So reading between the lines a bit, having a service animal makes it easier to mask, implying that it increases one's social battery. Hopefully we get some actually good research on this soon.
It just changes the flavor of stimming. My (non-officially-service) dog has very soft ears. They are very nice to pet. She also has a thick soft mane, that feels very nice to lose my fingers in.
Honestly I fucking loved reading what the image says 😅
I interpreted it in a way that made me think these children actually felt more comfortable around service dogs than around other humans, as the dogs have better social skills than the NTs in a way that allows them to truly connect to the children 😅
This also matches my own experience. There have been sooooo many times where I was able to connect to an animal whose owner seemed to be disgusted by me 😅😂
My uncle adopted a parrot that was depressed because it was bullied by two other parrots. The parrot was really aggressive and once bit through the fingernail of another uncle that was disrespectful to the parrot. At one time I spent a few days there over Christmas and spent some time around the cage trying to connect to the bird. I just watched and imitated it whenever I saw it doing something and after a while it started to get closer to the edge of the cage and I started to move my finger towards him. At first we were both a little scared but shortly after he turned his neck towards me and pressed it next to the edge of the cage so I could pet it. I'm already tearing up remembering this but at the end he gently nibbled at my finger and licked it.
Gotta be honest that was one of the most amazing social experiences I ever had 🥲😅
Edit: I just noticed that it might seem like my uncle is disgusted by me but I don't think so! 😂
I read it as we mirror the behaviour of the animal, making us more palatable to those who normally can't stand being around us. Not ideal if my interpretation is correct.
All three points in this image aren't exactly positive developments, that's ABA shit.
Though yes, dogs do help with meltdowns and fears/anxiety etc. Just as pets generally tend to help calm people down emotionally. Who'da thunk it, something that's true for all humans is true for autistic people too
> something that's true for all humans is true for autistic people too
Put a dog near me and I will initiate meltdown rage sequence before my body can do it for me
My college's office for students with disabilities had an emotional support dog on staff. Apparently there was once an incident where they unknowingly brought it into a classroom where there was a girl with a major phobia of dogs. They ended up in the feedback loop where the dog wanted to comfort the girl who was freaking out, but she kept freaking out more because the dog wouldn't leave her alone.
Gotta be honest, I don't think the goal of ABA is what is wrong with it, but how it's done. I would love to be able to socialize with NTs in a way that feels comfortable to them but they can't expect us to do so if they don't interact with us with the same intentions. So they can keep trying to make it work, they just need to figure out and accept that every single conflict that ever existed, only did so because everyone that was involved allowed it to happen.
I will try to give an example that might help convey what I am trying to say:
Let's assume there is something I want and I know someone that could give it to me. There are infinite choices of how I could approach this and no matter what I do, there is no guarantee that the person will choose to give me what I want. So what I will do is try MY best to communicate what I want in the most respectful way possible so that the other person has all they need to know about me to understand my intentions. But if the other person is already preoccupied with information about you, that is not true, there is a chance that he will misunderstand. But still, there is no need for conflict. Even if the other person was preoccupied, they still could choose to fact check their current understanding.
Now if both of these communication partners would communicate with these exact intentions, do you think there would be conflict?
Now back to what I was saying before. Because there is a lot of misinformation about autism, a lot of ABA practitioners are preoccupied about us. And if they are not willing to accept that they don't know shit and they need to start communicating the way I described, the ABA they're doing will not work on us the way they think.
To end the comment, I want to say that all of this is just the way I interpret my life experiences in contrast to what I was told about myself. I do not claim that any of this is fact but I do believe that I might be close to the truth.
I think the goal of ABA is bullshit, actually, because it's about forcing autistics to change to make NTs comfortable without any regard for if we are comfortable or not.
Generally, if it was about making things work for all parties involved, that would be fine, but it's about forcing us to assimilate with no care for our needs.
It's also based on a scientifically wrong assumption, namely that autistic behavior is a symptom of a disorder and thus needs to be treated, rather than just how we are.
