Animal Therapy Research Paper

Florence Nightingale was the first person to recognize the therapeutic potential of animals in the late 1800s. Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing which enabled her to make such discoveries by observing the impact animals had on her medical patients. She discovered that the company of a small pet reduced anxiety in children and adults that resided in psychiatric institutions and recorded her findings in her book “Notes on Nursing”. With Nightingale’s involuntary record of these human-animal interactions, animal-assisted therapy approaches began to flourish.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an intricate brain disorder that can cause difficulties in social skills, communications, and abnormal behavior. Looking at children with ASD, researchers began investigating how to lessen the affects that ASD had on children using animals. More specifically, it was discovered that dogs could be helpful to children. “Man’s best friend” may be valuable in a way doctors and trained therapeutic professionals are not. How does interacting with a dog affect children with autism spectrum disorder?

A therapy dog is a dog used in animal-assisted therapy sessions primarily in institutions such as nursing homes, some schools, hospitals, schools, old people's homes, and prisons. They are great for giving unconditional love and gratitude to people, with no concern as to their age, race, infirmity or background. Want your dog to become one? Therapy dog training is vital in that case.

The suburban city of Coquitlam, BC is famous for its scenic landscape that includes Mountains, Lakes, Parks and recreational places. There are many veterinary clinics in Coquitlam that offer grooming, dental prophylaxis, surgery and boarding services. Most clinics have incorporated the use of modern treatment procedures such as ultrasound and laser therapy in their practice. Some of the most outstanding veterinary clinics in Coquitlam include; Lincoln Animal Hospital, Mundy Animal Hospital and Coquitlam Animal Hospital that specializes in integrated medicine. Mundy Animal Hospital was established in 1995 while Coquitlam Animal Hospital has been operating since 1978.

For thousands of years the bond between man and animal has proven to be effective in creating an emotional, healing bond. Children/people with autism also benefit from equine therapy due to the motor, emotional and sensory sensations that come with riding a horse. Equine Therapy is seen as the most mysterious yet beautiful form of intervention for Autistic people.

Test subjects in medical experiments have always been a controversial topic, but this argument is often only thought of when animals come in to play. What about the humans who get tested on unwillingly, or people who do not possess the capability to consent to such procedures? They are also in need of someone to look out for them. Throughout time, many governments have done extreme testing to move forward their population’s health and for what they call the greater good. Yet, more often than not, these test have no rules or regulations. A moral code has been established slowly after many of these ghastly occurrences became known. Even to this day, we still have people trying to bypass ethical codes such as the Nuremberg code and the

The use of alcohol in adolescents is unfortunately a huge part of young people’s lives all over the world. In their minds, alcohol plays an important role in socializing and is often times associated with determining popularity. It has been found that alcohol use and depressive feelings often occur among adolescents, and the prevalence rate of depressive symptoms increases from early adolescents, especially among women (Kleinjan, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of pet therapy on depressive symptoms among adolescents who use alcohol. From the findings of theses studies it appears that animal assisted interventions may potentially have beneficial effects on reducing anxiety and depression symptoms. All interventions used a variety of dogs in each AAT sessions. The interventions setting were grouped based and took place in mental health hospital, treatment facilities and advocacy centers. The sessions begins in a light animal assisted activity (AAA) and AAT and gradually increases to moderate. Each study session length and time varied from 1 month - 1 year and lasted 8 minutes to 1 hour long. Although our study focuses on adolescents, we

Many studies have shown that AAT is able to help a wide variety of people. Many different diseases and disabilities have been proven to benefit from AAT. For example, in Table 1 in the equine-assisted therapy article, the author explains that each type of horse therapy benefits certain people. In dressage, a type of riding where the horse and rider work together to make precision movements, helps people with Polio, Parkinson’s Disease, and traumatic head injury (Ratliffe and Sanekane 35). Yet, AAT is used for many other types of situations as well. AAT is a common treatment used for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), medical conditions, compromised medical functions, emotional difficulties, as well as behavioral and physical problems (Nimer and Lundahl 226).

