How Animals May Help a Person with Autism

Pick a favorite animal! Any animal you can think of. From the anemone to the elephant; I know one of my favorite animals is the tiger. I explained in Population ONE on why I chose the tiger to be one of my favorite animals. Ask yourself why you love that particular animal of choice; It may tell a lot about who you are.

On the topic of autism, many children with it would feel much more comfortable around animals than with people.

Why?

Here are some of the main reasons why a lot of animals help people with autism. More specifically, animals that are experienced in person, and not seen on a computer or a television or a book.

For pets:

• Soft
• Cuddly
• Do not want to hurt you

For zoo animals:

• Exotic
• Different
• Calm (in most cases)

Most animals have something in common that people with autism can relate to.

Quiet.

So quiet that when someone talks to the animal, it feels like they are listening.

When there is no one else that takes the time to listen, leave it to the cats and dogs to be there for the child. Used to talk to my pet cat, Banshee, almost all the time when he climbed up on my bed. How about you? Do you do that with your dog or cat when they want to sleep with you? Any animal really, it does not have to be the common pet dog or cat.

I believe that conversation must not become exclusive to verbal communication. A social conversation can occur just by seeing eye to eye. Literally. Look at the animal in the eye and simply just talk; without speaking a word from the tongue. Even without eyes, you can still have a conversation just by being close to the creature; side by side. Knowing that you are in good company. Even the chickens know when the farmer comes; They know he or she is there.

I cannot speak for everyone with autism, and I sure wish I could for all animals; The one thing I would say if I were to speak for them is perhaps they all would welcome companionship from a human. Do not ever try this though when it comes to dangerous animals like jellyfish, gorillas, and lions when it comes to getting up close and personal though; Because perhaps it can be relatable when you get to the part that animals would want to scare you away. Relatable because I used to scare people away many times. The reason was because I wanted to be left alone in my own solitude. People scare me sometimes; Guess that’s why I dedicated a whole chapter in Becoming ONE that relates to the animal kingdom. Gorillas may be one of the strongest creatures on the planet, but most of them do not want to hurt people, they just want to scare them away to protect their territory and most importantly, their family. Perhaps that was why I spent a lot of time sitting next to the gorillas at the zoo; We shared a lot of commonalities.

How do you relate to your favorite animal? It’s okay to connect with them; Spend time with them. There are breakthroughs that are bound to happen as soon as there is social comfort. And when there is social comfort, nearly anything is possible in the world of communication and more importantly, companionship.