Animal-Assisted Interventions in Special Needs Schools: What Works? (original) (raw)
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Take time to “paws”: a quality improvement project utilizing facility dogs for staff support
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Supporting the resilience and well-being of frontline nursing staff and medical professionals is critically important. This quality improvement project aimed to assess the impact of facility dog visits on the well-being of frontline nursing staff and medical professionals, both individually and at the unit level. Over three months, facility dogs, their handlers, and members of the staff resilience team visited outpatient and inpatient nursing areas, engaging staff in brief interactions. Surveys were administered to participants before visit (pre-visit), immediately after visits, and post-visit. These surveys assessed demographic information, individual mood, and perceived unit mood. Response to the visits was captured through immediate and post-visit surveys, while burnout was evaluated in pre- and post-visit surveys. Open-ended comments were also elicited from respondents. Overall, 87 unit visits were conducted, involving over 500 hematology or oncology frontline healthcare professionals, and 792 surveys were completed across three timepoints. Most respondents identified as inpatient nurses. Immediately following facility dog visits, more than 90% of respondents reported improved individual and unit mood, and over 70% reported sustained improvements in unit mood in the post-visit survey. Respondents’ comments reinforced the benefits of facility dog visits for staff wellness and resilience. Facility dog visits promote the well-being of pediatric hematology/oncology nurses, both individually and at the unit level, and should be scheduled regularly and frequently. This project highlights the importance of supporting the well-being of healthcare professionals and is relevant for individual healthcare professionals, the institutions they serve, and the patients under their care.
Children
For some students, school success is not a simple matter. A growing, innovative approach that supports students’ functioning at school is programs in which animals are involved in education. The involvement of animals, especially dogs, in education is known as animal-assisted education (AAE). A literature review of AAE indicated a positive influence of AAE programs on the quality of learning and social emotional development in children. This study explored whether AAE positively impacts the social and emotional outcomes of elementary school students aged between 8 and 13 years through mixed methods. The methods used were a survey and an observational study. The survey section of the study showed that students participating in the program with the dogs rated themselves, after the intervention period, significantly higher in terms of self-confidence and had a more positive score for relationships with other students after the intervention. As rated by their teachers, after the interve...
Exploring Animal-Assisted Programs with Children in School and Therapeutic Contexts
Early Childhood Education Journal, 2010
Animal-Assisted programs with children are becoming increasingly popular in school and therapeutic settings. This article provides an overview of the benefits accrued by children as well as the concerns with programs which involve animals, and therapy dogs in particular, in these environments. Research over the past 30 years indicates that therapy dogs may offer physiological, emotional, social, and physical support for children. The distinguishing features of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) are characterized by the supplemental inclusion of a trained therapy dog in reaching an intervention goal in therapeutic environments, and as a supplement to an educational objective in school contexts. The general assumptions underlying AAT with children are that although therapy dogs are interactive, children seem to perceive them as non-judgemental participants who are outside of the complications and expectations of human relationships. This unique interaction may offer children a valuable form of social and emotional support in educational and therapeutic settings.
Animal-assisted education: Perception of teachers and parents on the impact of the DOG project
Global journal of ecology, 2024
Introduction: Research regarding Animal-Assisted Education (AAE) is a relatively new fi eld. Due to the growing number of programs in the fi eld, investigating AAE interventions is important. The aim of this study was to gain insight into teachers' and parents'/caregivers' perceptions of the impacts of a specifi c form of Animal-Assisted Service (AAS, formerly Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) namely, an Animal-Assisted Education (AAE) program for primary school students, as offered in the Netherlands. Materials and methods: This study was designed as an exploratory qualitative study, executed by means of interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire. Twelve teachers and ten parents/caregivers were interviewed. The analysis started with open coding and was followed by axial and selective coding. Results: There is signifi cant agreement regarding the positive infl uence of AAE on the perception of teachers and parents. Both notice an impact beyond the context of the AAE sessions in the areas of communication, social-emotional development, self-confi dence, and environmental factors. Teachers also note that the AAE project has provided them with insights that infl uence their professional development. Conclusion: It can be cautiously stated that 10 sessions, according to the DOG project, had a positive impact on the social-emotional development of elementary school students according to their parents and teachers. Further research on what AAE means for students is recommended. Considering the unforeseen and impactful outcome of this playful interaction initiative on teachers, it is advised to conduct subsequent research to further explore the underlying mechanisms, aiming to enhance the professional development of teachers.
