments that provided pet care (except veterinary services) in 2012. These businesses generated revenues of $3.4 billion. Among these businesses are those that train assistance dogs.
Source:
2012 and 2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic Area Series (NAICS 812910)

25,964 The number of business establishments primarily providing services for the elderly and persons with disabilities in 2012. These establishments provided for the welfare of these individuals in such areas as day care, nonmedical home care or homemaker services, social activities, group support and companionship. These businesses employed 901,359 workers and generated $34.1 billion in revenues. In 2015, these businesses generated $40.7 billion in revenues.
Source:
2012 Comparative-Economic Census Geographic Area Series (NAICS 624120) 2015 Service Annual Survey (NAICS 624120), Table 2

7,832 The number of business establishments providing vocational rehabilitation services in 2012. These businesses employed 312,659 people and generated revenues of $12.4 billion. In 2007, there were 7,631 such establishments, employing 303,713 people and producing revenues of $11.5 billion. These businesses provide job counseling, job training and work experience to people with disabilities.
Source:
2012 and 2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic Area Series (NAICS 624310)

...

 Specific Disabilities

Note: All statistics in this section come from the 2015 American Community Survey, measuring the civilian noninstitutionalized population.

http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/S1810

...
12.9 million The number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions due to a physical, mental or emotional condition. Among people age 65 and older, 4.2 million had serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions.

14.2 million The number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had difficulty doing errands alone, such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping, due to a physical, mental or emotional condition. Among people age 65 and older, 6.9 million had difficulty doing errands alone.

7.5 million The number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had difficulty dressing or bathing. Among people age 65 and older, 3.8 million had difficulty dressing or bathing.

Earnings

$21,572 The median earnings in the past 12 months for people with a disability. This is 69.0 percent of the median earnings, $31,872, for those without a disability. (Both figures pertain to the civilian, noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older, with earnings in the past 12 months.)

Mobility

Note: The source for the statistics in this section is Desire to Move and Residential Mobility: 2010-2011, which come from the Survey of Income and Program Participation.

12.5% The percentage of householders with a disability who desired to move to another residence, higher than the corresponding figure of 8.2 percent for those without a disability. Those with mental disabilities were the most likely to desire to move (20.6 percent).

17.3% The percentage of householders with a disability who desired to move to another residence and actually did so over a one-year period.

9.3% The percentage of all householders with a disability who moved to another residence over a one-year period.

The Fry Case

n The Politics of Autism,  I discuss court cases under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other statutes.

Amy Howe writes at SCOTUSblog:

When Stacy and Brent Fry obtained a goldendoodle for their five-year-old daughter, E.F., in 2009, they could not possibly have imagined that they would find themselves, seven years later, at the U.S. Supreme Court. But that is exactly where they were at the end of October, listening to the justices debate their case. The case began as a dispute over whether E.F., who has cerebral palsy, could bring the dog, named Wonder, to kindergarten with her, but it eventually became a clash over a fairly technical question about the interaction among a group of laws intended to assist people with disabilities.

Today the court issued a unanimous decision in the Frys’ favor. It ruled that, when families like the Frys file lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Rehabilitation Act, which bar discrimination against both adults and children with disabilities, they do not need to first go through the administrative proceedings required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which ensures that children with disabilities receive the special education services that they need, unless the focus of the lawsuit is an allegation that the student did not receive the “free appropriate public education” guaranteed by the IDEA. Put another way, this means that a student who alleges that a school has discriminated against her because of her disability is not required to use the IDEA’s administrative proceedings simply because the alleged discrimination happened at school.

See the case here. 

The Supreme Court and Service Animals

In The Politics of Autism,  I discuss court cases under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other statutes.

Lyle Denniston reports at SCOTUSblog:

The Justices will take on a significant new test of the right to sue for parents of a disabled child who needs assistance while attending schools that receive federal funds. The issue in a case from a small Michigan community (Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools) is whether a disabled child’s family must first try to work out with school officials a dispute over the assistance their child needs, before the parents may sue for damages under federal anti-discrimination law. The dispute in the case involves a claim by a disabled girl’s family that the school would not allow her to bring a service dog to help her during her classes. The Justice Department, asked by the Supreme Court for its views, urged the Justices to hear the case.

