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Pet Care Trust Press Release - October 3, 2001
Autistic Children and Dogs - Positive Interaction Documented
Autistic Children and Dogs - Positive Interaction Documented
Pervasive Development Disorder is a condition of impaired social interaction and communication abilities. Often referred to as "Autism", this condition has no known cure, and neither traditional therapy nor medical treatments have yielded high rates of success. While Animal Assisted Therapy has been reported as being effective for children with a variety of disabling conditions, the effects of animal therapy on autistic children has not been thoroughly tested.
In 1999, the U.S. Pet Industry's Foundation, the Pet Care Trust, funded a comprehensive two-year study to quantify the effects of Canine assisted therapy compared with two other types of traditional therapy. The grant was awarded to Dr. Francois Martin, People-Pet Partnership, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University.
This study involved individual autistic children between ages 3-13, during multiple 45-minute sessions over 2 years with an experienced therapist. Graduate students followed set research protocols to record all data. The study was designed to evaluate each child's differences in verbalization and behavior while interacting with a ball, a stuffed toy dog or the living dog. Although three therapy dogs were used during this study, each child was assigned to only one of the dogs. While most animal-lovers would conclude that results of comparing the interaction of a living dog with a ball and a stuffed toy would be a "no-brainer", the medical community requires proof that the therapy actually worked. To support the effects of canine assisted therapy, data was collected for 34 categories of verbalization and 17 categories of behavioral responses during multiple interactive sessions. Each session was videotaped to verify protocol adherence.
This may seem like a lot of time and work to "prove" what may be obvious on the surface, but the results were not always straightforward. For example, the children laughed more, looked at and talked to the dog more often, touched the dog less often and were less likely to talk about themselves while with the dog, compared to the verbal and behavioral response recorded with the stuffed dog toy or the ball. This may simply demonstrate that autistic children, like other children and adults, need diversity in their lives. ? This study provides insights on the value of a variety of therapies to assist in treatment of autism in children.
Dr. Martin and his team concluded:
The results of this research provide some tentative support for the use of Canine Assisted Therapy for autistic children. "Specifically, children appear to be more playful around dogs, more attentive to dogs and laugh more easily in the presence of dogs. Moreover, children are more likely to stay "on-task" when in the presence of a dog, talking less about topics unrelated to the protocol and talking more about the dog itself. Similarly, children seem to view the dog as an integral part of the experience, as evidenced by the children's active engagement of the dog in their conversations. Overall, it seems as though autistic children, when around a dog, display a higher level of activity, activity that is focused on a keen interest in their environments."
"Taken together, the results of this study not only offer valuable insight into the processes of Canine Assisted Therapy as it applies to autistic children, but also serves as a foundation to establish the parameters and variables necessary to maximize clinical applications of Animal Assisted Therapy. There is no doubt that though the study of animal-child interaction is a relatively novel area, it is one which holds much promise."
Animal Assisted Therapy is a relatively new tool for use in a variety of physical and psychological human conditions. While most of us agree that animal interaction results in positive benefit, we must recognize that animals may not always have a beneficial effect Therefore it is critical to test, survey and study Animal Assisted Therapy through scientific evaluations. The use of animal assisted therapy is expanding very rapidly. It has become a powerful tool at the disposal of trained professional. To avoid potentially negative interactions that might undermine the confidence or compromise the value of Animal Assisted Therapy, the Board of Trustees of the Pet Care Trust is committed to supporting the human-animal bond. The Pet Care Trust has funded more than $200,000 to support the following projects:
John L. Pitts, DVM, Program Coordinator, Pet Care Trust October 3, 2001 Sent by email
In 1999, the U.S. Pet Industry's Foundation, the Pet Care Trust, funded a comprehensive two-year study to quantify the effects of Canine assisted therapy compared with two other types of traditional therapy. The grant was awarded to Dr. Francois Martin, People-Pet Partnership, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University.
This study involved individual autistic children between ages 3-13, during multiple 45-minute sessions over 2 years with an experienced therapist. Graduate students followed set research protocols to record all data. The study was designed to evaluate each child's differences in verbalization and behavior while interacting with a ball, a stuffed toy dog or the living dog. Although three therapy dogs were used during this study, each child was assigned to only one of the dogs. While most animal-lovers would conclude that results of comparing the interaction of a living dog with a ball and a stuffed toy would be a "no-brainer", the medical community requires proof that the therapy actually worked. To support the effects of canine assisted therapy, data was collected for 34 categories of verbalization and 17 categories of behavioral responses during multiple interactive sessions. Each session was videotaped to verify protocol adherence.
This may seem like a lot of time and work to "prove" what may be obvious on the surface, but the results were not always straightforward. For example, the children laughed more, looked at and talked to the dog more often, touched the dog less often and were less likely to talk about themselves while with the dog, compared to the verbal and behavioral response recorded with the stuffed dog toy or the ball. This may simply demonstrate that autistic children, like other children and adults, need diversity in their lives. ? This study provides insights on the value of a variety of therapies to assist in treatment of autism in children.
Dr. Martin and his team concluded:
The results of this research provide some tentative support for the use of Canine Assisted Therapy for autistic children. "Specifically, children appear to be more playful around dogs, more attentive to dogs and laugh more easily in the presence of dogs. Moreover, children are more likely to stay "on-task" when in the presence of a dog, talking less about topics unrelated to the protocol and talking more about the dog itself. Similarly, children seem to view the dog as an integral part of the experience, as evidenced by the children's active engagement of the dog in their conversations. Overall, it seems as though autistic children, when around a dog, display a higher level of activity, activity that is focused on a keen interest in their environments."
"Taken together, the results of this study not only offer valuable insight into the processes of Canine Assisted Therapy as it applies to autistic children, but also serves as a foundation to establish the parameters and variables necessary to maximize clinical applications of Animal Assisted Therapy. There is no doubt that though the study of animal-child interaction is a relatively novel area, it is one which holds much promise."
Animal Assisted Therapy is a relatively new tool for use in a variety of physical and psychological human conditions. While most of us agree that animal interaction results in positive benefit, we must recognize that animals may not always have a beneficial effect Therefore it is critical to test, survey and study Animal Assisted Therapy through scientific evaluations. The use of animal assisted therapy is expanding very rapidly. It has become a powerful tool at the disposal of trained professional. To avoid potentially negative interactions that might undermine the confidence or compromise the value of Animal Assisted Therapy, the Board of Trustees of the Pet Care Trust is committed to supporting the human-animal bond. The Pet Care Trust has funded more than $200,000 to support the following projects:
- Physical Therapy Curriculum Development with Animals, Shenandoah Univ., VA;
- AAT for Abused, Disturbed & Low IQ Children, Inner Harbour Hospitals, GA;
- Quantify Physical Effects of AAT in Cardiac Patients, UCLA Medical Center, CA;
- Using Aquariums to Help & Manage Alzheimer Patients, Purdue Nursing School, IN;
- Animal Welfare Standards in Long Term Senior Care Homes, Eden Alternative, NY;
- Canine Therapy with Autistic Children, People-Pet Partnership, WSU, WA;
- AAT Training Manual for Hospital Visit Programs, St. Peter Hospital, Olympia ,WA;
- Service Dog Education Development Program, Delta Society, WA;
- Manual for Parrot Education and Adoption Programs, Parrot Adoption Center, CA;
- "Pets in Human Health - Moving Beyond Anecdote", Tufts Univ. Conference, MA.
John L. Pitts, DVM, Program Coordinator, Pet Care Trust October 3, 2001 Sent by email
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