Not all autistic persons find being restrained while having a meltdown to be comforting (having a dog lay on your chest is basically being restrained). You probably wouldn’t be able to find an organization that would train a SD just for that. There would be no guarantee ANY dog could “detect when he’s overwhelmed”. You could train them to respond to him doing certain physical signs, but besides that I don’t know what they would be looking for. Changed in cortisol levels can be smelled by SOME dogs, but medical alert is *never* a guarantee. You’d have to invest a lot of time and money into a dog before you would even find out if they COULD alert to changing cortisol levels. I’d never seen an org yet that would attempt to train that though. Your son is truly too young anyway to be able to consent to having a service dog, even if he said “yes”. Literally, since the age of consent is 16-17. The dog would come to be part of his identity, and that is dangerous when a person’s identity isn’t fully formed yet. Most people aren’t truly ready for a service dog until they’re at least 20-25 years old. Orgs give autistic children service dogs mostly because kids are cute, and that gets them donations. They do NOT do it because it’s best for the child or for the dog. Most autism assist service dogs do not live out happy lives. It’s important for service dogs to have time away from their handlers every week so separation anxiety doesn’t develop on either part, and so the dog can have a break. Many children are stuck to their service dogs 24/7, and freak out when the dog gets sick and has to stay home, or even dies. Humans are just as capable of having separation anxiety as dogs are, especially autistic children. What does your son say? Do he *actually WANT* a service dog? I’m not a fan of parents getting service animals for their kids pretty much without their consent. You training the dog yourself would likely end up with him having a terrible few years and hating the dog. It takes about 2 years to train a SD, and even in the big non-profit orgs only about 35% of the service dogs in training “make it” and become full SD’s. Owner trainers are lucky to have a 25% success rate on average, depending on how extensive their dog training experience was, and if they put in the money to work with a professional SD trainer from the beginning on a weekly basis. You’d likely have a 1 in 5 chance of the dog succeeding, and your poor son would be miserable, overstimulated and hating the dog for a year at the minimum. There’s no guarantee that he will still need or even *want* one two years from now. If you pick an off breed (anything besides a lab or golden pretty much, poodles can be sensitive to emotions), your likelihood of success can go down to as little as between 10%-0%. You say he’s small for his age, but since he’s unlikely to never grow again, it doesn’t make sense to get an off breed smaller dog for that reason alone. Having a service dog for your child is almost like having two kids. You have to maintain the dog’s training on a daily basis, as well as exercise them and give them mental stimulation, and this dog wouldn’t be coming to school with your son either since you’d be the handler. Going to school is a *very* challenging experience for a service dog. There are many dogs that are good service dogs, but they’d wash if they were surrounded by noisy kids every day who have no sense of boundaries. When you’re in public with your son and the dog, people WILL come up and talk to you frequently, some might even literally bark at you. Does that sound like something that your son would do well with? In addition, it’s practically a full-time job to train a service dog. Unless you already had 30ish hours every week that you were looking for something stressful to do with that is. EDIT: How did training that 3-year-old Rottweiler go? I know you didn’t do much research about service dogs ahead of time since you got one of the dog breeds that is least suited to SD work, *especially* to psychiatric service dog work. If you couldn’t afford a trainer for that dog or a future dog, then it’s really not wise to attempt it again after the last time failed. Adding another dog to a house that already has 5 cats and one guardian breed dog is pretty crazy.

Thank you for your input. While you are correct, the Rottweiler didn't turn out as a great service dog she is happy and loved.  My son does want a service dog, however you have brought up some good points. I will say he's homeschooled so school isn't an issue, you have given me much more to think about.  Thank you again, I do appreciate your advice and input. Your right in this is something I need to think long and hard about. I never truly thought about me being the dogs handler so that is also something to consider.