IDEA, ADA, and Rehabilitation Act

In The Politics of Autism,  I discuss special education court cases, including Smith v. Robinson.

Christina Samuels writes at Education Week that the Supreme Court has asked the Solicitor General for a brief on whether it should take a case involving a service dog.

The legal issue in the case of Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools (No. 15-497) is bit more technical than the dispute over whether a goldendoodle named Wonder could accompany and help the girl at school.

The legal question is whether a 1986 federal statute that amended the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires families to exhaust procedures under the IDEA when they are suing under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Those latter statutes provide for damages, which the IDEA does not.

Stacy and Brent Fry, the parents of now 11-year-old Ehlena, sued under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act after the Napoleon district in 2009 barred Wonder from helping Ehlena, except for a short trial period when the dog was required to remain in the back of the classroom, court papers say. Ehlena was 5 at the time the lawsuit was filed.

The school district said in court papers that Ehlena's individualized education program called for a human aide to assist her, so the dog wasn't necessary.

...

Congress enacted a law known as Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986 in response to a 1984 Supreme Court decision, in Smith v. Robinson, that the IDEA was the exclusive statute for a student with a disability to assert an education-related claim, even if a claim might exist under other federal disability laws or the Constitution.

Congress wanted to make clear that families could press the rights of students with disabilities under other laws, such as the Rehabilitation Act. (The ADA came along later.)

But the 1986 measure does require that if education-related claims brought under other laws are also available under the IDEA, then the family must exhaust state administrative remedies under the IDEA first.

Service Dog Settlement

A July 24 release from the US Justice Department:

The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement with the Delran Township School District in New Jersey under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The agreement resolves allegations that the school district violated the ADA by refusing to allow a student with autism and encephalopathy to have his service dog in school or at school-related activities. The service dog alerts to the student’s seizures, provides mobility and body support and mitigates the symptoms of his autism.

The department found that the student’s mother spent six months responding to burdensome requests for information and documentation, and still the school district refused to allow the student to be accompanied by his service dog. Despite her efforts, the student was even prevented from bringing his service dog with him on the bus for his school’s end of the year field trip. Instead, his mother followed the school bus with the service dog in her car.

Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in public schools. Under the ADA, public schools must generally modify policies, practices or procedures to permit the use of a service dog by a student with a disability at school and school-related activities. Because service dogs must be under the control of a handler, students often act as the handler of their own service dog; when that is not possible, the family may provide an independent handler, as the family offered to do here.

The school district worked cooperatively with the department throughout the investigation. Under the agreement, the school district will pay $10,000 to the family to compensate them for the harm they endured as a result of the school district’s actions. In addition, the school district will adopt an ADA-compliant service animal policy and provide training to designated staff on the school district’s obligations under Title II of the ADA, including requirements related to service dogs.

“ The old view of service animals working only as guide dogs for individuals who are blind has given way to a new generation of service animals trained to perform tasks that further autonomy and independence for individuals with a myriad of disabilities , ” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will vigorously enforce the ADA to ensure that students who use service animals have a full and equal opportunity to participate in all school activities with their peers.”

Enforcing the ADA is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. Those interested in finding out more about this settlement or the obligations of public entities schools under the ADA may call the department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD), or access the ADA website . ADA complaints may be filed by email to ada.complaint@usdoj.gov .

The Civil Rights Division would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for their assistance in this matter.

Chickens

Many posts have discussed therapy animals (which are not quite the same thing as service animals). WOFL in Orlando reports:

An autistic DeBary boy will have to give up his pet chickens, despite his parents' best efforts, after the city council denied the family an extension.

Some council members said there wasn't enough community support to go ahead with allowing chicken permits, but the family says this fight isn't over.

Three-year-old J.J. Hart made national news a year ago when his family said chickens help with his autism.

"A lot of people with autism have self-harming tendencies," says father Joe Hunt. "J.J. used to pull his hair out and throw his head back to the ground. The chickens taught him to be calm."
A doctor recommended the chickens as a way to help with therapy, but a city ordinance banned residents from owning chickens. With huge support form the community and even state lawmakers, the family convinced the council last December to experiment with a 1-year chicken pilot program.

