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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects an individual's ability to communicate, create social relationships, and regulate sensory input and repetitive behaviors. An uncommon intervention used in ASD treatment is farm animal-assisted therapy (AAT). AAT interventions focus on the use of animals in adjunct to achieve goals and outcomes. Farm AAT is defined as the use of farm animals such as cows, sheep, goats, horses, and pigs in AAT interventions. There is a lack of evidence on the use of farm animals and their benefits within the scope of AAT and in recreational therapy. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence, from the perspective of parents, of the potential benefits of farm AAT as a recreational therapy intervention for individuals with ASD. Data collection using a semi-structured interview guide was conducted over the phone with parents who participated in family session programs at the study location. Five participants were selected who matched the inclusion criteria for this study. The findings from this study reported that there were increases in social behaviors, regulation of behaviors, and a sense of normalcy for the children. The findings from this study provide a foundation for future research related to farm AAT such as evidenced-based curriculums and practices. The data provide therapists and parents with an understanding of the potential benefits that are gained from participation in farm AAT interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal-assisted therapy has gained increased attention in occupational therapy. Yet there remains minimal education opportunities available. In addition to supporting student learning, student-led clinics have the potential to provide a valuable, cost-effective health service to the community. This study aimed to explore the potential benefits to the children clients participating in a student-led, canine-assisted occupational therapy pediatric clinic from the perspectives of the students and parents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine occupational therapy students, and five parents to describe their experience. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Participants emphasized how the presence of the therapy dog supported child engagement within the therapy session. Ways in which participants believed the therapy dog influenced the children's engagement were described within three themes. The first highlighted the importance of the relationship between the children and the therapy dog. The second described how this relationship facilitated a sense of safety within the sessions. The third captured how this sense of safety supported the children's participation within their meaningful occupations. Parents and students involved in the canine-assisted occupational therapy clinic perceived that canine-assisted therapy was supportive of child engagement in therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of therapy or service dogs to assist children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing in clinical settings. Research studies indicate that children with ASD display enhanced prosocial behavior and emotional regulation when canines are included in therapy. Despite increased application of animal-assisted therapy in clinical and inpatient settings, healthcare providers show limited understanding of best practices for its use and require a research-based approach to incorporate animals effectively into therapeutic plans of care for pediatric patients with ASD. The use of therapy dogs to assist children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing in clinical settings. Research studies indicate that children with ASD display enhanced prosocial behavior and emotional regulation when canines are included in therapy. Despite increased application of animal-assisted therapy in clinical settings, providers show limited understanding of best practices for its use and require a research-based approach to incorporate animals effectively into therapeutic plans of care for pediatric patients with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Motivation and a therapeutic alliance are crucial for successful therapy. It is assumed that dogs can increase motivation and help support therapeutic relationships. This is one of the reasons for including dogs in psychotherapy. While the positive effects of psychotherapy with dogs have been documented over the past years, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of animal-assisted psychotherapy. This study therefore aims to investigate whether and how the presence of a dog affects motivation and the therapeutic alliance in child and adolescent psychotherapy. Methods The study is a randomized controlled trial assessing motivation and the therapeutic alliance during the first five sessions of psychotherapy attended by children and adolescents with different psychiatric disorders. We will recruit 150 children and adolescents and randomly assign them to one of three conditions: (a) a dog is present but not integrated in the therapeutic narrative, (b) a dog is actively integrated in the therapeutic narrative, and (c) no dog is present. The children’s and adolescents’ evaluations of the therapeutic alliance and of their motivation will be assessed as the primary outcomes using standardized questionnaires before and after the first five therapy sessions as well as at follow-up. Further outcomes include the therapists’ evaluations of the therapeutic alliance and their motivation, treatment adherence of the children and adolescents, and treatment satisfaction of the children and adolescents, their parents, and of the therapists. Interventions are conducted by experienced therapists who regularly work with their dogs. Outcomes will be analyzed using general linear models, with the treatment group as a fixed factor and the baseline values as covariates. Discussion This study provides information on the possible motivation and alliance-enhancing effects of integrating a dog into child and adolescent psychotherapy. This is relevant for practice, as these two components are strong predictors of therapy outcome. Moreover, the study will contribute to a better understanding of how a dog should be incorporated into psychotherapeutic settings. This can lead to a more purposeful inclusion of dogs in psychotherapy for children and adolescents. Trial registration The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05384808, on 20 May 2022.

