About us
Dogs for Autism trains and matches dogs with autistic people; we are the first UK charity to specialise in this service. We aim to improve access to the outside world and to enhance the emotional and physical well-being of the autistic person and their family. The charity’s founder and CEO, Hilary Armour, is a Special Needs teacher with a severely autistic son. Hilary is also a qualified dog trainer and started the charity after training a dog herself for her son and seeing the difference an assistance dog can make, and the struggles that families face to access a dog.
Our dogs:
Reduce anxiety and increase safety in public
Help to de-escalate anxieties and calm difficult behaviours
Play communication games to encourage social engagement, motivate speech and language efforts and build social confidence
Alert family members to the onset of a changing mood, giving them time to assess the situation and decide on a course of action
Provide positive attachment/unconditional friendship to individuals who often find themselves to be socially isolated and lonely
Administer deep pressure therapy
Our dogs live with professional dog trainers who intensively train our puppies and young dogs to be bombproof in any environment. Our unique approach is to match the dog with an autistic person at a very early stage, and although the team will not live together full time until the dog is 18 months to 2 years old, during this time, the trainer and dog visit the family weekly, creating a bond between the autistic person and the dog and gradually integrating the dog into the family life, so that when ready to move in with them this is done in a seamless and natural way.
£5 will pay for dog treats
£10 will buy a dog toy
£15 will pay for flea and worm treatment for a dog
£20 will pay for a bonding visit to our families
£50 will buy a training jacket for a puppy
£100 will buy five training sessions
