The answer is yes! One of the ways our Therapy Assistance Dogs can help their person with autism is through supporting them on public transport.
How can support on public transport help an autistic person?
Public transport can be very overwhelming for autistic people due to unexpected changes, crowds, noise levels, and social interaction. These factors can cause anxiety, sensory overload, and meltdowns, which can lead to autistic people being unable to access public transport and leaving them feeling lonely.
Our Therapy Dogs can support their handlers while on public transport by performing tasks such as anxiety response and meltdown response and through sensory regulation. With the reassurance of their Therapy Dog by their side, our dogs can enable our handlers to use public transport, and benefit from the independence that this brings!