'Community members aren't aware that assistance animals come in all shapes and sizes, and help people with all kinds of disabilities' - Experiences of using assistance animals within community living in Australia

CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first in Australia to undertake a large-scale survey of assistance animal users with a range of disability types. It highlights the benefits and challenges of assistance animals, which could be useful to consider when determining the most appropriate support for an individual.Implications for RehabilitationThere are a range of possible benefits, but also challenges, in the use of assistance animals that should be considered when a person with disability or health conditions, or people advising them, are determining if an animal is the most appropriate support.Assistance animals can provide multiple types of support to one user, so could offer a potential cost-benefit beyond traditional assistive devices or other types of support.To ensure better inclusion of assistance animal users, public education is needed to promote community awareness of the types of animals that meet the definition of an 'assistance animal', and thus have public access rights.In Australia, a nationally consistent government approach to the regulation, accreditation and funding of assistance animals should be established with the aim to address the current fragmented or unfair investment approach and/or discrimination experienced by some individuals.PMID:34176422 | DOI:10.1080/17483107.2021.1938709
Source: Disability and Rehabilitation. Assistive Technology. - Category: Rehabilitation Authors: Source Type: research