Help with Assistance/Service Dogs for ASD kids

DBB

Hi everyone,
You may have heard of the recent controversy brought to light on the Joe Duffy Show in relation to parents who had acquired an assistance/service dog through a private company (rather than a recognised charity) for their child with ASD, or other conditions for which animal-assisted therapy brings great emotional and behavioural benefits to the child. Joe Duffy was inundated with calls from distressed parents for whom things had not turned out quite as planned.

It is clear that there are parents out there who fall into two groups. First are the parents who have already acquired an as-yet untrained dog, and second are the parents who had hoped to acquire such a dog in the future. It is quite possible now that both groups of parents are feeling a bit high-and-dry now, and don't know where to turn for help.

I'm involved with The Association of Pet Dogs Trainers Ireland http://www.apdt.ie, a professional certifying body for dog trainers, all of whom are thoroughly assessed to ensure they meet high standards of knowledge and ability to train both dogs and owners in a friendly, effective and fun way... training methods used are research-led, ethical, and never harmful.
APDT Ireland is hosting a FREE support and information day for these parents in the Maldron Hotel in Portlaoise, on Sunday 27th September from 11am to 3pm, to include a quick lunch break. We'll provide light refreshments

We'll have one of Ireland's leading experts in Assistance Dog Trainer training, Alison Bush of Elista Education http://www.elistaeducation.com, to talk to parents about criteria used to assess the temperament of the assistance/service dog, recognising dog body language and how what kids do influences how dogs are feeling, the principles of training and the impact of "good" and "bad" training, choosing a suitable trainer, the legalities of public access for assistance/service dogs.

We'll also have APDT Ireland certified trainers there to chat with parents, and hopefully to get to know each other with a view to supporting parents with the sourcing and training of suitable assistance dogs for them and their kids in the weeks, months and years ahead.

If you've been affected by this in any way, or know someone who has, if you have an as-yet untrained dog living with you, or if you'd like to explore the possibility of getting an assistance dog, this event is aimed at you! If you'd like to come along, the details again are as follows:

Maldron Hotel Portlaoise on Sunday 27th Sept at 11am, until about 3pm.
Light refreshments included.
It's FREE!
Give me a shout if you'd like to come alone, we'd love to see you there!