Autism Spectrum Disorder ( Asd ) Essay

In the field of therapy, there are numerous of therapy available out there for different type of individuals and situations as well. There is one type of therapy that usually contains people and animal, it is animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that brings animals and individuals with physical and/or emotional needs together to perform the therapy. Animal-assisted therapy tend to be focused on individuals either children or elderly for them to be able to connect with the animal thus feeling comfortable talking with the therapist. Pet therapy works for all ages, whether sick or not (Lanchnit, 2011). Although, this paper, most of the focus is on animal-assisted therapy towards children using dogs.

For a number of children with autism having a companion dog is the difference between life and death. Methodically trained guide dogs help create an environment where autistic children are comfortable enough to live a more ordinary lifestyle. Autism spectrum disorder is a major public health problem that is the most common neurological disorder affecting 1 out of every 110 births in the US (Autism Society, 2009). ASDs can range in severity from Asperger Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism where the child can function relatively well in society, to autistic disorder or classical ASD, which severely inhibits the child’s ability to socialize or communicate (NINDS). Autism manifests itself most strikingly as impairments in formation of

Service dogs have positive effects on healthy children, but do they have positive effects on children who have autism? Studies show, that healthy children who have dogs do in fact serve as a “social catalyst” (Viaua, R., Arsenault-Lapierre, G., Fecteau, S., Champagne, N., Walker, C., & Lupien, S, 2010), and reduce cortisol levels. Cortisol is directly related to fat, protein, carbohydrate metabolism, maintaining blood glucose, immune responses, anti-inflammatory reactions, blood pressure, heart and blood vessel tone and contraction, and central nervous system activation. Cortisol tests are conducted to find problems of the pituitary gland or adrenal glands, such as making too much or too little hormones. In the study conducted, forty-two children with Autism Syndrome Disorder were given a service dog

I’ll be getting an autism service dog soon, and I’m really looking forward to it. I think the dog will be a great help to me as I finish up high school and prepare for college. Recently, I was telling my friend about my dog, andshe wasn’t sure how my service dog would be different from a regular dog.I realized that many people probably don’t know much about them.

Samantha is 4 years old and has two brothers and a beagle. At first, her parents noticed that she had a few problems such as slow speech, avoiding social situations, and lack of bonding. Samantha’s pediatrician suggested a screening for Autism for Samantha. Once she was diagnosed with Autism,

A therapy dog is skilled to care and offer comfort to patients in hospitals, retirement homes, schools, catastrophe area, and people with learning complications. From a different perspective, a service dog is an assistance dog trained specifically to help persons with disabilities including autism, hearing and visual difficulties. The dogs aid cognitive therapy enabling the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) victims to expose themselves gradually to feelings and thoughts reminding them of the past. The dogs offer comfort, affection, and companion that enable the victims to relax triggering the sense of flashback within them. Flashback is critical in the treatment process of PTSD.

Equine-assisted interventions. A study by Jenkins and Reed (2013) examined the ways that participating in equine-assisted interventions impacted children with autism’s social behavior in multiple contexts. They observed children (N=7) who were participating in a therapeutic horseback riding program both at the center and at home to find if this intervention altered the children’s social behaviors. The results did not indicate that these interventions produced significant changes in children’s affect, off-task behavior, problem behavior, compliance, or language in program or home observations. However, numerous parents verbally reported that there were changes in their child’s language abilities at home and school. This indicates that parental

In a recent study conducted by Rebecca Johnson, Ph.D., RN, of the University of Missouri-Columbia Center for the Study of Animal Wellness showed that when humans pet a dog, within minutes there is a huge amount of beneficial hormones known to be associated with health and feelings of well-being.(Becker par. 2) These hormones are called beta endorphin, prolactin, dopamine, oxytocin, and beta phenylethylamine (Becker par. 2). The hormones that are released from the interaction between the animal and the human allow the patients to feel more blissful and trusting. Along with being emotionally benefited from working with animals in assisted therapy; people can benefit physically. For example, people who have physical

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

However, there is no empirical research proving the efficacy of DAT. In the first literature review examined, O’Haire (2012) examined several different empirical studies in order to attempt to close the gap of lack of evidence in Animal assisted intervention (AAI) with children who have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She hoped to do three things: “(a) describe the characteristics of AAI for ASD, (b) evaluate the state of the evidence base, and (c) summarize the reported outcomes of AAI for ASD” (O’Haire, 2012). She narrowed it down to a total of 14 studies that fit the criteria she was looking for. Of these 14, the participants were seen an average of 40 minutes per session, for 13 session for 12 weeks. The outcomes of her review concluded that although AAI has seen to improve ASD; most improvement in social interaction, there is a methodological weakness about these studies. There is no actual proof to these claims; further research will be needed. Similarly, Fiksdal and colleagues (2012) looked at a series of studies done on dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT). They explained that because of the desperation of the parents and because of lack of other effective studies DAT is a popular therapy route. DAT is most often advertised through social media; television, newspaper, movies and more. While there are personal statements of improvement in

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.

Through the current study, O’Haire, McKenzie, McCune, and Slaughter (2013) examined the integration of animals into the classroom to find if this improves the social functioning of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The authors define animal-assisted activity (AAA) as “activities with animals that provide opportunities for motivational, educational, recreational, and/or therapeutic benefits without the presence of specified treatment goals or objectives” (O’Haire, McKenzie, McCune, & Slaughter, 2013, p. 163). Previous research has focused on animal-assisted therapy (AAT), which is a guided intervention led by a trained professional. It is important to study AAA because this does not have to be led by a trained professional and

Therapy does not always mean sitting in an office talking to a psychologist. Sometimes it could mean someone going to a dentist appointment with a dog by his or her side or even riding a horse. Animal assisted therapy is treatment focusing on relationships between humans and other animals, and the human-animal bond in clinical and social settings (Giaquinto, 595). Although it has been proven to provide a handful of benefits to different types of people, incorporating animal therapy in public facilities continues to be debated (Ward, 198). Throughout the years, different types of programs have come about to specialize to certain people or groups (Kršková, 51). Animal assisted therapy is a growing subject that can provide major health advantages

Wright, H., Hall, S., Hames, A., Hardiman, J., & Mills, R. (2015). Acquiring a pet dog significantly reduces stress of primary carers for children with autism spectrum disorder: A prospective case control study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(8), 2531-2540. Retrieved from

I am very passionate about working with kids with autism. They have such amazing personalities and I feel like people don’t see past the disability to the unique person they are. For several years I worked at a residential facility for kids on the spectrum. I was a direct care staff that worked one on one with them to work on their goals their treatment plan was focusing on. My passion to help kids with autism comes from my previous experience working with these kids and watching them grow and learn new skills. This transformation that I watched happen and helped be a part of with these kids made me want to help more kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are a lot of skills that need to be taught to these children. Socialization, communication, and positive behavior are just a few kids with autism need help improving. I believe that the earlier that you teach a child these skills the more successful they will be. Early intervention has had a positive outcome within many research experiments that professionals have done. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) also requires schools to teach kids with disabilities alongside typically developed kids as much as possible.