From 1927 until the early 1970s, the only service dogs recognized in the United States were dogs trained to assist the visually impaired. Since then, as we have discussed in prior posts, dogs have been trained to help people who are challenged with other disabilities.
In the past decade, a new type of service dog was introduced to assist people with seizure disorders. Seizure response dogs also referred as SRDs, help vulnerable patients during seizures. These special dogs recognize and respond to ongoing seizure and post-seizure compromise.
🐾 Some of these dogs have been trained to bark or alert people close by when the handler has a seizure.
🐾 Some dogs can retrieve medications.
🐾 Some dogs lie next to the handler while the person is having a seizure to prevent injury.
🐾 Some dogs provide comfort and act as a brace to help the handler stand up.
🐾 Some dogs are trained to put their body between the seizing person and the floor to prevent or minimize the fall at the beginning of a seizure.
🐾 Some dogs activate a life-alert system or pre-programmed device, such as a pedal that rings an alarm.
Alternatively, seizure alert dogs also known as SADs may warn of an impending seizure. Many testimonies are reporting how their companion animal had alerted their owner to an impending epileptic seizure. The scientific literature also documents studies that describe the ability of some dogs to alert to seizures. Interestingly, some studies have shown that canine companions may have an additional benefit to patients with seizures. In addition to reducing stress, patients were noted to have a decreased seizure frequency.
A study reported that dogs could be trained to recognize specific changes preceding a seizure and give a signal that enables the dog to warn its handler. Since the dogs’ primary form of communication is body language, and they are very good at reading facial expressions, it is possible that the patient’s most minuscule gestures prompt a seizure alert dog. However, some have reported cases of dogs being out of sight of their handlers and then suddenly approaching them and alerting. Therefore, there is a possibility that the dogs may also perceive an auditory cue or a peculiar odor that are independent of visual cues. Alternatively, it may be a combination of these stimuli that represent seizure onset.
Although there is anecdotal evidence suggesting that some dogs may be able to sense the onset of seizures, the research performed has not been conclusive. Many questions remain to be answered, and the need for research is clear.
Having that said, the ability of a dog to obtain help during or after a seizure could prove lifesaving.
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