How Pet Dogs can help Autistic Children and their Families

In partnership with The National Autistic Society and the University of Lincoln, Dogs for Good completed a three year research project. They worked together to investigate why dogs affect children with autism and the impact on the family as a whole. 

The research found that owning a pet dog reduced stress in parents of children with autism.

Research results February 20016 - The University of Lincoln has published the findings of the research in an Open Access Paper:

"What Factors Are Associated with Positive Effects of Dog Ownership in Families with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder? The Development of the Lincoln Autism Pet Dog Impact Scale."

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0149736

More Research: https://www.dogsforgood.org/app/uploads/2015/06/Research-on-dogs-and-children-with-autism.pdf

Dogs for Good provide the only Family Dog workshops which provides parents of children with autism with the advice and long-term support needed for choosing and training a dog to benefit the whole family. https://www.dogsforgood.org/how-we-help/family-dog/

Link to see where the Family Dog Workshops 2020 are in the UK: https://www.dogsforgood.org/how-we-help/family-dog/our-workshops/family-dog-workshops-2020/

Does anyone having any dogs or pets even, that are helping their children?

Parents
  • Ah wow that sounds lovely (other then the stress of vet bills which unfortunately happens to all dog owners), its amazing how some dogs just connect and they just act accordingly to assist people and it ends up helping the person. My girl is great when I get worked up or upset she's always there to put a paw on me and comfort me or in some cases put her whole body on me.

    Did you attend one of these workshops or it was just something you knew and got the dog and it just ended up falling into place?

Reply
  • Ah wow that sounds lovely (other then the stress of vet bills which unfortunately happens to all dog owners), its amazing how some dogs just connect and they just act accordingly to assist people and it ends up helping the person. My girl is great when I get worked up or upset she's always there to put a paw on me and comfort me or in some cases put her whole body on me.

    Did you attend one of these workshops or it was just something you knew and got the dog and it just ended up falling into place?

Children
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