Background: Motivation and a therapeutic alliance are crucial for successful therapy. It is assumed that dogs can increase motivation and help support therapeutic relationships. This is one of the reasons for including dogs in psychotherapy. While the positive effects of psychotherapy with dogs have been documented over the past years, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of animal-assisted psychotherapy. This study therefore aims to investigate whether and how the presence of a dog affects motivation and the therapeutic alliance in child and adolescent psychotherapy. Methods: The study is a randomized controlled trial assessing motivation and the therapeutic alliance during the first five sessions of psychotherapy attended by children and adolescents with different psychiatric disorders. We will recruit 150 children and adolescents and randomly assign them to one of three conditions: (a) a dog is present but not integrated in the therapeutic narrative, (b) a dog is actively integrated in the therapeutic narrative, and (c) no dog is present. The children's and adolescents' evaluations of the therapeutic alliance and of their motivation will be assessed as the primary outcomes using standardized questionnaires before and after the first five therapy sessions as well as at follow-up. Further outcomes include the therapists' evaluations of the therapeutic alliance and their motivation, treatment adherence of the children and adolescents, and treatment satisfaction of the children and adolescents, their parents, and of the therapists. Interventions are conducted by experienced therapists who regularly work with their dogs. Outcomes will be analyzed using general linear models, with the treatment group as a fixed factor and the baseline values as covariates. Discussion: This study provides information on the possible motivation and alliance-enhancing effects of integrating a dog into child and adolescent psychotherapy. This is relevant for practice, as these two components are strong predictors of therapy outcome. Moreover, the study will contribute to a better understanding of how a dog should be incorporated into psychotherapeutic settings. This can lead to a more purposeful inclusion of dogs in psychotherapy for children and adolescents. Trial registration: The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05384808, on 20 May 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers an analysis of soft skills acquisition in children through animal training programmes within the framework of a two-year Erasmus+ project. The article overviews important aspects of shaping and introducing new approaches towards the acquisition of soft skills in children through animal training programmes. In this context, children participated in research in three countries (Lithuania, Belgium and Bulgaria), in three animal-assisted educational programmes: dolphin-assisted therapy, hippotherapy, and canine therapy. The results of the narrative analysis show a significant improvement in the skills of children, improving the quality of their relationships with themselves, with others, with animals, and with the environment. This reaffirms that exposing students to authentic, hands-on experience can significantly enhance their cognitive, social and emotional development. Moreover, the article shows that the process also increased the soft skills of teachers and of external actors involved in the process, reinforcing the importance of an open schooling approach as a way of improving all society. The article contributes to empirical evidence to support the integration of experiential learning into the pedagogical realm [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To present evidence-based recommendations on nonpharmacological behavior guidance for the pediatric dental patient. Methods: The work group assessed eight systematic reviews for effectiveness of nonpharmacological behavior guidance techniques in children undergoing preventive care or a dental treatment visit. The key outcomes assessed included cooperative behavior, anxiety, and procedural pain. To formulate the recommendations, the work group used the GRADE framework to obtain consensus on domains such as priority of the problem, certainty of the evidence, balance between desirable and undesirable consequences, patients’ values and preferences, acceptability, and feasibility. Results: Overall, the use of basic nonpharmacological behavior guidance techniques resulted in trivial-to-small effect on improvement in behavior or reduction in anxiety. However, for children and adolescents undergoing preventive care, mobile applications and modeling showed large effects in reduction of anxiety. For those undergoing dental treatment, strategies such as modeling, positive reinforcement, biofeedback relaxation, breathing relaxation, animal-assisted therapy, combined tell-show-do, audiovisual distraction, and cognitive behavior therapy showed large reduction in anxiety. For children and adolescents with special health care needs, audiovisual distraction and sensory-adapted dental environment showed large reduction of anxiety. Conclusions: All the formulated recommendations were conditional and were mostly based on very low certainty of evidence. Conditional recommendations imply that different choices or combinations of behavior guidance techniques may be most appropriate for different patients. Clinicians should use techniques consistent with the parent/patient values and preferences. These recommendations are based on the best available evidence to-date and are intended to aid clinical decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Executive functions are cognitive processing skills associated with planning, problem-solving, decision making, and regulating behaviour. For some individuals these abilities may be impaired, which can have