title: Animal-assisted therapy for children with pervasive developmental disorders.
abstract: The present study quantitatively evaluated the effects of interaction with dogs on children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), disorders characterized by lack of social communications and abilities. While interacting with a therapist, children were exposed to three different conditions: (a) a nonsocial toy (ball), (b) a stuffed dog, and (c) a live dog. Prosocial and nonsocial interactions were evaluated in terms of both behavioral and verbal dimensions. Results show that children exhibited a more playful mood, were more focused, and were more aware of their social environments when in the presence of a therapy dog. These findings indicate that interaction with dogs may have specific benefits for this population and suggest that animal-assisted therapy (AAT) may be an appropriate forrm of therapy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D004285:Dogs; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans