Pet therapy and ADD

[Anonymous]

I have ADHD and we are currently in the process of assessment for our 6 year old son. He has already been diagnosed with SPD. We’ve heard that pet therapy may work with kids with ADHD, it this true or just a thought out there? Would getting a nice calm dog really help him calm down too?

REPORT ABUSE

[kc5jck]

Just off the top of my head, I don’t recall ever seeing a calm dog. I’m 59 and a cat person. Since getting married, we’ve had dogs for 20+ years. Our son, 21 and ADD, grew up with the dogs. I don’t recall that any of them ever calmed him down. However, they may have helped to wear him down. Speaking from experience, your son is less likely to kill a large one when he belly flops on it.

I do seem to recall that my son was fond of one of the cats. Few cats are going to stay around a wound up ADHD kid. Only one that is calm and quiet. You might want to consider a cat. As a bonus, they have nine lives so they will survive one or two belly flops. The best cat is a feral cat gotten from the woods and tamed. We had one once that ran into and joined a dog fight after the fourth dog entered the fray. He was awesome. Two border collies, a golden, a huge doberman, and a black cat having it out. Actually, as I recall, the cat pretty well busted up the fight.

REPORT ABUSE

[billd]

Although I will NEVER advise ANYONE ever against getting a rescue cat, or rescuing a stray – like we’ve done several times (Yawnie adopted us – wandered on and yelled and yelled until several days later we gave up and invited him in)

HOWEVER, if you want a cat that’s as wound up as an ADD person – get a Tonkinese. Seriously, they are all energy all the time, seldom calm and relaxed. They are jumpers and climbers – they love to either jump or climb onto your shoulder and either hang out with you, or check out what you are doing (it might be interesting). I think that Tonkinese may be the ADHD breed of the cat world. We’ve got 2, and we swear we’ve never seen so much non-stop action. We had to kid-proof the house, rugs end up in piles in the corner, they love to FETCH, worse than a dog if one carries a toy over to you and drops it at your feet – and you ignore it, prepare to pay dearly, for they will wrap around your feet and bit and claw untill you toss the toy for them. And it must be a good toss, nothing lame like 3 or 4 feet. The more obstacles they have to navigate around to get back to the toy, the happier they are. And watch out – unless you move quickly, they’ll jump up to your hand and yank it back out as you are just too slow for them. You need to be hyper, ADD, fast, etc. to keep up with a Tonk. They even wear me out.

They are PEOPLE cats – when you return home from work or where-ever, they had best be the first thing you pay attention to, or you will pay the price. I’ve known of a lady who had a Tonk that hung up the phone whenever she came home and tried to call a friend. Spending 5 minutes with the cat FIRST meant she could make her calls uninterrupted. Otherwise, the cat found the phone and pressed the button.

For me, cats are GREAT therapy. They are good friends and when I don’t feel well for whatever reason, it’s as if they know…..

Yawnie, he’s a lover-boy. Wants to smooch and sit on your lap, he just wants attention. He’s not so much active as he is a perfect companion. He just wanted a human to love – and one to love him back.

http://theamcforum.com/forum/uploads/3/yawnie-t.jpg

Poor fellow, he’s got a broken foot and is in his 4th splint as the first three kept working off. I don’t think the bone is aligned properly any more, but the vet doesn’t seem concerned since we want to make him a 100% inside kitty.

LOL – geesh, what a ramble! In short, I do believe that my cats are good therapy for me – however, when their time comes down the road, I’m always a total basket case. Punkin and Shadow (yeah, two on one weekend) passing this spring still chokes me up do this day when I think about it.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

Thanks, billd, I needed something interesting to read over lunch at my desk today – this is fascinating! also read up on wikipedia about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonkinese_(cat) if I was ever going to get a cat again (please stop me, please!), I’d go for a tonk.

REPORT ABUSE

[billd]

Pickle is an ARL (Animal Rescue League) cat, er, kitten – roughly 5 months old. He’s very loving and affectionate and living with 2 Tonks, he’s sort of taken after them, although when they jump up onto a counter or something high, poor Pickle just can’t make it and falls back.

http://theamcforum.com/forum/uploads/3/pickle-t.jpg

We had SUCH great luck with Shadow, one of the ones that passed last spring, that we decided to go back to the ARL. Silly us, we did that then 2 weeks later went to pickup the Tonks from the breeder. WOW, 3 kittens…..

Here’s their Uncle Yawnie in his first splint

http://theamcforum.com/forum/uploads/3/yawnie-splint-3.jpg

Poor fellow, he kept losing it, and is in one now that’s strapped all around his body to keep it in place.

Will need to get photos of the Tonkinese kitties.

Here’s Koko looking rather cross

http://theamcforum.com/forum/uploads/3/mad_tonk2.png

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

I love your cats! especially pickle.

REPORT ABUSE

[Tiddler]

There are specially trained assistance dogs for children with autism and I think I read somewhere that some are being trained to support kids with ADHD, but I can’t find anything on that at the moment.

If you want a calm dog, an older rescue with a known history might be a good choice. If you want a dog that isn’t phased by loud, bounciness, maybe a young energetic dog would be good.

I agree that cats are a great option. Ours are rescue cats that are just indifferent to the noise, unless the twirling levels shoot up then they just calmly wander out to lie somewhere else in the house. But they let the kids sit and stroke them and it does have a little calming influence.

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts