Programs that provide and train recipients in the use of dogs who have been taught to help people whose autism limits their ability to perform activities of daily living. The dogs may alert the individual to important sounds, e.g., a smoke alarm or the doorbell which may be lost in the overall onslaught of sensory input, guide the person from an overstimulating situation or find a specific person such as a caregiver when the person becomes confused, notify the person when s/he is exhibiting "stimming" behaviors such as hand flapping or head banging, and guide the person when in the community by drawing his or her attention to information that requires priority processing, e.g., when approaching an intersection. When partnered with a child, autism service dogs can help to ensure the child's safety by preventing or alerting parents to wandering or bolting behavior and tracking a child who succeeds in escaping; improve management of difficult behaviors such as seizures or tantrums; increase impulse control; facilitate sensory integration and calming; provide companionship and socialization support; and improve the child's ability to function in public.

Programs that provide and train recipients in the use of dogs who have been taught to work with and respond to individuals disabled by mental illness. The dogs may remind the individual to take medication at a specific time; turn on lights and search a room for intruders; warm the person's body during a panic attack; interrupt checking and other repetitive behaviors; stay with the person during acute emotional stress; alert to mania, panic attacks or dissociative episodes; interrupt dissociative episodes or flashbacks; assist the individual in distinguishing "reality" from auditory or visual hallucinations; provide a constant grounding presence; and serve as a trustworthy companion when the person is negotiating paranoia.

Programs that provide and train recipients in the use of animals who have been taught to alert individuals who have epilepsy when a seizure is about to occur and/or to respond to a seizure when one is in progress. The dogs carry required medications in their packs, brace their owners during a fall, retrieve the phone, and can activate an emergency call-button if necessary. They also know how to try to revive their owners by licking their faces and gently pawing their forearms, and when and how to leave and get help.

Individuals who are generally between the ages of 18 and 25 depending on the ages that specific programs use for qualification.

A developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior, and includes symptoms that impair the individual's ability to function properly in school, work and other areas of life. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is said to be a "developmental disorder" because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life. Autism is also known as a "spectrum" disorder because there is wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms people experience. People with ASD have difficulty with social communication and interaction (e.g. lack of eye contact, voice tones that sound sing-song or robotic, facial expressions or gestures that don't match what is being said), restricted interests (e.g., intense interest in numbers, details, facts), restrictive/repetitive behavior (e.g., repeating words or phrases, getting upset at changes in routine or sensory input such as light or noise). People with ASD may also experience sleep problems or irritability, but also have many strengths including the ability to learn things in detail and remember information for long periods of time; being strong visual and auditory learners; and excelling in math, science, music or art. But although ASD can be a lifelong disorder and while children who have ASD have difficulty in talking, playing with other children, and relating to others, including their own family, treatment and services can improve their symptoms and ability to function.

A recurrent paroxysmal disorder of cerebral function that is characterized by sudden, brief interruptions in or complete loss of consciousness, motor activity and/or sensory phenomena. The seizures are caused by disruptions in the electrical and physiochemical activity of the brain.

A disorder affecting individuals who have experienced a psychologically traumatizing event which is characterized by reexperiencing the event through recurrent and intrusive recollections or dreams of the event, or the sudden feeling that the event was recurring; numbing of responsiveness or reduced involvement with the external world beginning sometime after the trauma; and/or one or a combination of other symptoms including hyperalertness or exaggerated startle response, sleep disturbance, guilt about surviving if others have not, memory or concentration impairment, avoidance of memories that recall the trauma and intensification of symptoms when exposed to events that symbolize or resemble the trauma.

A number of mental or emotional conditions of a seriously debilitating nature which progress or do not respond positively to treatment over a period of time and which require adjustments on the part of the individual and his or her significant others, or long-term medication, to make daily functioning possible.