Abstract
Finding strategies to enhance imitation skills in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is of major clinical relevance. To evaluate whether contact with dogs may be a useful approach to elicit spontaneous imitation in people with ASD. Participants completed a spontaneous imitation task under three experimental conditions: after a free-play interaction with a live dog, after a free-play interaction with a robotic dog, and after a waiting period that involved no stimuli. Ten children and 15 adults diagnosed with severe ASD. Imitation ratio, imitation accuracy, and indicators of social motivation. Children appeared more motivated and engaged more frequently in spontaneous imitation in the live dog condition than in the other conditions. No differences between conditions were found for adults for imitation or social motivation. However, correlations suggested a possible trend for adults in time spent engaging with the live dog before testing and in increased imitation frequency. The results are preliminary and do not indicate the utility of integrating (live) dogs into interventions aimed at promoting social motivation and enhancing imitation skills in people with ASD. However, they suggest that doing so holds promise. Larger scale studies are now needed. This research calls for occupational therapy practitioners' attention to the potential benefits that may derive from using dogs to promote spontaneous imitation, and increase imitation performance, in people with ASD, particularly children.
Highlights
It has long been recognized that imitation can serve as a learning tool enabling individuals to acquire new skills and knowledge, and as a strategy to engage in social exchanges with others (Uzgiris, 1981)
Only the children in this study showed differences in behavior across conditions that seem consistent with the possibility that free play with the live dog before the imitation task was effective in promoting spontaneous imitation
As opposed to adults who showed no differences in imitation between conditions, children engaged more frequently in spontaneous imitation in the dog condition than in the other two conditions
Summary
It has long been recognized that imitation can serve as a learning tool enabling individuals to acquire new skills and knowledge, and as a strategy to engage in social exchanges with others (Uzgiris, 1981). Occupational therapists, for instance, often use task demonstration in their daily practice with children, with the aims to promote cognitive development and acquisition of new motor skills (Liew, Garrinson, Werner, & Aziz-Zadeh, 2012). When compared to their typical peers, children – and adults - with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit significant deficits in imitation, and in the spontaneous use of imitation during social interactions (Edwards, 2014; Van Etten & Carver, 2015). We could test whether greater engagement with the animal - but not 5 with the robot - before the imitation task would be associated with better performance during the task
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