Service Dogs Benefit Children with Autism

Developing effective intervention plans for children experiencing autism can be challenging because of communication difficulties and problematic behavior. For some children, a psychiatric service dog can contribute to social and emotional development and mitigate some symptoms.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025), 3.2 percent of children can be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and given current population data, this equates to 2.3 to 2.4 million children. Social workers should be reluctant to make generalizations about children because autism spectrum disorder can present a wide variety of symptoms (Hughes et al., 2014). Although children with autism are much more likely than the general population to have an intellectual disability, they are also much more likely to score in the gifted range of 140 IQ and above (Reynolds et al., 2019). Forty percent of children with autism are nonverbal, and 39.6 percent have a co-occurring intellectual disability. Anxiety, depression, and gastrolienal problems are some other common co-occurring conditions (Crespi et al., 2016).

Diversity in the population with autism expanded with the release of the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2022), which combined four diagnoses from the DSM-IV: pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, autistic disorder, Asperger syndrome, and childhood disintegrative disorder. Autism spectrum disorder's core features include deficits in social communication and patterns of behavior, interests, or activities and/or hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input. Service dogs can mitigate the core features of the disorder by interrupting destructive repetitive movements and improving social and communication skills.

IMPACT OF SERVICE DOGS ON CHILDREN

Psychiatric service dogs are trained to interrupt repetitive and/or self-harm behaviors. Training is important because it teaches the dog to remain calm even when a child may be loud and unruly. A large dog can be beneficial because it can rear up and is strong enough to interrupt self-destructive motions with its paws. After episodes of self-destruction, the dog can lie across the individual; the weight can have a calming effect (Tseng, 2021). Children with autism who work with service dogs become more accurate in recognizing and decoding the link between facial expressions and emotions (Dollion et al., 2022).

Children who do not know how or cannot express their needs in words are susceptible to tantrums and meltdowns. Symptoms of anxiety and depression have been linked to high cortisol levels, whereas low cortisol levels have been linked to improved memory and cognitive functioning. Researchers at the University of Montreal measured cortisol levels of children with autism before, during, and after intervention sessions that included a service dog and found that a child who worked with a dog had a 48 percent reduction in cortisol levels (Viau et al., 2010).

When comparing performance of children with autism and a service dog with a control group without a dog, teachers rated students with dogs significantly lower on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2), a measure of autism-related symptoms (Becker et al., 2017).

Although many studies have evaluated the use of service dogs, untrained pets can also improve prosocial behaviors. Grandgeorge et al. (2012) found that children with autism and pets were significantly more likely to offer comfort and share toys.

IMPACT ON FAMILIES

Behaviors of a child with autism place social and financial stresses on the entire family. A study of 98 families of children with autism discovered parents had high cortisol levels before receiving a service dog but had a dramatic reduction in cortisol levels nine months after adopting a service dog (Fecteaus et al., 2017).

Using family systems theory, Leighton et al. (2023) found that use of service dogs enhanced social functioning of the family system unit and fostered stability and strength within the family system. Families interviewed by Leighton et al. reported gaining freedom through enhanced safety, which made it easier to attend public outings, and family activities. Other parents described improved social recognition and status, in which the presence of the dog promoted awareness of autism and affected social interaction. Parents also received some peace of mind because the dog would prevent a child from running away.

About 80 percent of preschool children with autism experience disruptions in sleep patterns and are two to three times more likely than children without autism spectrum disorder to be sleep deprived.

However, a 2024 study found service dogs not only significantly increased sleep quality and quantity for children but for parents as well (Rodriguez et al., 2024).

Trained service dogs can enhance the quality of life for a child with autism and their families.

Michael Beattie, JD, MSW, is a licensed master social worker. He holds an MSW from George Mason University and a JD from University of Cincinnati. He works with Clinical Services, LLC, and Visionary Solutions, a 501c3 organization.

Keira Murphy is a senior at the University of Washington studying English and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies.

Originally published in the NASW Children, Adolescents and Young Adults 2026 Spring/Summer SPS Section Connection Newsletter.