My cousin recently had to have his much loved gsd put to sleep. He has aspergers and has gone into a depression because of this. My aunt,  his mum,  contacted a rescue,  not sure if it was a gsd rescue, but they have said they will not consider him because he won't let them do a home check. He has his own ground floor housing authority flat. It's because of his disability combined with his depression that he doesn't want strangers in his home. Does anyone have any ideas on how we can help with this problem as I know he would give another dog a very good home. He lives in Buckinghamshire.

Would he allow a homechecker to visit if one of his support worker/social workers was present?

Can you arrange for him to meet the person who will perform the home visit before hand? Maybe at the rescue centre, then they may be less of a stranger especially if they can be prebriefed before hand (on things he's comfortable/ happy to talk about and what to expect from him)
   Perhaps get in touch with an Aspergers group and ask advice also? I know of a couple of members on this forum who will have excellent experience in this field ~ hopefully once Christmas commitments ease they will pop by to advise.
Good luck xx

Arrange for a homechecker to visit while he is out? OR would they accept photos?

Is it just in his home? would he be happy to meet them at the rescue centre so they have met him and then arrange a visit while he is out?

TBH though, I'm sure he can give a dog a good home but I am not sure a rescue GSD is the best choice. Was his last dog a rescue or woned from a pup? My thought were that the dog will at least need socialisation with lots of different people, places and dogs (same applies if it was a pup of course) and if it was to develop issues that he needed help with would he be happy attending a training class or seeing a behaviourist? (for example)
If he would be ok with that and has sufficient back up then great, keep trying, if not I would perhaps be looking to find a more certain prospect.If not a puppy then maybe an older dog,( there's a website called oldies.co.uk I think) or a rescue greyhound that would probably need less active input than some other rescues.
Good luck!

Thanks for all your replies. His last GSD he took on as a private rescue, through a friend of a friend. I think he just thought rescuing another one was a good idea. He used to work for a racing greyhound kennels when younger but I think he's set on another GSD. I'll pass on your suggestions to my Aunt. Out of interest do Battersea Dogs Home do home checks?

taken from Battersea´s website

Most applicants will require a home visit but if you live too far away for this, you'll need to provide a letter of recommendation from a vet or rescue centre. In some cases we may request you ask a local rescue centre to carry out a home visit. Please note, this doesn't guarantee you'll be able to rehome an animal from us.

http://www.battersea.org.uk/about_us/what_we_do/rehoming.html

Hi Biffsmum

I realise your cousin is not a child and looking for an assistance dog but there is an organisation that helps autistic children and they might be able to point you in the right direction

http://4pawsforability.org/autism-assistance-dog

Alternatively you could try GSD rescue      http://www.germanshepherdrescue.co.uk/adoption.html

or even a breed club to see if a breeder has an older dog that they want to rehome.

Good luck.