ANIMAL ASSISTED SPEECH-LANGUAGE THERAPY FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN: A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) – a goal-directed intervention in which an animal that meets specific criteria becomes an integral part of the treatment process – can be a beneficial treatment option for individuals in many settings. Yet, research is not readily available for use of AAT in pediatric speech-language therapy sessions, specifically pragmatic language sessions for autistic children. This study combined AAT and speech-language therapy for autistic children to examine motivation, participation, and attention/on-task behavior along with any impacts on the child’s overall goal attainment. A multiple baseline across participants study was conducted to explore the effects of AAT in speech-language therapy sessions in relation to the child’s on-task behaviors in their sessions. Results showed a positive impact on on-task behaviors and participation within sessions when therapy dogs are present versus when they are not. In terms of overall goal attainment, the children made continued gains towards their individualized goals when the therapy dog was used to supplement their reinforcement schedules. These results support the need for further research on the use of AAT in speech-language therapy with autistic children as the positive impacts noted provide preliminary evidence for the benefit of the presence of therapy dogs in reinforcement schedules within speech and language therapy sessions for autistic children.