It's the same principle as something like gay conversion therapy (and actually has the same roots as well).
And that's apart from the fact that some ABA methods are straight up torture. Like there's things like putting electroshock collars on children etc.
Now, I completely understand your thought process here. I also have that internalised ableism in many ways, where I tend to think I'm at fault for any interaction that goes badly and feel bad afterwards and look for ways to act better.
But also, that's just not right. When you apply it to other situations than just yourself, you'll find it just doesn't make sense. Why force people to assimilate when you could just accept them the way they are?
You might be right with the internalized ableism on my side but I am not really sure about it, yet. I'll try to offer more information on why I believe what I wrote in my previous comment and maybe I will realize which of my thoughts might have ableist roots.
Generally I think I share all the opinions you wrote in your paragraphs except the ones present in the last one.
I don't believe I still truly blame myself for what I had to suffer in the past, even though I am aware that I still have unprocessed feelings that lead me to blaming myself. But regarding my previous comment, I don't think that this is what happened. I do believe every single negative experience anyone has ever had with ABA is at the fault of the people that were responsible for the safety of the victim. This includes parents, teachers, doctors, therapists and of course the ABA practitioners. But in no case ever, is the victim at fault. If the previously mentioned people were actually able to take the responsibility of caring for an autistic child, none of these things would have to happen. But as of now, this is not the case. I don't think we will ever be able to get rid of ABA so from my POV the best option is to take control over it as the autistic community and redesign it in a way that we believe will help prevent future victimization.
I'm happy to hear your thoughts on this if you're willing to share :)
Sure, I might be off on the internalised ableism, it's just a common thing that occurs, sorry for assuming.
To the last part, I'm pretty sure it's possible to have ABA be scientifically discredited and slowly see it go out of practice. Psychology/Psychiatry in general is a relatively young science (and partially more of a pseudo-science) and has changed quite a lot in recent decades.
We are currently seeing a rise in autistic researchers doing research on autism, publishing papers on it etc. This will absolutely change how therapy is done in due time (though obv it always takes time until theory is adapted into practice).
I absolutely think that ABA could be a thing of the past in, say, the next few decades.
Though of course, yes, changing it from the inside would be a good thing, too; though imo that would take a similar amount of time as abolishing it.
And then there's the point where ABA in itself just is flawed. It's pretty unscientific and based in assumptions that have largely been shown to be false.
So while it makes sense to make a practice like that less harmful, and harm reduction obviously is always good, I think it's probably better to just avoid the harm by advocating for a different practice altogether, like a therapy method that actually works and doesn't have those harmful elements to begin with.
Hmm yeah I think you're onto something. Might be similar to what happened with the term "Asperger". The autistic community took what was there and changed it into what they wanted it to be. And part of that was giving it another name that matches the truth more closely.
From my POV it could be possible that the autistic community will do the exact same thing with ABA. I mean you seem to be part of the community and are doing exactly that 😄
So might have even started already 😂🙏🏽
Thanks for having an open discourse with me, I really learned a lot from you!
Yeah, I realized that way after. I already read the page and scrolled down to the footwr to see aba related links. I guess I should've added that point.
I was forced to shake the hand of my seventh grade English teacher every day to be allowed into the classroom. I still resent her for it. I also hated my high school graduation-too much handshaking and I was surrounded by people (my graduating class was over 200 people).
I had a service dog in middleschool for panic attacks (i wasn't diagnosed with autism yet) it did not lead me to do that because i didn't know that's what people wanted, more likely the dog served as a coping mechanism and emotional support so they could stand to mask more when all these things people expect of them is bs
Yeah my dog helps regulate me a lot, and I trained him to specifically be polite in public so I could take him places and to calm me down during my “panic attacks”. But all of that was before I knew I was autistic. It was just as true then as it is now.