Service Animals and Pet Therapy in Schools: Synthesizing a Review of the Literature
Exceptionality Education International, 2021
As the academic and social-emotional needs of students in schools continue to increase, so too does the presence of dogs in educational spaces. This article aims to present an overview of past and present animal-assisted intervention practices in school settings. This comprehensive literature review examines the current state of research within this field of study. Data from 29 publications were selected according to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results highlight three categories in which the presence of dogs in schools have an impact: social-emotional, cognitive, and physiological. Challenges to program implementation include health risks, cultural context, and negative effects on the animal. Due to the lack of school-based research, more study is needed, especially in order to understand the effect of dogs on the social-emotional learning of students. Finally, the welfare and training of the animals involved should be taken into consideration, and regulations regar...
Getting Children BARK Ready! : lesson plan for therapy dog handlers in schools
2013
We have developed an educational program for children to provide information on the proper etiquette when around dogs and to prepare them for the responsibilities of dog ownership. The program would use therapy dogs to give children in small groups real interactions and hands-on experience with a dog. The class could be offered by certified therapy dog handlers at schools, community events or summer camps. Compensation for the hours served in providing the dog etiquette program would be facilitated through a community exchange or time bank, giving the handler and the school/organization an incentive to be involved in a positive way with their community.
School-Based Dogs, their Use and Effectiveness: A Phenomenological Study
2019
According to the research, full-time school-based dogs can contribute significantly to a positive environment as well as have a positive impact on children and young people’s social and emotional development, behaviour and enthusiasm towards academia. The research comprised of mixed method approach, phenomenological study. Findings support past research.
Dogs Therapy for Children with Motor Disabilities
OPUS Uluslararası Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2021
Dog therapy is the application of specially trained dogs to achieve general well-being or treatment in different categories of disabilities. Like other animals used for therapeutic purposes, dogs accept, offer comfort, do not condemn and are a great companion during treatment and therapy. Dog therapy builds on the prior existing connection between humans and animals. Engaging with a friendly dog can enable improvements in many physical and mental difficulties. It can help decrease blood pressure and improve the cardiovascular health in general. It can release endorphins, too which ensue a calming effect. This can help ease pain, decrease stress, and enhance child's psychological state in general. Dog therapy can be used in various ways. Determined objectives are significant part of the therapy, and the progress should be registered with follow up during the structured sessions. The aims of the dog therapy programs involve: enriching motor skills and synchronized movement, reinforcing assisted or autonomous movement, increasing self-esteem, enriching verbal communication, improving the social skills development, increasing the desire to join in activities, enriching interactions with others, stimulating the determination to exercise. This research is a qualitative study that aimed to investigate the effect of dog therapy on students with motor disabilities. The realization of the research took place within three months. The research was conducted in children with motor disabilities, between the ages of 7 and 8 by a special educator and experienced trainer at the Special Center for dog therapy in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. The research was organized as a case study format. Researches indicate that the presence of a dog during the therapies leads to improvement in children mood, enrichment in their will to actively participate during the treatments, expression of emotions easily, improvement in communication and psychomotor development and achievement of a range of physiological benefits.
ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY (AAT) IN A SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Background Pets and animal companions have a beneficial influence in the social, cognitive and emotional lives of their human companions. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) capitalizes on this special human-animal bond by using trained animals as co-therapists alongside their human therapists to enhance the social and emotional well-being of people in clinical and non-clinical settings. There are many studies exploring the effectiveness of this approach but much of the research is located in the American, European and East-Asian countries while documentation of its application in India is limited to anecdotal accounts and conference proceedings. Being a relatively new therapy in India, this paper aims to inform practitioners about the process and possible challenges to be considered while planning and implementation of AAT as a schoolbased mental health program for children with special needs. Methodology Data was collected using semi-structured interview with therapists working in schools catering to special needs children in Mumbai and greater Mumbai area. Conclusions The study highlights lack of awareness, cultural beliefs and fear of animals, safety concerns, training of therapists and funding as challenges faced by therapists in practice. Deliberations on the importance of education/awareness about this approach, training requirements, need for documentation and outcome-based studies are put forth.