Seven families filed for permits. Now that the year is almost up, the council voted 3 to 2 to cancel the program and prohibit chickens in the city.

FOX 35 News Orlando

A Service Dog, An Allergy, and the Media

In Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports on Shyanna Gretz, a 6-year-old autistic girl who cannot attend Morrison-Gordon Elementary School with her service dog. The special-ed teacher who was to teach Shyanna is severely allergic to dog dander.

Instead, Gretz was told, her daughter and the dog must transfer to East Elementary School, where an allergy-free special-education teacher will instruct Shyanna using the customized learning plan developed for the girl.

That’s unacceptable to [mother Charla] Gretz, who asked why a different teacher could not be assigned rather than make her daughter change schools. Morrison-Gordon is a 15- to 20-minute bus ride for her daughter, and riding to East would double the time, she said.

“She does not do well with buses,” Gretz said.

Shyanna’s autism includes being overwhelmed by sensory issues and not coping well with change, and a longer bus ride and switching schools would exacerbate both, she said.

Superintendent Carl D. Martin said Spring is welcome in the district of about 2,800 students, where about 20 percent have an identified disability, he said.

However, the accommodations made for Shyanna and her dog must be balanced against the rights of the allergic teacher, and moving the student to a different school is a reasonable solution, Martin said.

He also disputed the time that Gretz gave for the bus ride. The elementary schools are 5 miles apart, and Shyanna would not spend significantly more time on the bus, he said.

Spring is trained to calm Shyanna and to walk on a tether attached to Shyanna so the girl cannot wander.

In Ohio, The Athens News reports:

After the Columbus Dispatch ran a story about the dispute Friday, Martin said, he was deluged with media calls. "I've talked to the Dispatch, WOUB (radio), Channel 4 news (from Columbus), the Athens Messenger," he ticked off. "I've talked to MSN.com." He added that one person he hasn't yet had a discussion with is Charla Gretz.

Service Animal or Comfort Animal?

In Texas, a George West Independent School District has denied ASD high school senior Colleen Molohon the use of a dog to help her on campus. The Corpus Christi Caller reports:

The girl's mother, Donna Osborn, said the dog, Chili, is a service dog that helps Molohon with specific tasks, and should be allowed under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But she said the school committee determined Chili is nothing more than a "comfort animal" — a dog that helps a person feel better emotionally but does not have training to assist with specific tasks related to a disability.

Comfort animals aren't allowed under district policy.

In March 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice changed its regulations to clarify that comfort animals don't meet the definition of service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act. That means governmental entities, including school districts, aren't necessarily required by law to allow the animals on their premises.

But Osborn said Chili provides her daughter with much more than emotional support. She started using the dog, and the district allowed it, in ninth grade. But at the start of her junior year in 2011, in response to the new guidance from the Justice Department, the district changed its mind, Osborn said.

She believes the district is discriminating against her daughter because Chili meets the definition of a service dog.

Animals for Autism Scam -- The Resolution

Earlier posts described  a bogus outfit called "Animals for Autism." AP now reports:

An Illinois woman has agreed to pay restitution after being accused of a scam in which she allegedly promised to provide specially trained companion animals for children with autism.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan says Lea Kaydus had collected more than $5,000 through her organization, Animals for Autism. Kaydus lives in Glenarm, near Springfield.

In some cases, families got pictures of the puppies that were supposedly being trained to work with their children. In reality, the pictures had been taken years earlier and the dogs had no connection to Animals with Autism.

Madigan called the organization "a heartless scam" Thursday.

To settle a lawsuit filed by the attorney general, Kaydus agreed to repay the money she collected and abide by state fraud laws in the future.

Ripoff Update

An earlier post described a service dog scam.  The Chicago Tribune brings us up to date:

Families who had been holding out hope that they would receive a service dog this spring to help a child with autism have all but given up on a program they now fear was mismanaged from the start.

In February the Tribune reported on complaints from families across the nation about a central Illinois dog trainer who told them they had won service dogs for their children, only to cut off communications when they started asking questions about her credentials and operations.

The dog training operation, called Animals for Autism, was founded by Lea Kaydus, who with the families' help won a $50,000 grant through the Pepsi Refresh Project to train and place the dogs. Kaydus had said the dogs would join their families by spring 2012.

