A while back, after posting here, I emailed my psychologist about whether or not she felt that my anxiety is disabling, and copy/pasted the ADA definition for disability. At that point she didn't have time to read my email very closely, but did say she might be able to talk to someone who trains PSD's for war vets with PTSD.
I saw her today. She pulled up my email on her blackberry and got the exact ADA wording I copy/pasted...I was asking if she felt my anxiety/Asperger's would qualify, and she said she'd be very surprised if it didn't and would fight on my behalf if I ran into trouble (she did help one of her other clients with bi-polar qualify, and she said that client is probably less disabled by her bi-polar than I am).
She said she needs to get in touch with this person she met who trains PSD's for war vets, she's in Wisconsin but seemed willing to branch out and my psych knows someone here in Michigan who would like some help training PSD's for war vets. So she'll also mention my issue and see if this person can offer some ideas.
While we both agree that having a dog with me to help me remain calm and grounded, I made clear and she understands that that does not a service dog make. The dog needs to be task-trained. We aren't sure yet what tasks might mitigate my disability (hopefully this trainer she's acquainted with can give some leads on how to figure that out, or if there really aren't any tasks for my specific situation).
I also sent a preliminary application to a small SD organization in Michigan about a week ago (not sure if anyone here has heard of it, it's called Sterling Service Dogs), it seems they have a program to help people train a dog they already own as an SD. Not sure if that will wind up going anywhere or not, but it said if they feel they can help within the next two years, they'll respond to the preliminary application inquiry I sent within two weeks. If the applicant doesn't hear from them within that time period, it means they don't feel they can help in the near future. So we'll see where that goes.
So still exploring things. I want to make sure, even if I wind up totally owner-training Nera, that if I do it I do it the right way and want to make sure it's something that will hold water legally before I get too far in. Just kind of thought I'd post a little update of where things are right now. At this point I'm not sure how far things will go, but am looking into possible leads.
