Raodmap to Seclusion Manual_Module 5.indd - Samhsa ...

Roadmap to Seclusion and Restraint Free Mental Health Services
Service Animals
• Service animals can provide companionship and physical assistance, and often help humans
develop therapeutic bonds that provide psychological, emotional, and social benefi ts.
• Scientifi c research has begun to validate the role of service animals/service dogs for
people with disabilities.
• A 1996 study by Allen and colleagues found that people with disabilities that had service
dogs scored higher for psychological well-being, self-esteem, community integration, and
the amount of control they could exert over their environment.
• The same study also found that the number of human care hours decreased by an average of
78 percent—which represent a signifi cant savings in health care costs (Allen et al., 1996).
• Other documented research benefi ts include improved self-esteem, independence, social
acceptance, lowered blood pressure, moderation of stress, improved motivation, decreased
serum cholesterol, and mitigation of the effects of loneliness (DHHS, 2001).
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA Title III, 28 Code of Federal Regulations
Sect. 36.104) states that a service animal is any animal that is individually trained to help
a person with a disability.
• By law, service animals are not pets, and they may be of any breed or size.
• Service animals can do mobility, hearing, guide, seizure alert, emotional support, and
other work needed by the person because of their disability.
• Federal (ADA 28 CFR Sect.38.302) and State laws protect the rights of individuals with
disabilities to be accompanied by their trained service animals in taxis, buses, stores,
restaurants, doctors’ offi ces, school, parks, housing, and other public places.
• Encourage participants to look up service animals on the Web. One place to start is
www.deltasociety.org.
Module 5 Strategies to Prevent Seclusion and Restraint
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