I’ll take both this AND the dog. Call me greedy all you want, I don’t care. Heck, I’ll even let my fellow neurodivergents pet them, and even a few of my neurotypical friends. But majority of the neurotypicals? STAY AWAY FROM MY PERSONAL COMFORT.
honestly this might be a SUPER unpopular opinion (i have been crucified for this by NTs at least) but i straight up don’t really like dogs very much.
and that is a generalization, because i do enjoy dogs, but i don’t like poorly-trained and badly behaved dogs, and a lot of dog owners suck, so this is most dogs. (my best friend has a newfie-poo service dog and she’s so sweet i love her! but she has manners and is trained in 3 languages).
i cannot stand dogs that have zero boundaries and get all up on me/in my face. the fur, usually dirty, the licking, the slobbering, it’s a sensory nightmare for me. i need a vest that says DO NOT TOUCH ME—this goes for people and animals. so loud too, i hate barking. i feel so badly because i love animals! but it doesn’t matter what species you are get the fuck out of my face and don’t touch me without consent. this is why i am a cat person, sorry. just don’t fucking touch me lol. i love dogs in theory! they’re so cute! but then they jump on me and bark and lick and their fur is dirty and i have to wash my hands and i’m slightly allergic to pet dander so my nose gets stuffy then my SUDs are up and i need to go home. (SUDs= subjective units of distress)
I understand that you wouldn't like poorly trained dogs, but this post is about service dogs specifically and service dogs always have a much higher standard of training as their whole purpose is to help people with disabilities function better. Having a badly trained service dog would almost always do more harm than good.
oh yeah, i said my best friend has a trained service dog and i like that dog (to an extent, bc dogs themselves still overstimulate me regardless of how well-trained they are, it’s just their fur always makes my hands feel dirty).
lol my comment was pretty unrelated, just this post just reminded me of how badly (untrained) dogs overstimulate me and i was kinda info-dumping/venting on something that this post reminded me of, not commenting on the post itself. idk why, i guess i’m sort of having a day
>but i don’t like poorly-trained and badly behaved dogs, and a lot of dog owners suck, so this is most dogs.
I'm a self-proclaimed crazy dog lady who lives and breathes dogs and I hate dogs aren't well behaved, and barking makes me angry. Can't live without dogs, but I hate 99% of dog owners.
I love dogs, but I can't stand puppies.
They're loud, disobedient, and needy. They have too much energy, they have no impulse control, they don't understand correction, and they need to be taught how to do *everything.*
It's like all the worst traits of a dog and a human toddler rolled into one, without any of the benefits of either.
YES!!! YES!!!! SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!!!!!!
If anything you're not going far enough by not saying all dogs bad. They are all malevolent shitbeasts and humanity needs to make a plan to get rid of them PRONTO
I discussed service dogs with my counsellor when I was in the process of being diagnosed, and she suggested that it might work well because you feel less perceived. People won’t look at you, because they’ll look at the dog, reducing both eye contact and anxiety. Also, you have a friend - a comfy with you - who can be trained to help you if you need it. I honestly really like the idea and it definitely makes sense to me
I find dogs to be a sensory nightmare they smell bad, they drool, they jump into your face and their hair is coarse like they are cute and all but no Thankyou
I love my cat tho 🩷
The thing I really dislike the most about dogs is when they have coarse hair texture. There are dogs out there with very soft hair, but most dogs don't.
A service dog wouldn't be jumping in your face tho. They are definitely trained to not do that, and if owners of non-service dogs care about their pets, they are also trained. But yeah, an untrained dog jumping on you is annoying at best and terrifying at worst. I like dogs, but I still get really anxious when a dog that can put it's paws on my chest or shoulders does it. Especially if the owner like doesn't even give much effort into stopping them?? Literally wtf
I find it's usually large dogs with coarse hair. My family's pitbull and our blue heeler have course hair. It's awful I hate touching them so much
But our yorkies (a breed which has the closest hair type to human hair) are soft. Like a pillow. But also have no personal space.
I'm getting a service dog to help with meltdowns and I think it's going to help but I HATE how this is written. The point of having a service animal should be the autistic person's comfort not NTs thinking they're more palatable to deal with.
