What is animal assisted therapy?
Animal assisted speech and language therapy is the planned inclusion of an animal in a treatment session. Interactions with animals can be used to:
- Increase children’s motivation and participation in therapy.
- Provide an engaging and meaningful way to target speech, language, and social communication needs.
Animals available to help in my sessions include alpacas, goats, rabbits, ducks, and donkeys.
Research related to animal assisted therapy
The Human Animal Bond Research Institute report that “People are happier and healthier in the presence of animals”. Research provides evidence of positive human-animal interaction having the following benefits:
- Increased motivation and participation in treatment
- Increased social awareness
- Increased display of social behaviours including talking, making physical contact and looking at faces
- Improved positive social behaviours including becoming more receptive to social advances from peers
- Improved socio-emotional functioning
- Increased independence
- Decreased feelings of isolation
- Decreased stress
- Increased oxytocin levels in the brain and changes in the levels of cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine
Animal Assisted Therapy Facts/Myths:
- Including animals in speech and language therapy is not the same as “Animal Assisted Activities” or “pet therapy”. To learn more about the terminology related to animals in therapy you can visit Pet Partners.
- Animal assisted speech and language therapy is not a separate type of therapy or service, but a tool or approach used during a therapy session. Therefore, it should never be billed for as an ‘extra’ service.
- Targets should be written for speech and language therapy regardless of the treatment tools and approaches that will be used. The treatment approaches will be selected by the therapist and may be changed at any time in order to treat each client most effectively.