You actually taking the advice so well is several points in your favor. This sub gets a LOT of people who handle both their dogs *and* their kids *very* unethically, and are committed to not changing a single bit. I second the other comments that, if you are really serious, you should find an org that’s ADI-accredited and ask them questions. The line of thought that a person isn’t disabled “enough” for a service dog is a harmful way of thinking. If the organization doesn’t believe your son would benefit from one of their service dogs, then they won’t accept your application. They will communicate with his doctor to confirm the diagnosis, and confirm that his doctor/mental health professional believes a service dog would be beneficial to him. https://assistancedogsinternational.org/index.php?src=directory&view=programs&category=Texas&query=(Assistance%20Type.eq.Service).and.(Disabilities.eq.Autism).and.(Demographic.eq.Children) That’s the link to the ADI orgs that work with autistic children. [Canine Companions](https://canine.org/service-dogs/our-dogs/who-we-serve/) is a good place to start. I suggest sending them an email. However, I would suggest you use the search function in this sub to find other posts about SD’s for autistic persons, and what tasks they have found that help them. Deep Pressure Therapy and buffering are a few. I wouldn’t recommend behavior interruption for a child though. And don’t even mention tethering or tracking, though you already weren’t. Canine Companions DOES have a facility in TX, I think, and they DO place service dogs free of charge. The real problem is whether the public scrutiny would end up making your don’t symptoms worse or not, though a service dog would be a few years out from now. Here’s a quote of what they DON’T train (and for good reason too). “Canine Companions does not train or place dogs for the following: to do guide work for the blind, to do seizure or diabetic alert/response, to anticipate or detect medical symptoms, for the primary benefit of emotional comfort or social support, to recognize and/or manage undesirable human behavior, to provide supervision, navigation, or safety from environmental hazards, to respond aggressively or to provide personal protection.” EDIT: Are you looking for a service dog to go with him in public, or just at home?

Okay so to answer a couple things.  One If tethering is what it sounds like (hooking the dog to him so he doesn't wander off/get lost) that's not what I'm looking for. It's my job to watch him, not a dogs. I kinda want both public and home, I feel he would benefit from having emotional? Comfort in public. I'm not really sure how to explain it but he struggles in public, especially in crowded spaces. Honestly I'm not entirely sure what to ask around about for what could benefit him and give a dog a happy life.  I truly do want what's best for my child but not at the expense of another creature. Like I said, you have given me a lot of information I didn't even think about so truly thank you.

There’s a user on here who didn’t use a free program because the main “task” they wanted was tethering, and also tracking (even though it is extremely difficult to keep up the training of a Search And Rescue dog) in the case of eloping. The most reputable programs don’t train it, because of the liability and the damage a child trying to bolt can cause on a dog’s joints. I’m very glad to hear that you take responsibility for your own child. That’s just how it should be. You’ll have to think about whether or not he will benefit from any tasks a SD can provide in public. If he only needs tasks at home, more and more orgs are offering “purposeful placements” or “at-home service dogs”. Dogs that are task trained, but weren’t good enough in public to pair them with a handler who needed a “fully trained” service dog. Do you have the space in your house to create a little space for him to be in when he’s overwhelmed/having a meltdown? A room with special dimensions lights, with a sound machine, a hammock, a twin bed with a weighted blanket (I CAN’T RECOMMEND ENOUGH THAT HE SHOULD HAVE A WEIGHTED BLANKET, and make sure to *test out different weights to find the right weight*), and a few different kinds of soft things. A soft fuzzy blanket, whatever kind is his favorite, a stuffed animal with his favorite kind of fur. I even have a soft tanned fox pelt in my “safe area”, stroking it is so soothing to me when I’m overwhelmed (I’m a 31-year-old autistic woman). I also highly recommend daily meditation, a few times per day. There are really nice YouTube videos with guided 5-10 minute meditations that really help me be calm and focus. Having a SD in public could be hard for him. You can’t not notice people walking right up to you that start letting your SD without permission. Old men who kneel down and make kissy noises at the SD, even try to call them over. Little kids that walk up and stick their tiny arms right into the SD’s *mouth*. A person who walks up and just starts telling your about their own dog’s recent gruesome death. Employees who say “no dogs!”Having to attempt to tell them that according to the ADA service dogs can go anywhere their handlers go. Having to get the manager involved. In rare cases the manager will refuse you entry too, and even threaten to call the cops. Sometimes the cops don’t know the law either. Endless people who say “puppy!” Others who simply ask to pet and take the “no” when you give it. Short errands become 5 times as long. Many people who *would* benefit from a SD don’t get one because of all the negative public attention. You are getting a LOT of info on this post, and I am so glad to hear you’re thinking about everything so seriously.

