Marla Means
LIS 662, Hershberger
7 October 2015
Assignment 1 Research Paper on a Group
I.
Set of People: Disabled Persons Accompanied by a Service Dog
Disabled persons experience much different social interactions than non-disabled persons, and
studies have shown that persons accompanied by a dog are perceived as friendlier than persons
without dogs. Therefore, disabled persons accompanied by a service dog are better perceived by
the public and experience more positive interactions than they would without their dog. On many
occasions, disabled persons are avoided due to their perceived stigmatism by the community but
according to Winkle et al, community members did not avoid the person with a disability as
much when a service dog was present (57). Since service dogs provide more opportunities for
disabled persons to interact with their community, many members of this group are welcomed
for their disability by the public. One instance of inclusion with a service animal includess a deaf
social worker named Jane who was recommended for a job at a nursing home because her
interviewer knew that her dog would be a comforting influence on patients and their families
(Eames, 49). Service dogs may provide positive experiences to the surrounding people, but their
main duties entail serving their assigned disabled person. According to Assistance Dogs
International, an assistance dog is a broader category pertaining to guide dogs, hearing dogs, and
service dogs. On the other hand service dogs are generally trained to retrieve objects, enhance
individuals mobility, and aide individuals with physical disabilities, seizures, autism spectrum
disorders, diabetes, and psychiatric disabilities (Coleman, 18). With these definitions of service
dogs, many subsets of this group arise.
A. Subsets of Disabled Persons Accompanied by a Service Dog
There are many categories of people helped by service dogs, and because of all of these subsets
there exists no demographic data on this group. Even without group statistical data, the amazing
effects dogs have on people remains prominent and abundant in multiple different sources.
Reports of the positive effects of animals in therapeutic situations include children; individuals
with physical, emotional, or psychiatric impairments; individuals with developmental disabilities
or pervasive developmental disorders; the elderly; adults with substance abuse; and prisoners
(Esteves, 6). With all of these people requiring service dogs for differing reasons, there are three
main categories of service dogs: guide, hearing, and assistance (or service) dogs. Guide dogs
assist individuals who have visual disabilities or are blind. Hearing dogs assist individuals who
are hard of hearing or deaf. Service dogs are trained to assist people who have mobility and
balance challenges, to alert or respond to medical issues such as diabetes and seizures and to
support people with psychiatric disabilities and autism (Winkle, 55). The training avenues
remain limitless for anyone needing a service dog.
II.
Social Networks
Just as there are limitless jobs service dogs can fill, so there are also numerous social networks
that disabled persons accompanied by service dogs utilize to document their experience with
their dogs and give tips to others struggling with their dogs.
A. Blogs
One form of social media that this group utilizes to share information is blog posts. One general
blog written by the employees of www.workingservicedog.com gives updates on both their
services and their products currently being offered as well as issues affecting the community.
This blog is titled Working Service Dog Blog and provides important information such as the
differences between the many different types of working dogs, including service dogs and
emotional support dogs. There are few blogs as general as the Working Service Dog Blog, but
there are many blogs written by one author on their specific experiences with their specific dog.
One such blog, titled Inside an Autistics Mind: Writings and Ramblings from the Mind of an
Autistic Adult Me, discusses the experiences of the author, Silachan, who is currently looking
for a service dog to detect when they are having an autistic episode. The posts are a little dated,
the most recent one is from 2013, but there exist many other blogs like this one. Another
example is A Schizophrenic and a Dog, which contains up-to-date posts from 2015 and
focuses on Katherine an extremely interesting woman who is participating in studies at the
NIH Research Hospital that will help service dogs detect schizophrenic episodes.
B. Other Forms of Social Media
The two most popular forms of social media, Facebook and Twitter, are used by this group to
give each other support and give advice on dog training. One Facebook community page and
group titled Service Dog Support Group creates and reposts events that involve the community
through volunteer work and discussions on current issues this community faces, such as
businesses rejecting service to disabled persons because they are accompanied by service dogs.
There are more Facebook groups like this one, but not as many as there are Twitter accounts
dedicated to this group of people. Some include @SSDOGS, @FreedomSvcDogs, and
@NEADSdogs. They include non-profit organizations and programs that train dogs and pair
disabled persons with the trained service dogs.
III.