negative long-term impacts. It has been proposed that interacting with animals may provide an opportunity to strengthen these skills. A systematic review was carried out to assess the ways in which interacting with animals may improve executive functions. This review included 23 studies exploring executive functions across three contexts: the human–pet relationship, the presence of an animal, and involvement in an animal-assisted service. There is some evidence to suggest that interacting with an animal may be beneficial for older adults, whilst horseback riding seems particularly beneficial for children; however, the overall methodological rigour is limited. There has been growing interest in the potential benefits of using human–animal interactions to improve executive functions: cognitive processes that allow individuals to plan, solve problems, and self-regulate behaviour. To date, no comprehensive review has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to evaluate existing literature, adopting broad inclusion criteria. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 16 papers were identified from peer-reviewed literature. Additional papers were identified from grey literature, including 6 dissertations and 1 thesis. A review of these 23 studies found that human–animal interactions and executive functions are investigated in three main ways: (1) exploring the potential benefits of the human–pet relationship, (2) exploring the impact of an animal's presence during administration of executive function tests, and (3) evaluating the efficacy of animal-assisted services (e.g., animal-assisted therapy) on executive functions. Five of the included studies reported a significant improvement across all measured domains of executive functions, but effect sizes were underreported. Comparatively, 9 studies reported mixed findings, d = 0.32–0.55, while 8 studies reported no significant results. The overall rigour of the research was limited, with great heterogeneity between the study methodologies and outcome measures used. It is recommended that future studies utilise high-quality research methodologies through the use of randomisation, pre- and postmeasures, and appropriate control conditions, where possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental anxiety refers to the negative emotional response of fear or avoiding dental care, which is exhibited by cognitive, physiological, and motor reactions when related to dental visits or dental treatment. Diverse approaches have been put forth to manage these adverse reactions during dental treatment, with the main emphasis on nonpharmacological and pharmacological management or altering the environment. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has been suggested as an alternative to conventional methods that, according to prior research on human-animal interactions, has soothing benefits for individuals. Numerous articles have shown that activities involving pets help to lessen tension in dental practice. A trained animal is used in health care as a goal-oriented intervention to enhance interactions or lessen a patient's fear and discomfort. AAT appointments are arranged for a set time and duration to include an animal that has completed temperament testing, intensive training, and certification, in contrast to animal-assisted activities. The companion animal, which is available for the company throughout the dentist appointment, can assist in removing barriers to communication and enabling the patient to build a secure and soothing bond, minimizing treatment-related stress. By conducting this review, we would like to emphasize on benefits and obstacles of AAT for behavior management in pediatric dental procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of animal-assisted therapy with children who have experienced trauma is receiving increasing attention in the literature. However, there is a lack of attention given to the death of therapy animals. The scholarship on the death of animal companions highlights a varying depth of acknowledgment of children's grief. This article draws on the clinical experience of one therapy center's approach to the death of a therapy dog. Knowledge gained from this experience highlighted the necessity of acknowledging the death, the need for clear communication with children and young people, and the importance of involving children in a memorial ritual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Animal‐assisted therapy (AAT) is considered a useful technique to reduce anxiety in children and adolescents in medical settings. Aim: To investigate whether the use of AAT helps to reduce anxiety during dental care in children and adolescents. Design: Systematic review that included randomized and nonrandomized clinical trials with children up to 18‐years of age undergoing dental appointments. The databases Embase, Cochrane, Pubmed/Medline, LILACS, PsycInfo, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched including gray literature. Random‐effects meta‐analyses using mean difference (MD) and narrative synthesis (vote counting) were implemented. Risk of bias was assessed using RoB2 for randomized clinical trials. The certainty of the evidence was performed using GRADE. Results: A total of 1103 references were identified, and after a two‐phase selection, three studies were included. Anxiety, behavior, and pain were the outcomes. A meta‐analysis with 146 participants was performed for anxiety at three time points: before treatment (MD −0.40, CI: −1.06 to 0.26; I2 = 0%; p =.24), during treatment (MD −3.64, CI: −11.18 to 3.91; I2 = 94%; p =.34), and after treatment (MD −5.97, CI: −17.08 to 5.14; I2 = 98% p =.29). There was no difference during dental treatment with or without ATT (dogs), as well as for narrative analysis for any outcome. The risk of bias was high mainly because of the randomization and outcome measurement. Conclusion: There is no evidence to support or refute that the presence of AAT during dental care can help reduce anxiety in children (5–11 years). Studies with larger samples are suggested. Protocol registration (CRD42021293593). