The Benefits of Animal-Assisted Therapy
Are you an animal lover? Do you have pets? Well, even if you don’t, there is increasing support with animal-assisted therapy helping healthcare therapists reach more goals with their patients. Interacting with animals can aid in one’s well-being in any situation, but particularly with special needs children or those having an autism spectrum disorder.
Support in using pet therapy can be seen most recently in a study by occupational therapy students at Quinnipiac’s Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences in North Haven, Connecticut. A therapy dog was provided to highly stressed students during finals and it was quickly evident that the anxiety-ridden students saw their vital signs including blood pressure and heart rate reduced after a short session of petting and cuddling. The therapy dog helped calm the students and lessen their stress levels.
The use of animals such as dogs, cats, fish and horses in a therapeutic setting has been often used within occupational therapy practice. It is considered to be a sensory modulation approach. In the last half of the twentieth century, research and professional recognition has been gained regarding the use of animal therapy. Making the animal a part of the therapeutic treatment for those with cognitive, social, and physical impairment has grown in popularity. In particular, the use of animals in therapy can greatly benefit children with autism spectrum disorders.
Different from service animals such as a seeing-eye dog servicing one person, therapy animals service many. The Good Dog Foundation, a nonprofit based in New York providing therapy services throughout the East Coast, have therapy dogs visiting treatment centers and residential schools. Their dogs are specially trained.
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) animals help physical and occupational therapists meet specific goals important to individuals. They can be used to help someone suffering from a stroke, an injury, or trauma. Use of the AAT animals foster increased mobility, strength, range of motion, balance, to sensory integration, and motor skills.
Other animals used in this type of therapy include horses. Known as hippotherapy, it is seeing growth for treatment for individuals with disabilities. This strategy is used with physical therapists to promote functional outcomes in skill areas related to gross motor ability. Occupational therapists use the movement of the horse with other standard intervention strategies to work on fine motor control, sensory integration, and functional daily living skills. Horse-back riding helps improve balance, coordination, and gross and fine motor skills. Speech-language pathologists also can use hippotherapy and other animals such as dogs to encourage speech and language.
St. Mary’s Hospital in Bayside, NY has been using animal-assisted therapy since December 1998. Their occupational therapy staff has encouraged this program so that what was a one-dog therapy has grown to include several dogs visiting numerous times per month. The children eagerly anticipate their therapy sessions and interacting with their furry friends.
Hello,
I am an Occupational Therapy graduate student at Worcester State University in Massachusetts. As my passion is Animal-Assisted Therapy, my thesis project includes conducting a survey of OTRs and COTAs who implement animals into practice and the perceived effects. My research of facilities led me to you! If you have experience with AAT, I ask you to participate in my survey to support its benefits as an adjunct to OT interventions. Please forward this to fellow OT practitioners who incorporate animals into OT!
Attached, please find my cover letter and the link to the survey.
I appreciate your time and input!
Best,
Kelly Kerber, OT/s
Worcester State University
Project title: Animal Assisted Therapy and Occupational Therapy: Settings and Perceived Effects
Investigators: Kelly Kerber, Candidate for Master of Occupational Therapy, and Joanne Gallagher Worthley, Ed. D., OTR/L
You are being asked to participate in a research study. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), as used by occupational therapy practitioners in multiple settings. The survey will inquire about demographics of the participants in order to identify regions that utilize AAT. Questions about AAT will be asked to identify types of animals employed, frequency of use, and patient disabilities/diseases/disorders and age ranges. Finally, the survey will examine the perceived effects of AAT in an occupational therapy setting. Your participation in this survey could support and advocate for Animal Assisted Therapy as a viable adjunct to occupational therapy practice. As practitioners who implement AAT as a modality, participation in this study may pave the way for current and future occupational therapists to incorporate AAT in a wide array of settings. Furthermore, this may spark further research ideas that could potentially provide findings to support AAT through evidence-based practice. While no one modality is suitable for all patients, AAT is an aspect to consider as clinicians strive to maximize their patients’ participation in meaningful occupations. I hope to have at least 40 participants respond.
There is no risk to you for completing this survey. If you desire, the results will be shared with you upon completion of the study. You may terminate the survey at any time without consequence and none of your information will be saved. This survey is anonymous—no personal information is requested and your information and response data will be saved on the secure host site (surveymonkey.com).
Thank you for taking the time to participate in this survey.
By clicking on this link, I acknowledge that I have read the above statements and understand what participation in this study entails. I understand that there are no risks to me and that I may exit the survey at any time without my data being saved.
Please click here to access the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/82FP9KR
486 Chandler Street • Worcester, Massachusetts 01602-2597 • 508- 929-8000 http://www.worcester.edu