Occupational Therapy Incorporating Animals for Children with Autism: A Pilot Investigation - 0 views
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scamarata1 on 16 Oct 16This study compared language use and social interaction in children with autism who received two forms of occupational therapy. The first form was using standard techniques and the other form incorporated animals. Twenty-two children between the ages of 7 and 13 from a public school in Virigina received both forms of therapy in a school based occupational therapy program for children with autism. The results suggest that the children had a greater use of language and social interaction in sessions incorporating animals when compared to sessions using standard occupational therapy techniques. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that the therapeutic use of animals may be an effective way to engage a wide variety of therapy clients, as well as to enhance the effectiveness of established occupational therapy techniques.