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dyslexia is a learning disorder related to receptive language characterized by difficulties with decoding, fluent word recognition, automatic naming skills and/or reading comprehension skills. It usually leads to severe functional impairment and the permanent need for support and interventions. Since animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) have been found to improve physical, emotional, cognitive and/or social functioning in humans, the aim of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of onotherapy on children with SLD by improving self-esteem and school performance. Sixteen patients with a diagnosis of dyslexia were randomly assigned to two treatment groups: the first was a conventional neuropsychological group therapy without onotherapy, and the second was a neuropsychological group therapy incorporating AAIs with therapy donkeys. The neuropsychological assessment included the WISC-IV, DDE and the TMA test, which were administered before and after the treatment in both groups. The results of the experimental group show significant improvement in word reading test correctness (p = 0.03) and speed (p = 0.03), non-word reading test speed (p = 0.01), reading text test correctness (p = 0.05) and speed (p = 0.03), word writing test correctness (p = 0.01), non-word writing test correctness (p = 0.02), writing sentences with homophonic words correctness (p = 0.01), interpersonal TMA (p = 0.04) and the total TMA (p = 0.04), which were significative. On the other hand, in the control group, significant differences were found in word reading test speed (p = 0.01), non-word reading test speed (p = 0.04), reading text test speed (p = 0.02), writing word test correctness (p = 0.01), writing non-word test correctness (p = 0.01) and writing sentences with homophonic words (p = 0.01). However, in this group, we observed no significant difference in the esteem of children. Training associated with the donkeys determined improved scholastic performances as far as reading is concerned and a change in self-esteem. Therefore, we can state that AAIs for dyslexia could be a viable and effective option to enhance the rehabilitation process, increase self-esteem and improve cognitive functions and language skills recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why you should read this article: • To enhance your knowledge of the use of canine-assisted therapy in healthcare settings • To learn about a project that involved introducing a therapy dog to anxiety management groups for young people • To consider the effects that the presence of a therapy dog may have on young people Research suggests that the inclusion of dogs in the delivery of psychotherapy for adolescents may have a positive effect on outcomes. This article details an evaluation that explored the effect of introducing a dog to cognitive behavioural therapy-based anxiety management groups for young people aged between 11 years and 14 years. A total of 35 young people attended these groups, which ran either with or without a dog present. The results suggest that the presence of a therapy dog significantly reduced young people's anxiety ratings in five of the six sessions and contributed to a higher discharge rate after completing the group therapy (44% in the groups with the dog versus 28% in the groups without the dog). Qualitative feedback indicates that the presence of a therapy dog improved the young people's experiences by enabling them to feel increasingly relaxed and confident in the group. These findings suggest that a therapy dog can enhance young people's experiences in group therapy, particularly in the early stages, and increase discharge rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Dogs may elicit positive therapy outcomes for children/adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, little is known about the parent perspectives of the use of dogs as part of an occupational therapy program for ASD. This study aimed to explore parent perspectives about the Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) component of the occupational therapy intervention their child/adolescent received across five weekly sessions. Method: Using a phenomenological approach, 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents (13 mothers and four fathers) following an AAT occupational therapy program. Thematic analysis was conducted. Results: Three themes were identified relating to the value parents attributed to the AAT occupational therapy program with dogs for their child/adolescent: 1. Stress and anxiety management; 2. Participation and engagement and 3. Social communication. Positive outcomes identified by parents included the dogs being a calming influence and facilitating the participation of their child/adolescent in life-skill activities. Conclusion: Parents valued AAT occupational therapy involving dogs. Future studies should investigate how to best target this occupational therapy approach for autistic children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Fisioterapia e Pesquisa is the property of Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Given the increasing use of MRI in the pediatric population, the need for sedation in MRI performed in young children is a topic of growing importance. Although sedation is generally tolerated well by children, the financial and operational impacts of anesthesia on MRI workflow, as well as potential adverse effects of anesthetic medications, highlight the need to perform MRI in children without sedation whenever possible. This review focuses on current techniques to facilitate non-sedation MRI in children, including exam preparation with MRI simulation; asleep but not sedated techniques; awake and relaxed techniques using certified child life specialists, animal-assisted therapy, a child-friendly environment and in-scan entertainment; and non-sedated MRI protocol modifications such as shorter scan time, prioritizing sequences, reducing motion artifact, noise reduction, limiting use of gadolinium, employing an open MRI and modifying protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dog Behavior is the property of Edizioni ETS s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)