#5 "Elliot's Class" - Autism Service Dog

A 50Films program highlighting an autism service dog and how he and the teacher work in a classroom environment.
This program is part of my 50Films project - producing 50 short films in one year. More info is available on my website.

[@christinebardin5547]

therapy or service i do'nt care. He seems so proud and so aware of the importance of his work and happy to do it.

[@mercuryproductionsvideo]

Yes, he's a great dog and does love his kids!

[@OfficiallyLydiasLife]

The reason it's important to get terms right is because it miss educates. I mean all those kids, teachers, parents, and everyone get's miss educated calling him a "Service dog".. I mean for 1 Service dogs are trained to perform tasks for the benefit of 1 person. So if a child now sees a Service dog (SD) in a store and runs up to pet it thinking at school they are allowed, that dog can miss a alert in a split 2nd causing the handler to get hurt. Sure they are trained to ignore distractions and impulse control trained, however they aren't robots so a kid comes running to them they might be a little nervous and miss important alerts. So it's important to have terms right so people aren't miss educated parents thinking it's okay to let a kid pet the SD or so they can try and let kids know a threapy dog is not a service dog. (I know kids might not beable to know the diffrence which is why it's important parents and teachers do to stop the kid from petting a SD) Or people think that dogs allowed in grocery stores or say on a field trip, and Puplic access places when it is not allowed because it's not covered in the ADA.. Service animal defintion: "Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA." Threapy animal defintion: "A therapy dog is a dog that might be trained to provide affection, comfort and love to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, disaster areas, and are defined but not covered or protected under the Federal Housing Act or Americans with Disabilities act." See 2 diffrent things. This dog does a great job and IS allowed there however terms is what makes people educated about All diffrent kind of working dogs. And as teachers they should be all about educating instead of miss informing. :)

[@faithfix6013]

that's awesome what you're doing keep doing it you're awesome keep doing what you're doing to help special need kids and kids with autism that special needs

[@mercuryproductionsvideo]

Thanks so much!

[@jessiicarney3888]

Unfortunately, Elliot is not a service dog. He's a therapy dog. A Service dog is individually trained to aid their handler... not multiple people. Elliot provides love and attention, but legally... he's not a service dog. My dog is training to my specific needs and helps me with my severe disability... Elliot, although he does bring joy to the people around him, cannot be called a service dog. I do hope he continues to provide comfort to these children for many years... but please do not confuse therapy and service dogs, as they are completely different things.

[@evanbrees1398]

I get your point, but I might disagree. This dog is performing tasks to assist multiple individuals with their disability, autism. I also happen to be autistic, and use a service dog, and I think the dog serving the needs of a specific subgroup of disabled kids probably is in fact a service dog, though ideally each of these kids would have their own, obviously. When this teacher is out in public with it on her own, however, it is not a service dog, as there is no indication she herself has a disability, and thus nothing for the dog to mitigate for her. But when working at school, yes, I think it rises above simple therapy dog. Make sense?

[@jessiicarney3888]

Evan Brees True.... but a service dog is individually trained for ONE person. Their handler... Not multiple people. A service dog is only meant for one person because their training is tailor made to their handler's needs. I feel like Elliot is a therapy dog because his job is to bring joy and help autistic children to relax and remain calm... but that's just emotional support... True autism service dogs are solely trained for one person.

[@jessiicarney3888]

In other words, Elliot is considered a facility dog...

[@evanbrees1398]

Hey, facility dog sounds good! I like that one. Anyway, my global point is that the lines can be a little muddy. Consider my situation, for instance. My dog is trained to do a whole repertoire of alerting, guiding, and psychiatric tasks (due to the pervasive nature of the way ASD impacts multiple domains. Yet, I am a teacher at an alternative high school as well, and she performs the same function as a therapy dog for many of the students, in addition to her responsibilities for me (she does these naturally; she is not overworked and does get "her" time). So, is she a therapy dog or a service dog? See what I mean?

[@jessiicarney3888]

To you, she would be a service dog (that is if you are legally disabled, which it sounds like you are.) but to the kids, she would be a facility dog.

[@lysettemorgan9844]

cute and 😍.

[@OfficiallyLydiasLife]

I think this sounds more like a threapy dog. Threapy dogs work for a bunch of people weather in hospitals, at schools, in nursing homes, etc. A service dog is: "Defined by Title II and Title III of the ADA. A service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability." So yes they have Autsm service dogs but they work for 1 child. They perform tasks such as Deep pressure threapy, block, and others for examples. A threapy animal is: "A therapy dog is a dog that might be trained to provide affection, comfort and love to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, disaster areas, and are defined but not covered or protected under the Federal Housing Act or Americans with Disabilities act." So although the dog is allowed at the school if they allow it, it's not Puplic access allowed to say go on field trips with the kids or in stores. This is cute but it's spreading miss information to students, teachers, parents, and people saying he is a Service dog. When in fact he is a threapy dog which is 100 percent diffrent. Cute story though, and he seems to do a great job providing comfort and a sensory outlet to those kids! :D Just change your terms for him so people aren't miss educated causing confusion.

[@sarahlawson3141]

Good idea, poor execution. A child of any sorts should not have control of a dog with a chocker on. If they are attached and decide to run the dog gets yanked and choked for doing absolutely nothing. Dog should be attached by a harness with the kids

[@mercuryproductionsvideo]

Hi Sarah, yes, I see your point. I am the filmmaker, and met Elliot and his owner through my work. This was done nearly 10 years ago, and I hope Elliot is still bringing happiness to kids. I know the general vibe around the use of choke chains is not popular, and for a dog as gentle as Elliot was, not needed in general. I was not privy to his training and handling, so don't know the philosophy of their methods. Obviously a dog could be pulled against their will with any sort of harness, so keeping a good eye on children who are with a dog is essential. I appreciate your comments. Elliot's calming effects in the classroom were pretty amazing.

[@sarahlawson3141]

Mercury Productions, Inc. I don’t really have anything against chockers necessarily, but one being in the hand of someone who has no clue what it is being used for. Of course I don’t blame you for it or even the teacher. It’s outdated and mainly the trainers fault really