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Any thoughts?
Well, we don't know your son. 'Autism' is a very widely-cast spectrum that captures completely different people. In general, dogs are thought to be congenial to many autistic people—while they can be exuberant and boisterous, especially when young, they are also faithful, constant, affectionate, and uncomplicated. We've just heard from @GoatandTricycle about their autism assistance dog.
Again, we don't know what might be possible to achieve for your son. He may need some habituation to dogs, as lemonade says. He may need to learn that dogs can be friendly even when they bark, that they are often just happy to sniff his palm and that they generally don't bite. If you can do anything, it should be gradual and not include sudden surprises. If this works with him, it will address the problem at source, and he'll know what to expect (very important) when there are dogs around. Also, many children are scared of dogs, and it certainly isn't something confined to autistic people. It's quite normal.
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Oliver Schick
Not sure if this is the place to ask but looking for a dog owner’s perspective.
Keeping a long story short-ish, my 7 yr old autistic son is terrified of dogs approaching and sniffing him when they are off the lead. He has a very obvious and strong fearful reaction, tears, screaming, shaking etc when a dog comes up to him.
The difficult part for me is that even when I shout over to the owner to recall the dog, I get a few seconds of being told ‘don’t worry he’s very friendly’ etc., which I can understand but given the extreme way my son is melting down in front of them I’d prefer them to understand that maybe he has a particular need and they should just get on with recalling their dog and then we can talk.
It’s got to the point where on one occasion I’ve felt I had to explain the legal situation (which is designed in favour of people like my son) because the owner was offended that I had pulled her dog away from him myself while she was 50 yards away shouting to me about how friendly he is.
I can feel myself getting a bit more impatient every time this happens but at the same time I can see how for the owners it is an unexpected situation to find themselves in while out for a pleasant walk, so I’m not totally surprised at how relaxed they are. I can’t call the owners ignorant - I think there could be more shared about the Dogs Act and why it exists, why it’s important for dogs to have recall etc. but in the moment isn’t the right time for me to explain this. The one time I did I was told in no uncertain terms that I was in the wrong because ‘we’re on open land, the National Trust say it’s ok’ etc.
So dog owners, short of never taking my son out on his bike in the countryside again, what can I do here that helps and doesn’t get me attacked for being selfish for wanting to make sure my son is ok. My running mate suggested I get some kind of high pitched anti dog alarm thing but I’m doubtful about it working that well based on the reviews. Any thoughts?