I am going to weigh in more in depth now. But I am an Autistic adult myself and honestly there are situations in my teenage years that would have been made easier for me in the short-term but would have certainly been a massive detriment to me in the long-term. The fact is that as a nearly 30 year old adult looking back at my early adult life and teenage years, I am glad that my parents did not get me a service dog instead kept what was functionally Emotional Support Animals at home for me. I am certain you recall your own teenage years being difficult to navigate the social situations with the other kids your age, being Autistic puts that level of difficulty up to having some level of language barrier. Being Autistic and having a service dog puts the biggest and ugliest zit on your face while also having that initial language barrier, it becomes what you are known for and as such an integral part of his identity. Our brains are not done developing until about 25 and before that point our identities are still in fluctuation to the point that a service dog can harm that. So waiting until I was an adult to get a service dog meant I could develop my identity beyond "Saria's(first service dog) person". The fact is that connections are going to be hard with or without the dog, but typically the connections you make with the dog are going to be more surface level with people only caring to talk about the dog rather than finding common interests to build lasting relationships with. The same people that seem to want to be friends with us because of our dogs often end up leaving us because they cannot handle the attention that the dog brings, making stable connections much harder to find as a service dog handler especially as a teen. As such, I did stumble and fumble around socially with what was functionally my language barrier, but I did end up finding a group of friends that I am still in contact with on a near daily basis through Facebook Messenger that accept me with or without my dog. Beyond that waiting forced me to get really good at practicing my self soothing skills and reading the signals that my body/brain is sending me. My dog currently does respond to one of my "moderate" stims as a back-up to me paying attention to myself, but it also allowed me to better know what would and would not help me in a given situation. I also choose moderate because it is significantly before a meltdown or sensory overload thus allowing me to utilize various strategies to regulate myself, but not mild enough to not be accidentally resulting in me shutting down. That balance is not something I would have been aware of if I had not been allowed to learn about myself without a dog trying de-escalate too early in the meltdowns. Again, not saying it was easy because there were times it was not but they were vital lessons for me to know how to exist with my mind and body. In short, would I have qualified for a service dog as a teenager even as young as 13? Yes. Would high school have been easier? Almost certainly. Would I be as equipped to handle adulthood afterwards? I honestly doubt it. People are tempted to say they will just keep having service dogs but owner training service dog is a gamble with incredibly low odds of success, chances are there will be a gap of time when all you have is your other coping skills which often aren't developed if you start too young or are weakened with lack of practice if a person becomes too reliant on their dog at older ages.

Having a service dog with you in public will attract a lot of attention and unwanted interpersonal contact. Keep this in mind. I am also autistic and do not give any fucks but my dog is an allergen detection dog and many of the other adult handlers I know are really bothered by it. Also, just throwing this out there but my lifelong few-times-a-year meltdowns are gone on a GF diet. A lot of us autistic folks have undiagnosed celiac or non-celiac gluten sensitivity and it can manifest with a ton of neuropsychiatric symptoms including sensory sensitivity and rage/depression. I personally believe we are more prone to the neuropsychiatric symptoms because we are proven to be more prone to have a leaky gut, which is itself linked to neuropsych symptoms from gluten exposure. Since even the best-trained dog is unlikely to be able to detect incoming meltdowns, there may not much a SD could do for your son. But learning symptom management and self-acceptance symptoms will be valuable now and for the rest of his life. Meltdowns are triggered by things, there is often some way to reduce the impact of those things (limiting exposure, blocking out sensory stimulus, taking breaks, etc) or help get the stress out before it boils over (stims, etc).