Information Seeking and Exchange Settings
The main places of information seeking and exchange are public buildings, libraries, and service
dog program establishments. This group of people takes their service dogs practically
everywhere with them because of their disabilities and needs. Their service dogs act as a tool for
disabled persons much like a wheelchair or a blood glucose tester.
A. Public Buildings
Disabled persons accompanied by a service dog absolutely need their dogs with them at all times
and therefore are required to take their dog with them to everyday public places such as
restaurants, grocery stores, parks, hospitals, libraries, etc. The main problem they face while
trying to use these public premises/facilities is their denied entry due to the presence of their
service dog. Many public buildings have developed policies that ban persons with animals from
entering, including the legally required service dog. They reject admittance based on three
common misconceptions: diseases, dog-phobic clients, and misbehavior. The public facilities
fear that having an animal present may put them and others at risk for contracting a disease.
Eames debunks this theory by stating, the probability of transmitting diseases from dogs to
humans is minimal. Such cross-species spread of infection, with the exception of rabies and
streptococcus, is virtually unknown (49). They also fear that the presence of a dog will invoke
other clients afraid of dogs to leave, thereby decreasing use as well as business. Eames disproves
this theory by stating, dog-phobic patients could easily avoid interacting with a disabled person
and his/her assistance dog in most instances simply by moving away from or giving more space
to said disabled person and assistance dog (49). Finally, public places fear that the dog may
misbehave by barking loudly, assaulting customers, or urinating and defecating on the premises.
Eames manages to refute this theory by stating that those fearful of the potential misbehavior of
an assistance dog usually are unaware of the extensive training these canines receive (49).
B. Libraries
Assistance dogs are being welcomed in many more public places, however, and libraries happen
to be one of them. Not only do public libraries allow patrons assisted by a service dog entry, but
some are also attempting to include service dog programs within the library. Alison Francis, a
youth services librarian at LaGrange Library in Poughkeepsie NY, discovered and incorporated a
therapy dog program for the children of her library. R.E.A.D., Reading Education Assistance
Dogs, is a program aimed at encouraging children to be more comfortable and confident readers
by having them read to trained therapy dogs (Francis, 50). Alison Francis is not the only librarian
who has taken note of the positive benefits that having a therapy dog in the library provides.
Ann-Marie Biden, a childrens librarian at Upland Public Library in Upland CA, adopted a
service dog and brought her to the library to train. Upland Public Library formed their own
program from Amelia, the in-training blind service dog, called P.A.W.P.A.L.S., or Providing
Access to the World: Puppies and LibrarieS (Biden, 44). Amelias presence in this library
brought in more patrons and programs for children and adults alike simply by giving people the
opportunity to watch her work and pet her while she was finishing training and was getting off
duty.
C. Service Dog Programs
Service dogs like MacGyver from LaGrange Library and Amelia from Upland Public Library
receive intense training sponsored by service dog programs. Disabled persons accompanied by a
service dog both visit the program centers and are visited by people from the program. These
programs are spaced throughout the United States and vary by specific need. For example, one
program located in North Carolina that specializes in providing mobility service dogs on a
national scale is Carolina Canines for Service, Inc. They reside in Wilmington, and you can
search for programs like this locally via the internet or from specific websites such as Working
Like Dogs: A Resource for People Around the World with Working Dogs and Assistance Dogs.
These programs distribute dogs to disabled persons and provide a space for these people to come
and train with their dogs.
IV.
Problems that Lead to Information Needs
As mentioned above in section III.A. Public Buildings, many disabled persons accompanied
by a service dog are denied access to public premises due to different, incorrect, and negative
perceptions of dogs. On the opposite side of the spectrum, disabled persons accompanied by a
service dog experience problems with people who show too much interest in their dog. A study
done by Jane Eddy, Lynette Hart, and Ronald Boltz that published information on how persons in
wheelchairs with service dogs received more social interactions than people in wheelchairs
without service dogs discovered that many people in wheelchairs accompanied by a service dog
perceived some people approaching them about their dog as a nuisance:
Almost all of the participants said a few people were a social bother; they wanted to talk
about the dogs at length until the owner bowed out by saying something like, Whoops!
Im late, Ive got to get going, and then sped away in the wheelchair. Another problem
was people who wanted to pet the dog. Petting interferes with the dogs concentration and
training, and is particularly harmful with a newly acquired dog who has yet to bond
strongly and develop a working relationship with the owner. (43)
Both of these obtrusive yet opposite problems lead to information needs. The first issue denies
disabled person accompanied by a service dog access to information/service and the second issue
dictates too much of the persons time to access all of their information needs.
