Abstract
Animals are increasingly included in treatment for children with autism, and research has shown positive effects, such as increased social initiatives, decreased typical autistic behaviors, and decreased stress. However, there are still knowledge gaps, for example, on underlying mechanisms and effects from longer treatment duration. The purpose of this study is to contribute to these gaps and ask questions about the ways in which animals and nature can improve conditions for psychological development through support from therapists. The method is based on grounded theory. Data comes from a treatment model (duration 1½ years, a total of nine children), from environmental psychology and developmental psychology, both typical and atypical as in autism. The results consist of three key categories; reduce stress and instill calm, arouse curiosity and interest, and attract attention spontaneously. These three key categories are related to an underlying core variable, vitality forms, which was described by Daniel Stern and, according to him, is important in forming overall experiences. The starting point is the brain’s way of encoding many internal and external events based on movement perception. Here it is argued that the vitality forms from nature and animals are particularly favorable for effecting development-promoting interactions with a therapist.
Highlights
Nature and animals are increasingly used in treatment and educational contexts [1]
For the clinical group of children with autism, several studies have reported an increase in social initiatives, a decrease in typical autistic behaviors, a reduction in stress, and a lower level of anxiety during therapy sessions when the children were accompanied by a dog or a guinea pig [15,16,17,18,19]
It is about aspects that touch on Sterns thinking how they arise within a human being, the importance of them in relation to mental content such as thoughts, feelings and sensations from which they are separate but still affect and are affected by [78], and the importance they have for mentalizing and the connection in this regard to children with autism
Summary
Nature and animals are increasingly used in treatment and educational contexts [1]. Natural environments have been shown to reduce stress [2,3], increase the ability to focus attention [4,5], increase curiosity, motivation and commitment to learning situations [6]; and increase opportunities for physical and emotional activity through playful activities in nature [7,8,9]. Systematic reviews provide a basis of knowledge for the statement that introducing animals and nature into treatment and pedagogy has demonstrable effects [10,11,12,13,14]. For the clinical group of children with autism, several studies have reported an increase in social initiatives, a decrease in typical autistic behaviors, a reduction in stress, and a lower level of anxiety during therapy sessions when the children were accompanied by a dog or a guinea pig [15,16,17,18,19]. Improvements are reported in behavior, social interaction, and communication after treatment with equine assisted therapy [20,21]. This study is based on empirics from a treatment model with this purpose, and contributes to knowledge in the field
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