Companion Dogs, Making a Difference

1093 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Development of children with autism

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 social relationships and communication (Adams and Burrows, 2005). “Imagine for a moment that you are in locked in a crazy room where the lights flicker, ambient temperatures fluctuate, loud music blasts your ears, and strong odors overwhelm. This is how most autistic children experience the world on a daily basis. They are deregulated for sensory data processing, and all parts of one’s body and life are affected.” - (Hollingsworth, 2011) Companion dogs for autistic children represent an invaluable resource by playing an imperative role in creating independent living skills.

Safety is the most significant position a companion dog plays by preventing the child from running away or darting out into a dangerous situation such as a busy street. Autistic children may “display unpredictable and volatile behavior,” such as running away without warning, that could place the child in serious danger (Adams, Burrows, Spiers). Companion dogs are trained to alert parents when the child may be engaging in da...

... middle of paper ...

...05 Nov. 2011. .

Foden, Theresa, and Connie Anderson Ph.D. "Dogs, Horses, and ASD: What Are Animal-Assisted Therapies?" Kennedy Krieger Institute. 8 Mar. 2011. Web. .

Hollingsworth, Shanna. "Psychiatric Service Dogs: Children with Autism." Psychiatric Service Dog Society. 2008. Web. 5 Nov. 2011. .

Holloway, Monica. Cowboy & Wills: a Love Story. New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2009. Print.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). (2009, October 19). Autism Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm.

Pavlides, Merope. Animal-assisted Interventions for Individuals with Autism. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2008. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Essay On The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time exhibits real life situations experienced by an autistic, 15-year-old boy, from his own panorama. Christopher’s use of first person perspective ensures that his view on events are explained with accurate, detailed description, enhancing the responders understanding of how the mind of one with Asperger’s syndrome functions. This concept is elaborated on in Christopher’s struggle to become independent as the responder is able to grasp Christopher’s defensive mechanisms to dealing with stressful situations. Christopher narration “so I groaned to make the time pass quicker and not think” during a fit where his tendency to shut down and curl himself into a ball is essentially revealed substantiates his struggle to become independent as his

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Equine Therapy

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    Equine-assisted therapy, also known as equine therapy or equestrian therapy, is a type of animal-assisted therapy intended to teach, counsel, and/or rehabilitate people with disabilities. This type of experiential therapy includes activities such as: grooming and caring for, haltering and leading, tacking up, and riding horses. Each of those activities foster interactions between the rider or patient, and horse, building a bond between the human and horse. In a typical equestrian therapy setting, usually a dedicated therapeutic barn, a mental health professional and/or an “equine therapist can observe and interact with the patient in order to identify behavior patterns and process thoughts and emotions” (“What Is Equine Therapy?”). In some

    Read More

  • Characteristics of High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    Autism is a developmental disorder that appears within the first three years of a child’s life. It affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills. Autism affects 1 out of 68 children. It is also the fastest growing disability in the United States. There are multiple types of Autism, some children are considered high functioning, and some are low functioning. “High functioning” is when a child with autism can function in life, and completes jobs, and chores with little to no help. “Low functioning” is when a child with autism cannot complete simple daily tasks without help, and (or) constant supervision.

    Read More

  • Therapeutic Horseback Riding and Children with Autism Developmental Disorders

    1652 Words  | 4 Pages

    Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder that affects a person’s social interaction and communication. This disorder is mainly characterized by having difficulty with social interaction, communication, and having restricted behaviors. Difficulty with social interaction means someone will struggle to communicate their feelings/emotions, understand how others feel or think, develop peer relationships, and understand nonverbal behaviors (eye gaze, facial expressions, etc). Difficulty with communication will vary among the individual. Some individuals will develop expressive language, while others will not. The speech of those that do develop expressive language will often be repetitive, rote, and lack meaning. They may struggle with turn taking in conversation and topic maintenance. Those individuals who do not develop expressive language typically do not use other modalities to communicate, like pointing or gestures. The last characteristic of the autistic spectrum disorder is having repetitive behaviors or activities. Typically children on the spectrum will play with their toys in an unusual manner, or may prefer only one toy, movie, or activity. Changes in daily schedule are hard for children on the spectrum to adapt to; usually these children like the same daily schedule. Bass, Duchowny, and Llabre (2009) state, “It is possible that animal-assisted activities provide a multisensory environment that will prove beneficial to children with profound social and communication deficits.”

    Read More

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy in a Mental Health Perspective

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most people are familiar with service dogs and have seen them in action. Animal-assisted therapy is similar service animals in that an animal-human healing partnership is being created. However, the difference is that therapy pets are typically used to treat a mental disability whereas people with physical disabilities use service dogs to help them in many ways. Therapy animals are used in a wide variety of places, such as, hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, therapy sessions, mental healthcare facilities, and even in people’s homes. These amazing animals are used on a wide variety of different disorders, but they are utilized mostly by people suffering from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. For people with these mental health disorders, everything in live can be difficult and challenging, however with the help of animal-assisted therapy, their mood, motivation, and life can dramatically improve. Anyone who hears about these brave, loving animals soon falls in love with them. From a medical standpoint, there have been many successful studies and the support for animal-assisted therapy still continues to grow in doctors and therapists across the nation.

