Supporting Students with Autism Assistance dogs
Contextual Background
We have around 160 students in 2nd Year on the BA Fine Art at Chelsea. Many of these students are neurodiverse, as am I, and some have additional needs. I want to focus this case study on supporting students with Autism Assistance dogs.
Evaluation
Autism Assistance dogs are specifically trained to support people with Autism. The type of support the dog offers varies according to the specific needs of the person they are trained to support, but can include things like medication reminders, interrupting self-harm, and deep pressure therapy to help emotional regulation (Short, ND). All Assistance dogs are welcomed on site at UAL as part of the university’s obligations under the Equalities Act 2010 (UAL 2023). Supporting students to attend college with their Assistance Dog is a reasonable adjustment and a key part of my role as Year Leader in providing an inclusive environment for Neurodiverse and Disabled students.
Moving forwards
I have observed first-hand how Assistance Dogs can help students negotiate high levels of social anxiety [see Majka (2023)] and navigate challenges in engaging with social situations which would otherwise cause high levels of stress. This has made a profound difference to some students lives so I am committed to making it as easy as possible for students working with assistance dogs to be integrated into the course.
Specifically, within the context of the BA Fine Art I will make sure that any student with an assistance dog is in a centrally located part of the studios, close to lifts and on a lower floor for ease of access for both students and assistance dogs. I have prioritised finding students with Assistance Dogs quieter areas of the studios, for example in the corner, and together with the student agreed set working days when most other students are not in to ensure a quieter working environment.
Assistance dogs are not pets and when they are wearing their official ‘bib’ are in work mode – solely focused on supporting their individual. I will brief the rest of the student body in part of a Year meeting on how to interact with Assistance Dogs, to not pet them or distract them and to focus on communicating with the individual student. I will follow up this briefing with the same information in an email to the whole student cohort.
I am also aware of some of the cultural sensitivities around dogs. For example, dogs can be understood as ‘haram’ within Islam [Nia (2022)]. I will also introduce this as a concept to the students’ with Assistance Dogs so that they are also aware of potential different attitudes towards dogs within the student body.
In a broader sense, I would like to work towards integrating a hybrid approach that understands engagement rather than in-person participation as attendance. As a student comments in ‘Three months to make a difference’ (2020), in support of hybrid models of engagement, any attendance online or in person should be understood as attendance. This is a different approach to the current UAL attendance policy which stress in-person attendance on-site, but this needs to change to be more fully inclusive.
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References
Note: there is limited published research about this within HE.
‘Health and Safety Guidance: Assistance dogs on site’ UAL policy (2023) https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/414682/Assistance-Dogs-on-Site-H-and-S-Guidance-July-2023-v3.pdf [Accessed 28 Feb. 2025].
Short, Abigail ‘Dog’s special skills’ (ND) Autism Dogs CIC. [online] Available at: https://www.autismdogs.co.uk/our-service/special-skills [Accessed 28 Feb. 2025].
Majka, Georgia Jean, (2023) “NEURODIVERGENT COLLEGE STUDENTS AND THERAPY DOGS IN HIGHER EDUCATION” (2023). Theses and Dissertations. 3127. https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/3127
Nia (2022). Are Dogs Really Haram in Islam? – Muslim Girl. [online] Muslim Girl. Available at: https://muslimgirl.com/are-dogs-really-haram-in-islam/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2025].
‘Three Months To Make A Difference – Key areas of challenge for disabled students requiring urgent action from institutions and policy makers in HE’ (2020) Published by Advance HE on behalf of the Disabled Students’ Commission, an initiative funded by the Office for Students. (n.d.). Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/three-months-make-difference [Accessed 28 Feb. 2025].