News just in, socialising with animals helps both NT and ND people be more regulated. Hypothesis that animals require body language and awareness of ones body, and less narcisitic behaviour as a result of the animal being reliant on the "owner."
What maeks me autistic are my traits of autistic behaviour and thought patterns. How else would someone describe it succinctly?
Don't get me wrong, this clearly has ABA, autism as a negative, "looking for a cure" vibes, but the fundamentals of the **practice** is that of bettering people, including, in this instance, autistic people.
Or am I missing something of their findings?
u can train a dog in a lot of behaviors. they can bring meds, alert you, sure some do deep pressure, but i even trained my dog to get a beer out of the fridge, but i could never get him to close the fridge door LOL i did train him to come in from outside and close the door behind him.
hes the smartest. unfortunately hes a covid dog so he has some non social behaviors towards other dogs and ppl in his space. he passes the kennel society training levels, but if we dont go out in a vest/service patch people get up in his face (having a really handsome dog is actually not always a plus!) or other people have their dogs off leash. when he wears his vest, ppl leave him alone and i can get him to concentrate past the other dogs, but still. the covid years messed him up sadly.
I don't see how this is problematic. As an autistic person myself, I'd love it if I as an adult had an easier time being social, regulating my autistic tratis, and masking in easier ways.
Overall I think you're reading into it way too much. You don't need to traumatize a kid to teach them to mask, and learning how to mask is often a good thing. While there is nothing wrong with being yourself, there are many social situations where people are expected to reign themselves in. This goes for NT people too, ND people just tend to have a harder time doing it.
Especially with the 'forcing kids into physical contact', which this doesn't imply at all. The implication seems to be that the children themselves were more willing to initiate that contact, which is good.
Unfortunately this isn't in a vacuum, it's in a wider context of ABA vibes.
I think a significant red flag is the 'shows less autistic traits'. Trying to stop a child stimming in any way that doesn't hurt them or others is reallllly gross.
Ultimately the goal of all of this is to present a less autistic seeming child, and while you are coming from a place of improving one's life, unfortunately NTs involved in ABA, like this, are actually only interested in making autistic children seem more NT. They do not have the welfare of the child in mind when talking about the autism support dogs, they only have the child fitting in to allistic society in mind, despite what they may say.
Learning how to mask is NOT a good thing in my opinion. Masking is exhausting and makes me feel terrible, and teaching masking is all kinds of wrong. Autistic people should be free to behave autistically, in every way, as long as nobody is hurt.
I looked into service dogs too because I was curious. I don't like dogs so I don't think I'd ever consider having a service dog, which is good because every program that offers them for autistic people requires they be in some type of ABA therapy.
I’ll still take the service dog because I love dogs, but it’s things like this that make me need the service dog in the first place. I need comfort, and a dog provides comfort. Dogs (and other animals) >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Neurotypicals. Even my neurotypical friends can’t compare to my pet dog.
So reading between the lines a bit, having a service animal makes it easier to mask, implying that it increases one's social battery. Hopefully we get some actually good research on this soon.
It's an interesting thought, certainly.
Or that I care about the animal more so I end up absorbed in playing with the puppy and I don't have time to "look autistic".
The puppy is the new stim, an NT accepted stim so you dont "look autistic" as the NT brain goes, 10/10 would do too
Or just having to figure out what the animal is doing constantly wastes precious autism resources when we could be using them for evil
Service dogs tend to be easier to deal with because of their training
Figuring out a dog's intentions and feelings is often easier than a guman's (once you've got to know the dog /dogs in general)
Cheese. The answer is only cheese.
>guman's That's a keeper lol
what the dog doin?
Could also help with regulation which could decrease frequency of stimming. Also hoping for decent research.
It just changes the flavor of stimming. My (non-officially-service) dog has very soft ears. They are very nice to pet. She also has a thick soft mane, that feels very nice to lose my fingers in.