At the time of the Tribune's story, Kaydus had surfaced after a long silence with a January email to families. Since then, the parents say, they've heard nothing from Kaydus. They also say they have received no solid information from Global Giving, the company hired to manage the grant and project for Pepsi.

Also see video here.

Ripoffs

WSB-TV in Atlanta reports on an alleged theft:

Channel 2 Action News obtained the arrest warrants for a woman Suwanee police said stole thousands of dollars from a major non-profit while she was executive director.

Cynthia Pike, 47, a Lawrenceville resident, ran the Autism Society of America Georgia Chapter since 2007.

Pike's attorney called her an innocent and honest mother. But police say she is a thief, now charged with 16 felony counts of theft by conversion.

The Chicago Tribune reports on Animals for Autism, an organization that got a grant to provide 10 free service animals to 10 families.  When the group stopped communicating, the families made some disturbing discoveries (video here):

•The nonprofit tax number Kaydus supplied to families for use at fundraisers is invalid. According to the Illinois attorney general's office, Animals for Autism submitted an incomplete application in November and is not a registered nonprofit.

•Although Animals for Autism claimed 25 years of experience in training service dogs, parents could find only one family in possession of such a dog. When the Tribune asked to contact that family, Pepsi Refresh's grant manager, Global Giving, said it couldn't share the information.

•The Pepsi Refresh voting site stated the grant would go to "train and place free service dogs with autistic kids," but the terms of the grant do not require delivery of the dogs. According to Pepsi and Global Giving, the grant money may be spent on items that go "toward realizing the spirit of the grant," such as building kennels, caring for the dogs and buying training tools.

•Siberian Huskies are not ideal service dogs for young children. "They tend to be independent and were bred to pull sleds, not to please people like, for instance, golden retrievers," said Toni Eames, president of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, a consumer advocacy group for people with service dogs.
Autism service dogs provide companionship and can help calm children with autism and prevent them from wandering, a common problem.

... 

Eames said that only about 50 percent of the best-bred and -selected dogs graduate from service dog training. "You cannot possibly take 10 puppies and promise them as service dogs to 10 people," she said. "It doesn't work that way."

Therapy Animals in College

Previous posts have dealt with the ways in which people on the spectrum rely on animals. As more and more ASD students enter college, this case could come into play. Inside Higher Ed reports:

A federal lawsuit against the University of Nebraska at Kearney, which denied the request of a student with a psychological disability to keep a therapy dog in her university-owned apartment off campus, could signal a shift in how institutions will be expected to handle such accommodations in the future.

At issue are Kearney's decision and the process by which it was reached. The lawsuit says the university asks too much of students with psychological or emotional disabilities.

Colleges have up to this point operated under the Americans with Disabilities Act when considering requests for service animals, which perform tasks for their owners and can be essential for blind or deaf students. But the new ADA amendments that became active in March don't recognize or define "therapy animals" that may be used for emotional support -- a potentially confounding omission for Kearney and other institutions.

Kearney, in the Department of Justice's opinion, clearly should have deferred to the rules of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the office that brought the initial charges under the Fair Housing Act. Those rules, which regulate basic apartment complexes irrespective of whether they house students, define therapy animals as any used as treatment for a diagnosed condition, and say facilities that ban pets can't prohibit reasonable requests for service or therapy animals.

Kearney, like most colleges, prohibits animals in university-owned housing, and has no written policy specifically addressing service animals living with disabled students. But under Kearney's ADA Policies for Service Animals, therapy animals don't even qualify -- only dogs trained and certified as service animals do.

Dogs in a Michigan School

WEYI-TV in Clio, Michigan, reports on the use of therapy dogs in the classroom:

Autism and Animals

KXTV in Sacramento, CA, reports on service dogs:



Details about laws and regulations are here.

An editorial from the Fayetteville [NC] Observer:

A hand, please, for Lisa Pia, who may soon prove you can fight City Hall. Pia's fight was for her 10-year-old autistic son, Anthony, and his beloved pet, Loopey the potbellied pig. Loopey was more than Anthony's pet - she was a therapeutic animal who helped Anthony make progress in his struggle with autism.