    Read More

  • Evolution of Dogs

    2025 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dibble, Susan. “Service dog changes life for multi-needs boy.” http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110208/news/702089899/. February 8, 2011. Daily Herald. Web. February 22, 2011.

    Read More

  • Equine-Assisted Therapy

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    Equine-Assisted therapy so far has shown commendable results. “Equestrian Therapy” acknowledges that “it is a fairly new technique for autism and other disorders that has been providing promising results such that many are consistently utilize therapy animals in their treatment programs and only for autism but also for people with Asperger’s syndrome. Equine therapy for special needs is an animal-assisted therapy that helps children with a wide variety of disabilities. This type of therapy makes use of riding horses as an effective way of providing physical and emotional therapy as well as psychological benefits” (“Equestrian Therapy”). Equine Therapy helps develop the motor skills of a child while they learn to ride a horse. The calming

    Read More

  • ABA Therapy and Autism

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    Office of Communications and Public Liaison. (2013, November 6). NIH. Retrieved from National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm#243513082

    Read More

  • The Truths of Autism

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every year doctors diagnose thousands of adults and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Due to the growing awareness of autism and recent developments in technology, scientists and doctors can now discover and observe the effects of autism on society, and people. Starting with its discovery, researchers have been able to diagnose people more effectively. Doctors are beginning to discover what causes this disorder, and are currently trying to find ways to prevent and treat it. Many places have opened their doors to people with this disorder, creating autistic friendly environments where people are patient and understanding. Schools have also become accommodating to autistic children and adults. Autism also puts great strain on family and home lives.

    Read More

  • Guide Dogs

    383 Words  | 1 Pages

    My report is going to be on guide dogs. In this I will show how the guide dogs are used in everyday life. I will show how they are trained to help the blind. I will show you about guide dogs and service dogs. I will also show you the dog breeds used for guide and service dogs. In this I will show you the importance of guide dogs to the disabled.

    Read More

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    Animal-assisted therapy is often confused with service dog; it is two completely different type of usage of animals, which usually are dogs. It is commonly misunderstood because animal-assisted therapy and service dog are working animals with individuals with disability although according to (Hart-Cohen, 2009) service dogs is when an individual with disability is in need of help in order to function in daily life such as answering the door, crossing the street and the list goes on. While animal-assisted therapy animals are trained to offer comfort companionship, and affection to those in need in different situations such as courtrooms, nursing homes, schools, hospitals, and other places (Hart-Cohen, 2009). The point of animal-assisted therapy is to be available in specific situations to offer comfort to individuals. In order to become an assisted animal, the animal must undergo training, to receive a certified to prove that the animal is qualified to be able to control his or her behavior and is able to work with an...

    Read More

  • Pup-Cake The Service Dog Case Study

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    A 7-year-old girl with autism was turned away by the mall santa in Mission Viejo, California last week because he was allegedly afraid of her service dog. The girl and her parents waited in line for over a half hour in anticipation to meet santa and sit on his lap. When the Santos Family approached santa, the young girl and her service dog were not received well and were turned away. The Santos family has had “Pup-cake”, the girls service dog, for many years and have never encountered a problem like this.

    Read More

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)

    2692 Words  | 6 Pages

    Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual settings, is designed to promote improvement in a human’s physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic, Rusu, and Szamoskozi (2012) provides an analysis in order to determine the value of AAT. Both dogs and horses that were trained for AAT were examined and studied to determine their effectiveness in treating patients with psychological disorders. The results showed that both therapy dogs and horses were valuable aids to the therapeutic process. The analysis suggests that proper training and repeated sessions were necessary for proper treatment of patients. In addition, certain disorders may benefit more than others in regards to AAT. For example, a child with ADHD may not benefit from a therapy dog’s presence, for it may worsen the hyperactive symptoms. On the other hand, a patient with depression may benefit greatly from the same animal (Chitic, Rusu, Szamoskozi, 2012). These findings are a perfect starting point to answering the research question: Do patients who engage in AAT display a betterment in their overall emotional well-being, as well as show improvement in their interpersonal interactions...

    Read More

  • The Etiology of Autism

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the United States, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 1 in 80 and 1 in 240, for an average of 1 in 110 children have an autism spectrum disorder, “ASD” (Nirv, Shah 2011). According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, up to six out of every 1,000 children may be diagnosed with some form of autism. In addition, boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism. This means that as many as 1.5 million Americans today are believed to have some form of autism. Unfortunately, the numbers appear to be increasing rapidly. Autism is a disability that frequently appears during the first three years of life. It is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain and impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills (Bee & Boyd, 2009). It is the most prevalent developmental disorder to date. Autism is one of five disorders coming under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterized by "severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development," including social interaction and communications skills (Zager, 2006). The etiology of autism is a topic of controversial debate, while researchers strive to achieve a common objective. The goal is to identify the cause of autism to understand the complex interplay between environment and gene regulation (NCBI, 2009). Although individuals with autism have existed for many centuries it was not recognized and labeled until mid 20th century. Therefore, early detection, intervention and an individual educational plan are essentials for the progress of ASD.

    Read More

  • The Most Common Treatment of Autism

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    Autism is a disease. One of the main characteristics is having social problems. Children with Autism have trouble interacting with other children. They won’t play with other children. They could be so focus...

    Read More

More about Companion Dogs, Making a Difference

Open Document