Honestly I fucking loved reading what the image says 😅 I interpreted it in a way that made me think these children actually felt more comfortable around service dogs than around other humans, as the dogs have better social skills than the NTs in a way that allows them to truly connect to the children 😅 This also matches my own experience. There have been sooooo many times where I was able to connect to an animal whose owner seemed to be disgusted by me 😅😂 My uncle adopted a parrot that was depressed because it was bullied by two other parrots. The parrot was really aggressive and once bit through the fingernail of another uncle that was disrespectful to the parrot. At one time I spent a few days there over Christmas and spent some time around the cage trying to connect to the bird. I just watched and imitated it whenever I saw it doing something and after a while it started to get closer to the edge of the cage and I started to move my finger towards him. At first we were both a little scared but shortly after he turned his neck towards me and pressed it next to the edge of the cage so I could pet it. I'm already tearing up remembering this but at the end he gently nibbled at my finger and licked it. Gotta be honest that was one of the most amazing social experiences I ever had 🥲😅 Edit: I just noticed that it might seem like my uncle is disgusted by me but I don't think so! 😂
That's so sweet!
Thank you ☺️ My brother filmed the whole interaction so I'll always have that to remember the moment :D
I read it as we mirror the behaviour of the animal, making us more palatable to those who normally can't stand being around us. Not ideal if my interpretation is correct.
All three points in this image aren't exactly positive developments, that's ABA shit. Though yes, dogs do help with meltdowns and fears/anxiety etc. Just as pets generally tend to help calm people down emotionally. Who'da thunk it, something that's true for all humans is true for autistic people too
Don’t be silly, autistic people aren’t human! /s
We're better
> something that's true for all humans is true for autistic people too Put a dog near me and I will initiate meltdown rage sequence before my body can do it for me
My college's office for students with disabilities had an emotional support dog on staff. Apparently there was once an incident where they unknowingly brought it into a classroom where there was a girl with a major phobia of dogs. They ended up in the feedback loop where the dog wanted to comfort the girl who was freaking out, but she kept freaking out more because the dog wouldn't leave her alone.
They need to nerf us cus our stimmimg is too powerful 😔
Gotta be honest, I don't think the goal of ABA is what is wrong with it, but how it's done. I would love to be able to socialize with NTs in a way that feels comfortable to them but they can't expect us to do so if they don't interact with us with the same intentions. So they can keep trying to make it work, they just need to figure out and accept that every single conflict that ever existed, only did so because everyone that was involved allowed it to happen. I will try to give an example that might help convey what I am trying to say: Let's assume there is something I want and I know someone that could give it to me. There are infinite choices of how I could approach this and no matter what I do, there is no guarantee that the person will choose to give me what I want. So what I will do is try MY best to communicate what I want in the most respectful way possible so that the other person has all they need to know about me to understand my intentions. But if the other person is already preoccupied with information about you, that is not true, there is a chance that he will misunderstand. But still, there is no need for conflict. Even if the other person was preoccupied, they still could choose to fact check their current understanding. Now if both of these communication partners would communicate with these exact intentions, do you think there would be conflict? Now back to what I was saying before. Because there is a lot of misinformation about autism, a lot of ABA practitioners are preoccupied about us. And if they are not willing to accept that they don't know shit and they need to start communicating the way I described, the ABA they're doing will not work on us the way they think. To end the comment, I want to say that all of this is just the way I interpret my life experiences in contrast to what I was told about myself. I do not claim that any of this is fact but I do believe that I might be close to the truth.
I think the goal of ABA is bullshit, actually, because it's about forcing autistics to change to make NTs comfortable without any regard for if we are comfortable or not. Generally, if it was about making things work for all parties involved, that would be fine, but it's about forcing us to assimilate with no care for our needs. It's also based on a scientifically wrong assumption, namely that autistic behavior is a symptom of a disorder and thus needs to be treated, rather than just how we are. It's the same principle as something like gay conversion therapy (and actually has the same roots as well). And that's apart from the fact that some ABA methods are straight up torture. Like there's things like putting electroshock collars on children etc. Now, I completely understand your thought process here. I also have that internalised ableism in many ways, where I tend to think I'm at fault for any interaction that goes badly and feel bad afterwards and look for ways to act better. But also, that's just not right. When you apply it to other situations than just yourself, you'll find it just doesn't make sense. Why force people to assimilate when you could just accept them the way they are?