V.
Barriers to Information
As clearly outlined by section IV., the only barriers to information that disabled persons
accompanied by a service dog face are people. Whether these people are rejecting them by
asking them to leave a public space or taking up too much of their time and interrupting their
training bond with their dog, people who do not understand the multifaceted aspect of owning a
service dog prevent disabled persons accompanied by a service dog access to information.
Rarely, if ever, is the service dog responsible for being a barrier to information for their owner
but one systematic review revealed that some issues concerning service dog ownership arise;
overall physical maintenance (grooming and vet bills) was the biggest problem. Other issues
included inappropriate behavior of the dog in public (Winkle, 64). Grooming the dog takes
time away from the owner but not as much time as people wanting to pet the dog in public take.
Vet bills cause the owner to have fewer resources to spend on information but not by enough to
make a serious impact on their information needs. The dogs misbehavior, however, can cause
problems with admittance to public buildings, thereby denying the disabled person access to
information. Although, a novel IAT test reveals that people remain the largest barrier to
information as compared to the service dog:
Guide dogs improved mobility, were social magnets, and were a source of pride for their
owners Individuals with disabilities have reported unwanted public attention, such as
having difficulties bringing assistance dogs into restaurants, negative interpersonal
reactions, and an invasion of public space from others. An assistance dog may also result
in increased visibility for the individual with a disability, amplifying possible stigma that
otherwise could have been avoided. (Coleman, 19)
The service dogs may attract unwanted attention from people in public, but it is the publics
responsibility to ignore the dog or acknowledge it in a way that is not disruptive to the disabled
person. These negative interactions hinder disabled persons accompanied by a service dog from
getting their information and in some cases from even having the desire to return to the publics
attention.
VI.
Problem Solutions
There are solutions to the barriers that people create for disabled persons accompanied by a
service dog. These solutions include creating and enforcing international training standards that
would void public spaces outrageous policies on service dog entry into the building, educating
and training the employees of public spaces on service dogs and their legal use in public, and
providing accommodations for disabled persons accompanied by a service dog such as places to
tie up and feed the dog as well as actually providing volunteer assistance dogs for therapy
purposes.
A. International Standards
Many people remain unaware of the intensive training standards of dogs in America, let alone
globally. Here in the United States, the Guide Dogs of America insures their puppies for any
injury caused due to dog bites. GDA staff is not aware of any claims since its inception in 1948
(Biden, 45). Therefore, dog-phobic people are clearly missing this imperative information that
would stop them from creating a negative interaction with a disabled person accompanied by a
service dog. On the international scale, standards for service dogs are much more strict. Since the
establishment of Assistance Dogs International, a volunteer membership organization for
assistance dog training organizations, their goals have been to facilitate communication and
learning among member organizations, educate the public and to set minimum standards for
assistance dog trainers, the dogs being trained, and the assistance dog recipients (Winkle, 55).
Not only does this organization set standards for the service dogs, but they also set standards for
the trainers and the recipients by testing all three groups and determining their progress by
pass/fail. In order to pass, all three of them - the dog, the owner, and the trainer - must pass all
fields and sections of the test; one section fail results in complete failure. Therefore, a passing
grade is a complete 100% pass.
