Abstract | CONTEXT: Although research has shown that animal-assisted play therapy ( AAPT) is associated with increased positive social behaviors in children with autism, the related literature on AAPT and autism is very limited. OBJECTIVES: The study tested the effectiveness of AAPT in increasing the social communication of a boy with autism. The treatment's effects on specific types of social communication were also investigated. DESIGN: An A-B-A single-subject design was adopted to examine treatment effectiveness. Follow-up assessments were made at 1 mo posttreatment. SETTING: The videotaped treatment sessions were held in the multipurpose room of the participant's school. PARTICIPANT: INTERVENTION:
AAPT was implemented in 20-min sessions held 3 ×/wk. The 14 AAPT sessions occurred in 4 phases, covering child-dog relationship building and interaction in the presence of the therapist, with the diminishing presence of the dog occurring in phase 4. OUTCOME MEASURES: Naturally occurring social behaviors were measured in 3 baseline sessions, during the 14 AAPT sessions, during 3 posttreatment sessions, and again during 3 follow-up sessions. Momentary time sampling was used to estimate the frequency of target behaviors, using a 15-s interval. Behavioral categories were checked at every interval during each 20-min session in all 23 sessions. RESULTS: The study showed that the boy's social communication increased during treatment and remained higher than baseline at follow-up. An analysis of specific types of social communication showed that the benefits of AAPT were most apparent in the joint-attention and waiting behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide support for using AAPT as an intervention to facilitate the social communication of children with autism.
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Authors | Suk Chun Fung |
Journal | Advances in mind-body medicine
(Adv Mind Body Med)
Vol. 29
Issue 3
Pg. 27-31
( 2015)
ISSN: 1532-1843 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 26026154
(Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
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Topics |
- Animal Assisted Therapy
(methods)
- Animals
- Autistic Disorder
(physiopathology, psychology, therapy)
- Child
- Dogs
- Humans
- Male
- Play Therapy
(methods)
- Verbal Behavior
(physiology)
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