Olive – Our Tower School Dog

Studies on autism and animals are almost universally positive. Pets, service dogs, and animal-assisted therapies help autistic people cope with anxiety, engage more fully with other people, and even build communication skills.

Any kind of animal can provide emotional, physical, or social support. Research found that spending just 15 minutes petting a dog can lower blood pressure by 10%. Therapy dogs can also reduce stress hormones and increase serotonin, oxytocin and prolactin, and can also be trained to disrupt impulsive or self-harming behaviour.

At The Tower School, we utilise dog therapy to support our students, and our current pooch is Rachel’s (Occupational Therapist) Australian Labradoodle, Olive. Olive is three years old and has been working hard on her obedience and social skills to provide a calm and fun experience for our students. Olive attends school on Tuesdays between 09:30-14:30, where she spends time with pupils; playing games, learning new tricks, and enjoying lots of stroking. We also have occasional visits from Luna (Natalie’s dog), our ‘retired’ school dog, who loves to pop in to see the pupils and also enjoy some attention!