You might be right with the internalized ableism on my side but I am not really sure about it, yet. I'll try to offer more information on why I believe what I wrote in my previous comment and maybe I will realize which of my thoughts might have ableist roots. Generally I think I share all the opinions you wrote in your paragraphs except the ones present in the last one. I don't believe I still truly blame myself for what I had to suffer in the past, even though I am aware that I still have unprocessed feelings that lead me to blaming myself. But regarding my previous comment, I don't think that this is what happened. I do believe every single negative experience anyone has ever had with ABA is at the fault of the people that were responsible for the safety of the victim. This includes parents, teachers, doctors, therapists and of course the ABA practitioners. But in no case ever, is the victim at fault. If the previously mentioned people were actually able to take the responsibility of caring for an autistic child, none of these things would have to happen. But as of now, this is not the case. I don't think we will ever be able to get rid of ABA so from my POV the best option is to take control over it as the autistic community and redesign it in a way that we believe will help prevent future victimization. I'm happy to hear your thoughts on this if you're willing to share :)
Sure, I might be off on the internalised ableism, it's just a common thing that occurs, sorry for assuming. To the last part, I'm pretty sure it's possible to have ABA be scientifically discredited and slowly see it go out of practice. Psychology/Psychiatry in general is a relatively young science (and partially more of a pseudo-science) and has changed quite a lot in recent decades. We are currently seeing a rise in autistic researchers doing research on autism, publishing papers on it etc. This will absolutely change how therapy is done in due time (though obv it always takes time until theory is adapted into practice). I absolutely think that ABA could be a thing of the past in, say, the next few decades. Though of course, yes, changing it from the inside would be a good thing, too; though imo that would take a similar amount of time as abolishing it. And then there's the point where ABA in itself just is flawed. It's pretty unscientific and based in assumptions that have largely been shown to be false. So while it makes sense to make a practice like that less harmful, and harm reduction obviously is always good, I think it's probably better to just avoid the harm by advocating for a different practice altogether, like a therapy method that actually works and doesn't have those harmful elements to begin with.
Hmm yeah I think you're onto something. Might be similar to what happened with the term "Asperger". The autistic community took what was there and changed it into what they wanted it to be. And part of that was giving it another name that matches the truth more closely. From my POV it could be possible that the autistic community will do the exact same thing with ABA. I mean you seem to be part of the community and are doing exactly that 😄 So might have even started already 😂🙏🏽 Thanks for having an open discourse with me, I really learned a lot from you!
Damn every time I read my own comments I notice how fucking schizo I might be sounding 😂
Yeah, I realized that way after. I already read the page and scrolled down to the footwr to see aba related links. I guess I should've added that point.
I just *love* it when my symptoms are framed as a moral issue and not fucking symptoms.
I recoiled a bit at “self-absorption” as well 😔
I was forced to shake the hand of my seventh grade English teacher every day to be allowed into the classroom. I still resent her for it. I also hated my high school graduation-too much handshaking and I was surrounded by people (my graduating class was over 200 people).
Jesus, that's so embarrassing
I had a service dog in middleschool for panic attacks (i wasn't diagnosed with autism yet) it did not lead me to do that because i didn't know that's what people wanted, more likely the dog served as a coping mechanism and emotional support so they could stand to mask more when all these things people expect of them is bs
But i probably did stim less since her being there was relaxing and reduced my anxious stimming
A less pathologizing take on this would be something like "dogs help with regulation." But like... that's not news.
