I Want This Book!

I was trying to research some activities that one can use within the classroom with a classroom pet for AAT purposes, and I stumbled upon this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Assisted-Therapy-Activities-Motivate-Inspire/dp/0976696584

It seems like an awesome book that can be used by educators wanting to use AAT within their classrooms, as well as therapists that use animals for therapeutic purposes. It just seems like a very helpful resource that can be right at your fingertips, so that you don't have to do a ton of research on the Internet...I wonder if there are more books out there that are just as helpful on this topic??

News Clip

I wanted to find another good video clip that discussed AAT and its importance :) I feel like I am posting too many articles, so I'm trying to spice things up a bit...Anyway, this is what I found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbBguMj7bEg

It discusses different cases of animals working with children with disabilities to encourage independence. I found it extremely interesting and inspirational :) I really want to be part of an AAT program so that way I can include it within my classroom from time to time.

I also found this website when researching animal assisted therapy and its use in a classroom:

http://www.chimoproject.ca/s_5.asp

The site lists ways that animals are beneficial in a classroom environment. There were two things that stuck out to me on this site. A child that has disruptive tendencies can be seated to a calming classroom pet to help distract the child and soothe their behaviors with its calming personality (i.e. a rabbit, fish, etc.). The other thing that caught my interest was the fact that an animal can encourage children to be more social. A teacher can assign a shy or withdrawn child to be the animal's "guardian" so that other children will socialize with the particular child about the classroom pet :) These are some very great ideas to use in the classroom with class pets! Sometimes children with disabilities can be withdrawn and shy when interacting with their peers-so I find these methods to be very beneficial in creating a more cohesive classroom environment...

Why is AAT So Important for Children with Disabilities?

Found another good article with some interesting stories inside about the benefits of AAT with children with disabilities:

http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.42

The article stated that the three most common pets were cats, dogs, and aquarium fish...I really wish I could have found more on therapy involving fish :( Anyway, there was a cute story about three rats visiting a special education classroom and the positive interactions that the children with autism had with the animals. They were very engaged and gentle when working with the rats and anticipated the weekly visits. The article also discussed some of the concerns that parents may have when it comes to animal-assisted therapy (asthma, allergies, or other potential diseases). However, if precautions are taken-these things can be avoided :) Anyway, I am glad I am finding some stories and information about the use of animals within a classroom setting-that just proves to me that it isn't such a far fetched idea...Leaving you with an adorable picture:

http://www.kushtush.com/pets.jpg

Good Article

http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.42

Here is an awesome article I found while searching through some journals on the UC library site. There was a segment that discussed how a little girl with dyslexia benefited from working with Willie, a Labrador that helped boost her confidence by being a non-judgmental audience member for when she read aloud. I think this is a great idea. This is the sort of things I wanted to come across in my research, because I really wanted to see animal-assisted therapy being used within a school setting. However, I know most classrooms would not be able to have a dog full time within the classroom...But a volunteer can maybe come once a week, or even once a day during reading time or during some other subject that it would be beneficial for certain students.

Again, the article lists the benefits of AAT, but adds to my earlier posts with decreasing loneliness and anxiety. There was another story about a boy named Bruce that grew up in an abusive household, and how AAT helped him become more nurturing, empathetic, and respectful-as well as gain self worth and acceptance. Anyway, I thought these were some great positive stories that involved AAT. I just honestly feel as if educators should look more into including animals within the classroom as a strategy, instead of viewing a class pet or pet visitor as being a hassle. If they plan for a classroom pet or pet visitor accordingly, there shouldn't be too many issues with fitting it into the curriculum :)

Another Interesting Article

I was researching animal-assisted therapy and its use of snakes and other reptiles but came upon this article instead:

http://http://www.catholicnewworld.com/archive/cnw2000/0709/anim_0709.htm

It started off discussing how the Grove Animal Ambassador Program brought a variety of animals to a workshop hosted by Catholic Charities. I was really hoping to find more about snakes, and it did discuss them a small bit. However, the article only went into detail about how snakes were something that Alzheimer's patients find interesting as well as others. When the article discussed children with disabilities, it went into more detail about the use of dogs (the most common AAT animal that is used). It did discuss something interesting: dogs can help encourage children that do not speak to start speaking because they want to interact with and communicate with the dog. This definitely makes sense!

Another group discussed was the Canine Companions for Independence, which includes dogs with very special skills to help those with disabilities such as blindness or deafness. The organization provides dogs for free to those who can prove that a dog would benefit the disabled individual and make a difference in their daily lives. I think this is a wonderful concept, considering trained dogs with these particular skills can be hard to afford for some families that already have a number of expenses due to having to meet the specific needs of their child with a disability. With the way things are looking, dogs seem to be the most beneficial animal to use when it comes to AAT...I am still trying my best to find more, though :)

Toledo Training Facility

I was wanting to look up some things about fish that have been used for animal-assisted therapy, however, I came across a site that has information about different facilities throughout the United States that train animals for AAT. I went through and found a good site about a place in Toledo, Ohio that trains dogs for therapeutic reasons.

http://www.toledodogtraining.com/deltasocietytherapydog.asp

The Delta Society is the only national registry that requires volunteer training and screening of animal/handler teams-which I find to be very interesting :) There is a lot of information about what they train dogs to do and what to handle. Anyway, thought this was interesting-but I couldn't find a site for the Cincinnati area...I will keep looking :) I still want to find more of fish, though...

Birds!

Oh my goodness! I have searched and searched and have found so little on the use of birds for AAT. It's not that it isn't being used-people just are not posting much about it! Anyway, I found an interesting article about the use of birds at a program called the Deveraux Children's Center near Georgetown, Washington for children with behavioral disorders.

http://www.petpublishing.com/birdtimes/articles/pickles.shtml

Pickles, a 2 year old greater Indian hill Mynah bird is one of the children's favorites to visit :) The bird is an iridescent bird with a bright orange and yellow beak. She can speak, and the children love to hear her talk and enjoy interacting with her. I wish I could find more! I'm going to research some articles on ebscohost or something...I really want to find more about birds. This was a pretty cute article, though.