Abstract
Abstract Despite evidence that Animal-Assisted Play Therapy increases the positive social behavior of children with autism, little is known about the mechanism of this treatment effect. In the present study, ten children with autism, aged 7-10, were randomized into two groups. One group attended 14 individual sessions of structured Animal-Assisted Play Therapy (AAPT) with a therapy dog, while the comparison group attended 14 individual sessions with a doll as the dog surrogate. Nonparametric tests showed that overall, children’s social behaviors were similar in the two treatments, with a trend toward more positive verbal behavior with AAPT. However, the AAPT group showed significantly less negative behavior toward the social object (the therapy dog) compared with the comparison group’s behavior toward the doll. The therapy dog’s unambiguous response to the children’s behavior and the dog’s role in modeling social behaviors are possible explanations for the more positive outcomes seen in AAPT.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