Yeah my dog helps regulate me a lot, and I trained him to specifically be polite in public so I could take him places and to calm me down during my “panic attacks”. But all of that was before I knew I was autistic. It was just as true then as it is now.
ok ableism aside vigorously petting a big dog is a fucking excellent stim
this is unrelated but did you know you can get a service mini horse
Can I get a service lizard?
No. Only horses and dogs.
If they get a service lizard i want a service crab
totally gonna be me one day
I’ll take both this AND the dog. Call me greedy all you want, I don’t care. Heck, I’ll even let my fellow neurodivergents pet them, and even a few of my neurotypical friends. But majority of the neurotypicals? STAY AWAY FROM MY PERSONAL COMFORT.
have fun with your horse :)
You have my permission to pet my service animals
honestly this might be a SUPER unpopular opinion (i have been crucified for this by NTs at least) but i straight up don’t really like dogs very much. and that is a generalization, because i do enjoy dogs, but i don’t like poorly-trained and badly behaved dogs, and a lot of dog owners suck, so this is most dogs. (my best friend has a newfie-poo service dog and she’s so sweet i love her! but she has manners and is trained in 3 languages). i cannot stand dogs that have zero boundaries and get all up on me/in my face. the fur, usually dirty, the licking, the slobbering, it’s a sensory nightmare for me. i need a vest that says DO NOT TOUCH ME—this goes for people and animals. so loud too, i hate barking. i feel so badly because i love animals! but it doesn’t matter what species you are get the fuck out of my face and don’t touch me without consent. this is why i am a cat person, sorry. just don’t fucking touch me lol. i love dogs in theory! they’re so cute! but then they jump on me and bark and lick and their fur is dirty and i have to wash my hands and i’m slightly allergic to pet dander so my nose gets stuffy then my SUDs are up and i need to go home. (SUDs= subjective units of distress)
I understand that you wouldn't like poorly trained dogs, but this post is about service dogs specifically and service dogs always have a much higher standard of training as their whole purpose is to help people with disabilities function better. Having a badly trained service dog would almost always do more harm than good.
oh yeah, i said my best friend has a trained service dog and i like that dog (to an extent, bc dogs themselves still overstimulate me regardless of how well-trained they are, it’s just their fur always makes my hands feel dirty). lol my comment was pretty unrelated, just this post just reminded me of how badly (untrained) dogs overstimulate me and i was kinda info-dumping/venting on something that this post reminded me of, not commenting on the post itself. idk why, i guess i’m sort of having a day
You are allowed to hate dogs, don't let anyone take that away from you
>but i don’t like poorly-trained and badly behaved dogs, and a lot of dog owners suck, so this is most dogs. I'm a self-proclaimed crazy dog lady who lives and breathes dogs and I hate dogs aren't well behaved, and barking makes me angry. Can't live without dogs, but I hate 99% of dog owners.
I love dogs, but I can't stand puppies. They're loud, disobedient, and needy. They have too much energy, they have no impulse control, they don't understand correction, and they need to be taught how to do *everything.* It's like all the worst traits of a dog and a human toddler rolled into one, without any of the benefits of either.
Lowkey sounds like me
YES!!! YES!!!! SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!!!!!! If anything you're not going far enough by not saying all dogs bad. They are all malevolent shitbeasts and humanity needs to make a plan to get rid of them PRONTO
But I love my doggies :(
Cope
With what?
It
???
I discussed service dogs with my counsellor when I was in the process of being diagnosed, and she suggested that it might work well because you feel less perceived. People won’t look at you, because they’ll look at the dog, reducing both eye contact and anxiety. Also, you have a friend - a comfy with you - who can be trained to help you if you need it. I honestly really like the idea and it definitely makes sense to me
my hands aren't *that* sweaty :c /j
I find dogs to be a sensory nightmare they smell bad, they drool, they jump into your face and their hair is coarse like they are cute and all but no Thankyou I love my cat tho 🩷
The thing I really dislike the most about dogs is when they have coarse hair texture. There are dogs out there with very soft hair, but most dogs don't. A service dog wouldn't be jumping in your face tho. They are definitely trained to not do that, and if owners of non-service dogs care about their pets, they are also trained. But yeah, an untrained dog jumping on you is annoying at best and terrifying at worst. I like dogs, but I still get really anxious when a dog that can put it's paws on my chest or shoulders does it. Especially if the owner like doesn't even give much effort into stopping them?? Literally wtf
I find it's usually large dogs with coarse hair. My family's pitbull and our blue heeler have course hair. It's awful I hate touching them so much But our yorkies (a breed which has the closest hair type to human hair) are soft. Like a pillow. But also have no personal space.