Unfortunately, a less-than-compassionate majority on the City Council was unable to make a distinction between a small potbellied pig and a hulking domestic porker on its way to becoming spare ribs. Loopey was exiled beyond the city limits.

The pig still is a resident of the Jambbas Ranch, outside the city, where Anthony visits her.

But Lisa Pia didn't stop fighting when Loopey got the boot. She filed a housing-discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which, according to communications an Observer reporter has seen, is leaning toward agreeing with Pia.

In an email sent to council members in July, Mayor Pro Tem. D.J. Haire advised that "HUD recommends that we make accommodations for the family to have the pig." Beyond that, HUD, the city and Pia have been sworn to temporary silence.

We hope Loopey and Anthony are reunited. More important, the city needs to draft an enlightened policy about therapy animals. That would be a real victory.

See TV news story on the dispute.

The McDonald's Incident

Many people with autism use service animals. Legal battles have resulted. WSB-TV in Atlanta reports on the latest case:

An arrest warrant has been issued for the manager of a Marietta McDonald's after she punched a mother of two autistic boys in the face, Marietta police said.

It happened at the McDonald's on Bells Ferry Road, police said.

The manager, Tiffany Denise Allen, told the woman that the twin boys’ service dog, Barkley, wasn't allowed inside, police said. Allen was off duty.

The law, however, states that the dog is allowed inside.

The boys’ mother, Jennifer Schwenker, said the incident took place on July 12 when she took the boys to the McDonald's to have lunch.

Channel 2’s Diana Davis got her hands on a surveillance tape showing one of the twins and Barkley enjoying the restaurant’s play area.

The family was about to leave when Allen told them there were no dogs allowed, police said.
Schwenker explained that Barkley is a service dog, allowed by federal law in all public places including restaurants. Schwenker offered to provide proof of the permit for the dog, Marietta police said.

It wasn’t enough for Allen, they said. The tape shows her following the family around the McDonald's, even down the hall to the restroom.

When Schwenker tried to leave, she lost track of one of the boys. In a panic, she threw her drink on the floor and it splashed on Allen, police said.

The tape shows Allen running after Schwenker in a rage, police said. Marietta police Detective Gwen Lewis told Davis that she has never seen anything like it.

The Department of Justice explains what the Americans with Disabilities Act requires:

1. Q: What are the laws that apply to my business?

A: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), privately owned businesses that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities, are prohibited from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires these businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed.

2. Q: What is a service animal?

A: The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government.

Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself. Guide dogs are one type of service animal, used by some individuals who are blind. This is the type of service animal with which most people are familiar. But there are service animals that assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities. Some examples include:

_ Alerting persons with hearing impairments to sounds.

_ Pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with mobility impairments.

_ Assisting persons with mobility impairments with balance.

A service animal is not a pet.

3. Q: How can I tell if an animal is really a service animal and not just a pet?

A: Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some, but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification papers. If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability. However, an individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not likely to be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or disability. Therefore, such documentation generally may not be required as a condition for providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal. Although a number of states have programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability.

4. Q: What must I do when an individual with a service animal comes to my business?

A: The service animal must be permitted to accompany the individual with a disability to all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go. An individual with a service animal may not be segregated from other customers.

5. Q: I have always had a clearly posted "no pets" policy at my establishment. Do I still have to allow service animals in?

A: Yes. A service animal is not a pet. The ADA requires you to modify your "no pets" policy to allow the use of a service animal by a person with a disability. This does not mean you must abandon your "no pets" policy altogether but simply that you must make an exception to your general rule for service animals.

6. Q: My county health department has told me that only a guide dog has to be admitted. If I follow those regulations, am I violating the ADA?

A: Yes, if you refuse to admit any other type of service animal on the basis of local health department regulations or other state or local laws. The ADA provides greater protection for individuals with disabilities and so it takes priority over the local or state laws or regulations.

News about Autism and Service Animals

"There is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one." -- Alexis deTocqueville

The Orange County Register reports:

A boy with autism should be allowed to take his service dog with him when he attends elementary school, a federal court judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Andrew J. Guilford granted a preliminary injunction compelling the Cypress School District to allow the dog at a Cypress elementary school until a civil trial can put the matter to rest in September 2012.

Attorneys for the school district argued against the order, contending that existing law couldn't force school personnel to look after the animal.