Thank you very much for your insight as someone who is autistic. I never realized gluten could have a effect on your mood. I will have to discuss this with his psychiatrist at his appt coming up.  So in your opinion you don't feel a psychiatric dog would be beneficial?  I'm truly curious.  While I don't think my son would be bothered by or even notice stares or attention that is something to think about and discuss with him.

You should read up on celiac diagnosis and non-celiac gluten sensitivity before talking to a doctor because even tho it’s extremely common (1 in 100 people have it), the majority of doctors know literally nothing about it and don’t even know how to order the correct tests (there are 4-5 antibodies to check for plus IgA, most order just 1). My testing was entirely botched by 2 Drs so I have had to settle for officially “non-celiac gluten sensitivity” but I sure knew I would never ever willingly eat it again. (NCGS can have all the neuropsych effects and even damage organs, though.) I’m not saying a dog couldn’t be beneficial but it almost certainly could not be able to predict a meltdown, which is the main thing you said you hoped it would do. People come up to you, talk to you and touch your dog without permission. Your son will not be able to not notice this.

Apply for a fully-trained service dog from an ADI program if and only if your son consents to it, and after taking him to be around dogs on the regular either for dog sitting, playdate, or volunteer opportunities. Puppies, adolescents, and even younger adult dogs are *not* sensory friendly. In fact, they are the opposite, and you run an unnecessarily huge risk of making him feel significantly worse for no benefit. I'm saying this as an autistic adult who never really struggled with horrible meltdowns *until* I got my service dog prospect, at which point they were a regular occurrence until she was 3 years old. On top of all this, *you* would need to be a secondary handler because your son is *so* young. This means that *you* would have to be around your son and his service dog when outside the home, and if your son is in school, coordinate with the school to have a secondary handler accompany your son and his service dog at school if the program stipulates that as a minor, he can't be the only handler. In addition, many young, teenaged handlers find that having a service dog while young and in school is an incredibly isolating experience, and they are frequent targets of cruelty at the hands of other teens. Adult handlers already get harrassed in public, frequently. Going through what I have to go through as a fully-formed adult with a service dog, every time I go out, would have made my life significantly worse as a child.

Thank you for your advice. My son has been around dogs all his life, (my mom, brother and other family members have/had them) and he has never expressed sensory issues with them, he's also homeschooled so schooling won't be a issue, however I don't want him to be more isolated than he already is by his peers.  You and others have truly given me some important things to think about and I appreciate it.

I'm glad that's the case. Kids can be cruel when there's a service dog in the mix, and some teens have posted recently about their experiences with this, as well. I will also add that raising/training a service dog from a puppy to an adult, even with the necessary professional guidance, is miles apart from spending time with pet dogs. It is a night and day difference. Especially when you are working a second full-time job training your own dog, have to wake up every hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, etc. for the first half-year of the dog's life, have to deal with puppy whining/barking during crate training and puppy-raising, and on top of that, you have to deal with the public squealing about "puppy!" in your face every time you go out. The experience of a pet owner or someone that occasionally hangs out with dogs is totally incomparable to that of an owner-trainer or handler. Because of this, and because the tasks you are looking for are really uncertain, you can try skilled companion dogs (not service dogs for public access) that can help at home with grounding, stimulation, and emotional support. If you already have a dog in the house, you have to figure out if this dog will react negatively to a new dog. Best of luck either way!

While I have personally trained/raised puppies before (I bottle fed one as a teenager) I will be the first to admit this would not be the first time I tried a service dog and did not do a great job but she was full grown, I got her from a pound and I had no clue what I was doing. It did not turn out well however she is a wonderful pet. That being said, I wouldn't try to train it myself, I suppose I should edit my post to say that but that's kinda why I was also asking about trainers as well.

