This study tested the effects of dog ownership on anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder and also the impact on overall family functioning. They compared a family who had recently acquired a dog and a family who did not own a dog for this study. The group who owned dogs showed significantly more improvement in family functioning(reduced weaknesses, increased family strengths) than the group who did not own a dog. Also, the dog-owning group showed greatly reduced anxiety levels in the children themselves, and displayed lower anxiety levels than the group without dogs. Therefore, it was concluded that dogs can reduce anxiety levels in children with ASD and improve overall family functioning.

Reducing Anxiety in Children with ASD Using Dogs

Reference for Reducing Anxiety In Children with ASD Using Dogs

Research found that fifty percent of individuals with autism suffer from social anxiety disorder. This can happen due to the anxiety that people with autism face in social situations, causing them to develop social anxiety disorder.

State University of New York at Albany

Boston College

The most common co-occurring disorders with Autism Spectrum Disorder include epilepsy/seizures, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. Often, these can go undetected due to the overlapping symptoms of ASD and/or inability to communicate these symptoms. This inability to communicate other discomforts can often result in coping mechanisms consisting of inappropriate behaviors, thus a shift in behavior can indicate presence of a comorbid disorder. 

- ASD and Epilepsy

ASD Co-morbidity with Other Disorders

Neff, M. (n.d.). Social anxiety vs autism. Neurodivergent insights. https://neurodivergentinsights.com/misdiagnosis-monday/social-anxiety-or-autism#:~:text=People%20with%20social%20anxiety%20are,people%20(Cuncic%2C%202021).

Autism and Social Anxiety Disorder Reference

Bennett, A. E. (2017, July 1). Autism's Clinical Companions: Frequent Comorbidities with ASD. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. https://www.chop.edu/news/autism-s-clinical-companions-frequent-comorbidities-asd.

Autism's Clinical Companions: Frequent Comorbidities with ASD

Casanova, M. F., Frye, R. E., Gillberg, C., & Casanova, E. L. (2020). Editorial: Comorbidity and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Frontiers in psychiatry, 11, 617395. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.617395

Editorial: Comorbidity and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Occurs in 25-30% of ASD individuals, as compared to 2-3% of the general population. Though there is a correlation, the exact reason is uncertain. It’s suspected that there is a shared genetic link between epilepsy and autism. There also seems to be a correlation between epilepsy risk and decreased intellectual ability (per one standard deviation decrease in IQ, odds of having epilepsy increase by ~47%) (Viscidi E.W. et. al, 2013). Abnormal EEG recordings are often seen in the ASD brain, even without epilepsy. 

ASD and Epilepsy

Previous estimates of ID in individuals with ASD was estimated to be around 50% to 70%, but more recent research reports a rate closer to 20%. 


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