In his ruling, Guilford wrote that accommodating the dog would not "fundamentally alter" the school's program. However, in order to address the potential costs to the district, Guilford also ruled that the boy's family must post a $50,000 bond before the injunction goes into effect.

Paul and Milka Ciriacks in May 2010 got the $14,000 service dog, Eddy, for their son Caleb.

According to court filings, Eddy is trained to sense Caleb's mood, curbing impulsive or destructive behavior and calming him when he is feeling anxious. In the filing, the Ciriacks' attorneys cite experts who say the boy must be accompanied at all times by the service dog in order to develop and maintain a bond between them.

"Being forced to be separated from his service dog for 6.5 hours during the school day is causing that bond to deteriorate," said Maronel Barajas, a senior staff attorney with the Disability Rights Legal Center.

WDSU-TV in New Orleans reports on an odd case involving service monkeys:

A woman fighting to regain custody of her pet monkeys collapsed in municipal court Tuesday after learning from a judge she can't have them back yet.

Officials from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries took the monkeys away four months ago after they said their owner, Joan Newberger, was panhandling with them on Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras.

But Newberger said she is autistic and uses the primates as service animals.

WWL-TV in New Orleans covered the story back in February:

Service Dogs in Alabama

Service animals are handy for people on the spectrum, and Kristina Chew writes about new state legislation:

The Alabama state legislature has passed a bill allowing all types of service dogs, including autism therapy dogs, in schools across the state. Currently, the law says that someone who is blind or hearing impaired may be accompanied by a service dog; now, someone with diagnosed on the autism spectrum can have a dog. Further, the dogs don't have to have their own handlers: Aides assisting autistic students can now be trained to work with the child and the service dog as a team, says WAAY TV.

It's a bill that Anna Laura Bryan, a local contestant in the Miss Alabama Pageant has spent the last couple of years fighting to get passed. 12 year old Brayden Ellis and her autism dog, Puah have accompanied Bryan on the state at the pageant the past two years.

Brayden and her dog have been attending Somerville Road Elementary School in Decatur for the three years. Her mother, Wendy Ellis said that she couldn't be happier about the news.

"It was just so exciting to know this state was, not only one of the first schools to have a service dog, but now, they're one of the first states to stand up for these kids and get these service dogs in the schools," said Ellis.

There have been numerous reports about the benefits of therapy dogs for autistic children in the past few years. The dogs have been said to calm children who may not be able to communicate needs and frustrations too easily. I'm not the only parent who has noted that my autistic child has unusual responses to sensory stimuli and can see how petting a dog, and having it present, could soothe a child (though my own son is very wary of dogs; when they visit the autism center he attends, he keeps a thoughtful distance). In view of reports about autistic children wandering, a dog could also play a crucial role in keeping a child safe.

Service Dog Decision in Oregon

An earlier post dealt with a Hillsboro, Oregon, school district that forbade a child on the spectrum from bringing a service dog to school. The district has now reversed itself. KATU in Portland reports:

Due to a federal investigation, the school district had to make a decision, and Oregon’s attorney general laid it out bluntly: It could be a long, expensive lawsuit. So, Scooter Givens’ service dog, Madison, will be allowed during a trial period at Patterson Elementary.

“We’re thrilled; we’re absolutely thrilled,” said Scooter’s mother Wendy.

By being tethered to Scooter, Madison keeps him from bolting and can find him if he does run off. He also helps to calm the 10-year-old during violent tantrums.

“Madison’s trained to touch him or nuzzle him and kind of distract him from that,” said Wendy.

The debate really hinged on whether Madison is a service dog or a therapy dog. Therapy dogs are not covered by the ADA but service dogs are. And service dogs can be used for people with autism.

“A therapy dog to me wouldn’t be highly trained,” Wendy said. “It isn’t tasked trained. It couldn’t do the tethering. It couldn’t do the behavior disruption. So I knew all along this was not a therapy dog. I think the school district may have just been saying that to try and slip this through.”

“We felt that it wasn’t necessary to bring in the dog,” said Beth Graser, spokeswoman for the Hillsboro School District. “If we had seen early on that the student was not able to access his education, we would have allowed the dog a lot sooner.”