A case study of animal-assisted therapy on children with autism disorder: Language enhancements and social interaction

Abstract

This study aimed to determine if animal-assisted therapy could enhance language and social interactions in autistic children. It is a single case study of a 6.7-year-old child diagnosed with second-rate autism disorder with a program of twelve sessions in total, a session per week, and fifty minutes per session. The program was constructed to increase the frequency of using words and to improve interpersonal relationships through contact with peers or strangers. To do this, SCAR and E-CLAC scales went through a pretest and posttest and the changes in main behaviors observed during the twelves sessions were analyzed, obtaining the following results: First, the animal-assisted therapy program allowed the autistic child to use daily words about twice more frequently than usual. Second, the animal-assisted therapy program was effective in allowing the autistic child to improve social interactions with peers or strangers around the dog. Therefore, the animal-assisted therapy program was effective in helping the autistic child enhance language and social interactions.