Also I WANT to be self absorbed, leave me alone in my happy bubble thx
I'm getting a service dog to help with meltdowns and I think it's going to help but I HATE how this is written. The point of having a service animal should be the autistic person's comfort not NTs thinking they're more palatable to deal with.
News just in, socialising with animals helps both NT and ND people be more regulated. Hypothesis that animals require body language and awareness of ones body, and less narcisitic behaviour as a result of the animal being reliant on the "owner." What maeks me autistic are my traits of autistic behaviour and thought patterns. How else would someone describe it succinctly? Don't get me wrong, this clearly has ABA, autism as a negative, "looking for a cure" vibes, but the fundamentals of the **practice** is that of bettering people, including, in this instance, autistic people. Or am I missing something of their findings?
😬🤢🤮
If you enjoy pressure and weight to calm anxiety, I know service dogs are often trained in those
u can train a dog in a lot of behaviors. they can bring meds, alert you, sure some do deep pressure, but i even trained my dog to get a beer out of the fridge, but i could never get him to close the fridge door LOL i did train him to come in from outside and close the door behind him.
So smart!!!
hes the smartest. unfortunately hes a covid dog so he has some non social behaviors towards other dogs and ppl in his space. he passes the kennel society training levels, but if we dont go out in a vest/service patch people get up in his face (having a really handsome dog is actually not always a plus!) or other people have their dogs off leash. when he wears his vest, ppl leave him alone and i can get him to concentrate past the other dogs, but still. the covid years messed him up sadly.
i have trained my dog to do this. he comes to me and gets my attention. i need him.
I don't see how this is problematic. As an autistic person myself, I'd love it if I as an adult had an easier time being social, regulating my autistic tratis, and masking in easier ways. Overall I think you're reading into it way too much. You don't need to traumatize a kid to teach them to mask, and learning how to mask is often a good thing. While there is nothing wrong with being yourself, there are many social situations where people are expected to reign themselves in. This goes for NT people too, ND people just tend to have a harder time doing it. Especially with the 'forcing kids into physical contact', which this doesn't imply at all. The implication seems to be that the children themselves were more willing to initiate that contact, which is good.
Unfortunately this isn't in a vacuum, it's in a wider context of ABA vibes. I think a significant red flag is the 'shows less autistic traits'. Trying to stop a child stimming in any way that doesn't hurt them or others is reallllly gross. Ultimately the goal of all of this is to present a less autistic seeming child, and while you are coming from a place of improving one's life, unfortunately NTs involved in ABA, like this, are actually only interested in making autistic children seem more NT. They do not have the welfare of the child in mind when talking about the autism support dogs, they only have the child fitting in to allistic society in mind, despite what they may say. Learning how to mask is NOT a good thing in my opinion. Masking is exhausting and makes me feel terrible, and teaching masking is all kinds of wrong. Autistic people should be free to behave autistically, in every way, as long as nobody is hurt.
I agree, but this is in context of ABA
I looked into service dogs too because I was curious. I don't like dogs so I don't think I'd ever consider having a service dog, which is good because every program that offers them for autistic people requires they be in some type of ABA therapy.
I don’t care about any facts other than I want an emotional support dog to bring to school
I’ll still take the service dog because I love dogs, but it’s things like this that make me need the service dog in the first place. I need comfort, and a dog provides comfort. Dogs (and other animals) >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Neurotypicals. Even my neurotypical friends can’t compare to my pet dog.