North Florida Animal Hospital is a veterinary hospital located in Tallahassee, Florida. This practice was established in 1951 by Dr. Robert E. Lee. He had run this hospital until his death in 1988. Dr. George worked in the North Florida Animal Hospital upon his graduation in 1988 and purchased this practice at that time. Their veterinary services include immunization and wellness, dental care, digital radiology, internal medicine, surgery, pharmacy, and more. North Florida Animal Hospital is AHHA Accredited, The Standard of Veterinary Excellence.

Equine-assisted therapy. The use of equine-assisted therapy has been proposed as a method for facilitating positive sensory experiences for children with autism. A doctoral dissertation by Stickney (2010) finds that “the consistent, rhythmic movement of the horse as well as its warmth, appearance, smell, and furry coat sends an array of sensory signals to the central nervous system, affecting motor, visual, proprioceptive, tactile, and vestibular systems that are necessary for development of motor control” (p. 33). Preliminary research studies indicate that the experience of riding a horse can improve motor function, posture, balance, and reaction time. This can encourage positive sensory experiences, which causes the brain to release chemicals

“ Therapeutic riding horses also help increase a person’s self-esteem (Nichols 4).” Recreational riding- are people riding a horse that has a trained or certified therapeutic riding instructor (Scott 8). There are so many different hazards when interacting with horses vs. riding horses. Horseback riding is the most dangerous recreational sport. Horseback riding is popular with the therapeutic riding program (Hausberger 5). Horseback riding also helps people with disabilities by improving their balance and coordination (Nichols 11). To make horseback riding more exciting they make up games and activities for the lesson. The client will have to come in for an orientation that way the horse leader can determine which equine therapy the client needs. Most clients that do horseback riding or equine therapy do not like the change of a horse or any change at all. “Hippotherapy” is treatment with help of a horse. Hippotherapy help with both the children and adults with mild Neromusclarskeletsal Dysfunction. Hippotherapy helps improve the functional limitations (Scott 15-16). “ Some horses are trained for vaulting.” Vaulting is a type of therapy, in which the riders stand, kneel, sit, or even lay down while the horse is moving.” Humans get more of a connection while caring for the horse than you can horseback riding (Hayes 9). You are around the horse with content daily which was a great impact on the human and horse interaction (Hausberger 1-2). To do an educational benefit, they play a game with the clients. The client in the book pulls leaves while riding the horse to twist and stretch (Scott 6-7). Miscommunication with the rider and the horse have more consequences with the relationship. The most complex for the rider is to remain calm, alert, and positive at all times through the horse ride. The riders need to have their body and mind in the state of equilibrium state

Autism - Children with ASD can suffer from a difficulty focusing, communicating well with others, and responding to sensory stimuli. Results from studies done on children with ASD have shown that after exposure to AAT there were positive effects on social interaction. According to the study, when a dog was introduced to children with ASD they displayed a reduction of stress, anxiety, and irritability around others, because the animals promoted a more relaxed environment for the children (Siewertsen).

More research is needed to find if animal-assisted interventions offer substantial and reliable improvements in symptoms in children with ASD. If family has extra resources and finds that these interventions might be beneficial for their child’s symptoms, this has not yet been found to be harmful. However, it might be advisable that social skills interventions are integrated into a child’s therapy before the use of an animal to aid in these interactions is selected. It seems that animal-assisted interventions are promising for improving safety and targeting atypical sensory responsiveness. If a child with autism’s safety cannot be managed in other ways and the family is experiencing substantial burden, a service dog might be a beneficial

Animal assisted therapy includes all psychological theories and incorporates animals, such as dogs or horses, into a therapeutic treatment plan. It is used to enhance and complement traditional therapy methods, but it is not done by itself. Animal assisted therapy has been effectively used in individuals with autism, medical conditions, and trauma survivors. It may also be implemented for people with psychological disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia, and addiction. Depending on the type of therapy and the type of animal involved, you may keep the therapy animal at home and with you throughout the day for emotional support, or you might learn to ride and care for a therapy horse that is kept at an equestrian facility. Afterwards, you

As of 2012, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that one in 50 children between the ages of six and seventeen has autism spectrum disorder, with males being four times more likely than females to have these conditions (Slaughter 1). Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the brains normal development of social and communication skills. Service dogs are normally used to aid the blind, deaf or hard of hearing, and other types of disabilities. Service dogs have recently been used to help children with autism. The service dog industry has had a growing impact on the autism community, the benefits and disadvantages affect each child differently.