The U.S. Department of Justice receives many questions on how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to service animals. Many people with disabilities use a service animal to participate in everyday life. Service animals (i.e., most notably dogs) can be trained to assist individuals with various types of disabilities. Service animals can be used to provide stability for a person who has difficulty walking, in picking up items for an individual who uses a wheelchair, predicting seizures for an individual with epilepsy, or alerting a person with visual and/or hearing disabilities of dangers or changes within their environment.
The new publication by the U.S. Department of Justice provides guidance on the ADA’s service animal provisions and should be read in conjunction with the publication ADA Revised Requirements: Service Animals.
The Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA can be viewed online at http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html or a PDF version can be viewed and/or downloaded at http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.pdf.
Interested in more resources on service animals? Check out some resources from NARIC!
Check out our free publication reSearch on service animals and assisted-animal therapy online at http://tinyurl.com/pzep4zw and/or view/download a PDF version of Services Animals and Assisted-Animal Therapy, Volume 8, Issue 1 at http://tinyurl.com/no89jfv.
Discover resources on service animals in our online Ready Reference under Independent Living and Community Participation – Service Animals: http://www.naric.com/?q=en/node/50.
View search results from our REHABDATA database on service animals and the ADA: http://tinyurl.com/nbum95t.
Collection Spotlight from the National Rehabilitation Information Center 