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.

Interesting News Clip

Laura provided me the link to another youtube video that was off to the side of the ones I had previously posted in related links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wId54ElSMbU&feature=fvw

This news clips discusses how a Washington County community chipped in and got a $13,000 service dog to help a little 7 year old boy that has been diagnosed with autism. However, the boy's school will not let the service dog inside the building when the parents come to pick him up for school or drop him off. The young boy is lacking in social skills and has many outbursts, and the service dog has been helping him with controlling these outbursts and provides a friend for the 7 year old. The school claims that the dog cannot be let in the building due to some children being allergic or afraid of the dog. The father of the boy brings up that they are being discriminated against, considering if the dog was a service dog and was helping an individual that was blind-the school would allow it.

The family does not want any special privileges, such as allowing the dog to accompany the boy throughout the school day. They just want the approval to have the dog in the entrance area of the school. The dog is a trained animal that has proved his positive benefit on the child. I just think it's absolutely disheartening that the school is discouraging something that is obviously helping the child. I just thought I'd post this up and see what all of you thought about it, because I was worried you may not see the link that Laura posted in my comments...Anyway, this sort of shows that some schools really do not promote the use AAT-which I think is a shame...Especially because there have been many studies completed to show how it can help.

Details About Some Animals Used for AAT

Hello! I got my laptop back this evening :) Now I can keep on top of blogging again...I found this website:

http://www.bluedominoes.com/content/therapeutic-effects-animals-use-animals-therapy

This gives really great details about three different types of animals that are used often for AAT with children with disabilities (dogs, horses, and dolphins). The website goes into specifics with how dogs can benefit children with autism, dyslexia and delayed reading disabilities, and children with ADHD. Horses also have a similar effect with children with autism and ADHD.

Dolphin assisted therapy began in the the 1970's with psychologist David Nathanson, whom believed interaction with dolphins improved children's' attention span and enhanced their cognitive processes. It is believed that dolphin therapy works well with improving speech, behaviors, and motor skills.

There are also some book recommendations toward the bottom of the page :) It's a great website that really pinpoints the exact benefits of each of these animals.

AAT Videos

So sorry I haven't been on here much this week! My laptop (which is the only computer I use for homework) has a virus. It is in a shop currently being worked on...3-5 business days, apparently. I am bumming off of my parents' desktop computer right now :) Anyway, I found these really interesting videos that show the effects of animal-assisted therapy on a child with autism. There are 5 in total.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb6Qv0NDDXk (1st one)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow2lkHn58zk (2nd one)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHbXVxheEL8 (3rd one)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLn5DZJ2fAc (4th one)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKyT2-3pFpw (5th one-just some clips of therapy-kind of a conclusion)

The videos start off with introducing the study with the autistic child, Zachary, and the dog used for therapy (Henry). Zachary has no interest in Henry at first, but by the end of the videos, he sees Henry as a friend and enjoys interacting with him without being told the type of activities to engage in. Henry is a great motivator for Zachary, as well. There was a situation in which Zachary had absolutely not interest in cutting with scissors. After being introduced to treat giving as a motivator and cutting out treat shapes-he started to pick up scissors without being asked to. He became very self competent. It's just amazing to see this in action! Let me know what you think :)

Scientific Take on AAT

http://www.animalangelsfoundation.com/about-aat/scientific-aat.php?height=695

This website has a ton of interesting information :) I mostly read through the part that I posted the link to, but if you click on the links in the left column of the page-there are a number of links with neat information as well. The Biophilia Hypothesis discusses how in early human history, humans needed to know about plants and animals for survival purposes. It is because of this, people can learn skills and recover faster when animals are used in therapy, rather than only having a therapist present. Children with disabilities may not respond well or relate to other humans, thus creating a bond with animals instead. I'm not saying that this is the case for every individual with a disability-this scientific theory just discusses why some may relate to animals better than other humans :)

The second scientific theory on why AAT works is the Yerkes-Dosdon Law. This predicts an inverted U-shaped function between arousal and performance. This basically says that AAT is effective because a human therapist may cause increased stress and arousal on the child, and an animal can counteract the stress with its relaxing and playful nature. I found all of these theories to be pretty interesting-click on the link posted to read more in-depth. The site also has a lot about the positive aspects of using AAT and why it should be used. Check that out too! Animal-assisted therapy has such a positive effect on children with disabilities that tend to be withdrawn and uncommunicative...I want to find more information about cases where it has worked and if it has ever been used in a classroom...Wish me luck! It's hard to find new information about this topic...Anyway, hope you enjoyed the scientific take on AAT!