The Benefits of Animal Therapy For Autism
For those of us who have had pets in our lives, it's no great surprise to learn that interactions with animals can have therapeutic and healing benefits. Many animals soothe, comfort, and calm, just by their quiet presence. And animals are now also being used as a form of autism therapy. A New Mexico Highlands University School of Social Work graduate student named Jennifer Baról lead a research project to study the benefits and impact of animal-assisted therapies on children with autism when used as a treatment tool. The study, entitled "The Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy on a Child with Autism" ran for 15 weeks between July and November of 2006. It was geared toward the goal of discovering whether or not there is any evidence that therapies based on animal-assistance would be able to improve an autistic child's social skills. The results of the study were interesting. For example, before undergoing the animal-assisted therapy with an eight...