Dogs for Autism

Dogs for Autism is the first charity in the UK to specialise in providing assistance dogs for autism, and the only charity to provide dogs free of charge to autistic people of any age, anywhere in the UK.  Our work is bespoke to each autistic person as their needs are all very different, and we support across the spectrum, from the non-verbal with complex learning difficulties, to high achieving university students.  

Dogs for Autism was founded in 2018 by Hilary Armour, a qualified dog trainer, animal behaviourist and special needs teacher, who specialised in teaching autistic students with additional learning disabilities.  She is also the mother of an autistic son and, unable to access an assistance dog through any of the existing charities, she used her experience to ‘owner-train’ her son’s first dog.  This was the catalyst for setting up Dogs for Autism. Hilary’s background gives her a unique knowledge of the challenges that families face and the way that a dog can be trained to mitigate the challenges of autism.

The cost of providing and training each dog costs around £25,000 throughout their life time. To put this into perspective, however, each dog will be with the autistic partner for around eight to ten years.

With the help of an assistance dog the autistic recipient's potential is unlocked in a way that no other interventions achieve, providing a lifeline where no comparable help is available. The changes that take place are transformational, improving independence, mental health and confidence, enabling them to access education and the workplace and families to access the community as a unit in ways which had been lost to them.  The impact of our work can be seen in this very short video.

Our dogs are trained to perform tasks to mitigate the negative effects of autism; these tasks vary according to the needs of their autistic partner but can include 'find the exit' so that their autistic partner can be led out of a shop or public area should they become overwhelmed or anxious. This can give them the confidence to access public places that they may otherwise not go to. Our dogs provide deep pressure therapy and road safety support.  They can alert to a change in their autistic partner's emotional state, helping to prevent this from escalating and supporting their mental health.

“I began to independently travel home from college and over the next 12 months started to travel to college as well, most days using two buses to college and two buses home. There is no way I could’ve done this without the support of my dog – we have come so far in two and a half years!  I now am a really confident traveller with him. He comes shopping with me, I can now independently travel to the osteopath/doctors. I can run errands & go to the shops all on our own!”  Grace and Makka