The effects of Animal Assisted Therapy for children with special needs

Animal Assisted Therapy for Children with Special Needs

Animal Assisted Therapy for Children with Special Needs

Animal assisted therapy is a very useful program in treating psychological and emotional problems of children with special needs . In this method , animals like birds and domesticated pets are being used to treat cases of children which are hard to accomplish when employed with regular therapy . This is because of the children 's young minds were exposed to such matters that they can 't comprehend

This method of therapy is also being used for children with

physical and metal disabilities . These children include those who have autism and other mental disabilities , as well as those who are disabled even at a young age . With animal assisted therapy , these children can interact with the animals , which somewhat improves their interaction skills as much as a normal child can

Pets and children with autism

In an article written Nicholas and Collis , it states that autism manifests itself most strikingly as impairments in communication and in the formation of social relationships ADDIN EN .CITE McNicholas2J McNicholasG . M CollisRelationships Between Young People with Autism and Their Pets2007September 201995Coventry , West Midlands , CV2 7AL , UKDepartment of Psychology University of Warwickhttp /www .deltasociety .org AnimalsHealthChildrenRelationship .htm (McNicholas Collis , 1995 ' However , there are reports regarding the close relationships being formed by these autistic children with animals and pets . It is difficult to obtain a quantitative data regarding the response of these autistic children towards animals The researchers however , based the results through interviews with the parents of these children

They are able to see the normal ' functioning being attributed by these children since the parents knows how their kids react . Through in depth-interviews , the researchers came up with the qualitative data showing that these autistic people . Through the Childhood Autism Rating Scale , they were able to diagnose that some of these are severely autistic and some were moderately autistic . All of these have showed aggression towards their parents and relatives before

The ones interviewed were mostly the mother of the autistic child . These mothers were asked to asses how their child responded with the introduction o these pets . It showed that there were several behaviour changes in the child , especially in the field of relationship between the child and the pets , and between the child and other people . The aspects to be considered were greeting , seeking of closeness or proximity , seeking and giving of comfort , conflicts , companionship play , and many more

The qualitative results for the interview showed that all of the subjects that were studied showed different behaviours which they rarely or even so , never showed with their other family members and other hum companions . These pets were mostly sought after because they serve as these children 's companions , providing comfort and serves as their confidant - the things they rarely or never show to their family members . These children showed greater sensitivity for whatever the animals need , as well as their lack of anger and signs of aggression towards their pets...