B. Education and Training on Service Dogs and Their Use in Public Including Laws
People who remain ignorant of the strict and exhaustive training programs that disabled persons
and their service dog undergo need to be educated on the many different services and
accommodations that dogs give to their disabled owners as well as the owners knowledge of
their service dogs abilities. The psychological study conducted by Jane Eddy et al. suggests that
when a stranger approaches the disabled person accompanied by a service dog, the disabled
person can deliver the command to shake hands. In so doing, the person with disabilities
demonstrates an ability to control the dog and to engage in a discussion with an able-bodied
person. This entire sequence can serve to educate the able-bodied person about the mental
competence of the person with the disability(44). After this basic level of understanding
between two people, the persons ignorant of the service dog training programs also need to be
made aware of the disabled persons legal rights when it comes to their service dog. These
persons can also include businesses and other professional as well. According to the Americans
with Disabilities Act, or the ADA, all federal public buildings are required to allow disabled
persons accompanied by a service dog onto the premises. However, if the establishment is
owned and managed by a religious organization, it may be exempt from the ADA, but if they
receive federal funds the establishment would be constrained by the rules and regulations
developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, and allow the disabled
person accompanied by a service dog access (Eames, 50). Many people, businesses
professionals, and public establishments alike assume that the ADA applies to disabled persons
with physical disabilities, but this misconception is not the case. The ADA of 1990 amended this
misconception with their release statement that individuals with mental disabilities, in addition
to individuals with physical disabilities, are granted all protections provided by the ADA. Thus
disabilities may be visible or invisible (Coleman, 18). This amendment includes assistance dogs
not always performing a physical task that are trained to work and perform tasks for the benefit
of an individual, as long as the dog directly relates to the individuals disability - ADA 2010. The
ADA is also currently protecting the disabled persons with service dogs when it comes to
documentation. When a disabled person accompanied by a service dog is rejected by a business
or other public place, they are wronged and embarrassed to a certain extent, even with the
documents compensating proof of their legal presence. Therefore, the ADA regulates what
businesses and other public places can ask of disabled persons accompanied by a service dog.
They state that service animals are not required to be licensed or certified, and businesses and
establishments are not allowed to insist on seeing proof of certification. However, establishments
may request an individual leave the establishment if the animal becomes out of control or is not
housebroken (Coleman, 18). This amendment protects businesses, disabled persons, and service
dogs. Businesses are given the power to ask disabled persons accompanied by a service dog to
leave under certain circumstances, disabled persons are given access to public establishments
without confrontation, and service dogs are given the protection they need to complete their
training processes in public if they are not yet certified.
C. Providing Accommodations for Disabled Persons Accompanied by a Service Dog
Including Dogs
In order to better accommodate disabled persons accompanied by a service dog, public
establishments should consider providing programs for them such as the ones listed above R.E.A.D. and P.A.W.P.A.L.S. - or even consider approving a program of their own through
organizations that offer service dogs, such as Carolina Canines for Service, Inc. Research
indicates that dogs provide countless types and amounts of positive benefits to all types of
people, whether disabled or able-bodied. The systematic review by Winkle et al. discovered that
people with physical disabilities partnered with service dogs reported several psychological
benefits including significant increases in self-esteem, internal locus of control, well being and
positive affect (58). The novel IAT test performed by Coleman et al. revealed that biophilia
theory could be used to explain observed decreases in anxiety, blood pressure, behavioral
distress, fear, and stress levels (19). Not only do dogs help heal people psychologically but also
physically as the blood pressure results indicate. Service dogs also help with peoples perceptions
of others. The study by Eddy et al. gave results that indicated both smiles and conversations
from passerby increased significantly when the dogs were present. These finding suggest that the
benefits of service dogs for their owners extend beyond working tasks to include enhanced
opportunities for social exchange. The service dogs substantially reduced the tendency of ablebodied people to ignore or avoid the disabled person (39). This type of positive recognition and
acknowledgement from others is well received by disabled persons accompanied by service dogs
as long as the able-bodied people do not take too much of their time. Service dogs also provide
children with learning opportunities that will help them better function in society. The
psychological study by Stephanie Walters Esteves and Trevor Stokes supports previous findings
that the presence of a dog can increase communication and positive nonverbal behaviors, which
will enable children with developmental disabilities to recruit reinforcement from their natural
environments. This study adds to the growing research literature showing that children with
developmental disabilities may benefit from the use of dogs as teaching assistants and adjuncts to
therapy (15). Dogs create a comfortable and judgement-free environment for children and
adults alike, which can be utilized in public places. Also, having some type of therapy dog in
public places may lead to disabled persons accompanied by a service dog to feel more at ease
about being welcomed onto the premises since there is already a dog present. One company that
could help supply the program as well as the dog is TDI, or Therapy Dogs International. TDI is
another volunteer group organized to train and provide qualified handlers and their therapy dogs
for visitation in a variety of settings (Francis, 51). If for some reason certain businesses or
public establishments feel that they cannot provide a program and a dog, even one that is
volunteer-based and practically free, they could at least establish and uphold more informed and
more welcoming policies concerning disabled persons accompanied by a service dog. Businesses
and other public establishments could form a policy making committee and ask disabled people
partnered with service dogs to join the policymaking committee (Eames, 51). This way, the
committee will have an insiders perspective and the opinions and needs of disabled persons
accompanied by a service dog will be represented.
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