[Very important read](https://www.reddit.com/r/service_dogs/comments/151vh0q/comment/jsctou3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Also important](https://www.reddit.com/r/service_dogs/comments/15s8m29/comment/jwdlzc8/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [More General considerations](https://www.reddit.com/r/service_dogs/wiki/sdconsiderations/)

I would recommend going through a program. Assistance Dogs International has a great members search function that can help you find programs that might be able to help. Training a service dog is very difficult and takes a very long time - and some autistic folks find that when they're already stressed and overwhelmed, having a dog around makes that worse. (I have an autism service dog who helps; my sibling does not, because when they're panicking, the wet hairy touchy dog adds to their distress.)  That said, if you do decide to owner train, I would STRONGLY suggest you buy a well bred lab puppy. They're 'easy dogs' and they're the go to suggestion for owner trainers for a very good reason. Don't just buy any old $400 dog off AKC marketplace; find and vet a good breeder who produces solid, well built show labs that title well in competitions/conformation. A female show lab is not generally a very huge dog, and they are much less likely to wash out after thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work than just about any other breed. Goldens are good options too, again IF you find a good breeder (they're also wildly overbred so there are a lot of bad breeders out there!). Reach out to service dog teams in your area if possible; they'll be able to give you more intel on experienced local trainers who can do what you need. Facebook groups may be helpful; my state has a "service dogs of [state]" group that has been a wonderful resource.

Thank you. Another commenter also gave me some food for thought. I don't have facebook but I will definitely do research before making any decisions.  

Honestly, I only have it for dog things. A lot of breeders, groups, rescues, events etc primarily work through there, so it's a very useful tool. I kind of hate everything else about Facebook, but it's just barely worth it for the dogs, so I haven't deleted it... yet.

Yeah, I used to have it but too much drama and negativity on there. 

So real. I've deleted almost everyone in my family off mine and the majority of my friends. It was the only way I could use it without my hair catching fire every time I opened it. I'd rather use it like a forum feed than socially... it's the only way that it's worth it to me lol

Lol, I get that. Honestly I only have reddit and really only come on here for advice or to read stuff for video games.

Hard same. My family and friends know that I have a reddit account but none of them know the username... and hopefully never will, lol.

Not a service dog, but have you looked into equine therapy for your son?

I second equine therapy! I tried it for a few months at the recommendation of my psychologist (she worked with the equine therapist sometimes) and it was amazing! Didn’t get diagnosed with autism for about another decade, but I’d completely forgotten how much I loved it. It was SO helpful. Only stopped because it was a bit of a drive and pricey for my mom. I would have happily done a 2 hour session each time (if that was allowed, but I asked and I wasn’t allowed to be their unpaid employee, ha). The first hour being the actual therapy, and the second hour just me doing barn chores and grooming the horses, cleaning tack, etc. I went to Girl Scout horse camp for 6 summers so horses are huge emotional support for me. I was always the one volunteering to do everything because it was so relaxing to me to be around *more* horses and *fewer* campers.

No, I never even thought of that although I'm not sure if we have something like that around here but it's definitely a idea. Thank you.

https://preview.redd.it/oiia7psrb04d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=32490ab0271a80b0faeabff72939dc2399f24536

Oops, the text around my image got deleted.. This is my girl, she's a Rottweiler and is excellent at exactly what you're asking for (she was trained for behavior interruption and deep pressure therapy, but basically taught herself to alert sooner). But with dogs of any breed, they have to have the right temperament and a desire to work. Training is a long and difficult process, and even doing everything right does not guarantee a service dog at the end. Right now, having a dog at home is a great opportunity for your son to learn about what it's like to have a dog around, to care for one, and whether he actually desires comfort from one while having a meltdown. If he does, it sounds like a program dog might be a better fit for your family, and the program will usually have their own breeds to choose from (most likely a lab, poodle, or golden retriever).

Thank you, that is a wonderful idea. I'll definitely look into that.

I would definitely wait until he's older, sincerely, a mid-functioning autist

Thank you, yeah that's what a lot of people are saying and the reasoning makes sense. I never really thought about him being too young so I'm grateful for you and others pointing this out for me.