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Autism Vox

July 11th, 2008

Was That a Woof?

I first heard about training dogs specially for autistic children years ago through a friend of a friend; since then, there have been frequent reports about “four-footed therapists.” An organization called 4 Paws for Ability has placed more than 200 service dogs with autistic children, today’s Star-Ledger (NJ). The parents of 7-year-old Will Polak are […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 7 comments

July 2nd, 2008

Not a Nice Thing to Say

Can you imagine having this said to you?
“One family I met took their child to the doctor and the doctor said: ‘If he was a dog you would put him down.’”
As quoted in the February 7 Campbelltown-McArthur Advertiser (Australia).
Tags: Animals, asd, asperger, australia, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, doctors, dogs, Family, family blog, Parenting, […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 24 comments

June 23rd, 2008

Horses, Dogs, Cats, Rabbits, Birds, Fish, Guinea Pigs, Dolphins

Is animal assisted therapy really the cat’s meow? asks the June 2008 Scientific American and takes a hard look at the use of dolphins, dogs (whose benefits as therapy animals for autistic children have been more and more noted), and other animals (a topic also under discussion with the US Department of Justice):
To show that […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 3 comments

May 16th, 2008

Sorry Fido, No Bath For You

Bathe your pet in flea shampoo while you’re pregnant and you are twice as likely to have an autistic child, according to new research to be presented today at the International Meeting For Autism Research in London (scroll down on this link, past the report on how baby bottle chemicals can sentence a child to […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 2 comments

April 29th, 2008

The Help Is There

Nuala Gardner’s son Dale was born in 1988 and diagnosed with autism. In an essay in yesterday’s Guardian entitled The day I could no longer cope with my autistic son, she writes about how she contemplated suicide when her son was three years old but did not:
At the time I felt incredibly guilty about how […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 4 comments

April 14th, 2008

Good Dogs and Good Vibes

There’s been more and more stories about therapy dogs for autistic children (indeed. here’s an organization called Autism Service Dogs of America. But what about a seal?—–a therapeutic robot seal named Paro, that is?
Paro is $5000: Personally, I think I’ll stick to providing Charlie with fleece blankets and jackets, and hats and gloves for their […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 7 comments

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