The effectiveness of two week dolphin-assisted therapy was compared to the effectiveness of six month conventional physical and speech-language therapy. Data were analyzed using a multiple baseline single subject across settings design, for 47 children with severe disabilities (20 females, 27 males), of multiple etiologies. Children were placed in a physical therapy group (n = 17, mean age = 6 years, 8 months) and a speech language group (n = 30, mean age = 6 years 5 months). Standardized charting procedures were used to measure acquisition of independent motor and speech-language skills. Use of t tests for nonindependent samples indicates that relative to conventional long-term therapy, dolphin-assisted therapy, as practiced by Dolphin Human Therapy, achieves positive results more quickly and is also more cost effective.

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Orienting nonverbal responses and verbal responses of eight children with mental disabilities interacting in water with dolphins and in water with favorite toys away from dolphins were recorded and analyzed on videotape. Significant improvements in hierarchical cognitive responses occurred when interaction with dolphins was used as reinforcement compared with improvements made when the reinforcement used was a favorite toy. Water work with dolphins evoked a greater number of and higher level responses than without dolphins.

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A six-session eating disorder prevention program was completed with three samples: middle school, high school, and college females. The program was intended to promote resiliency factors while mitigating risk factors that had been identified earlier by hierarchical multiple regression analyses and subsequent path analyses from a large epidemiological sample (Phelps, Johnston, & Augustyniak, 1999). Utilizing this etiological model, the program was successful in: (a) facilitating an acknowledgement of the ubiquitous pressures for attainment of the model skeletal look; (b) changing attitudes about standards of beauty; (c) altering the participants' current and future intentional use of pharmaceutical aids or disordered eating behaviors (e.g., fasting, strenuous dieting, purging, excessive exercise) as methods of weight control; (d) building physical self-esteem and personal competence; and (e) reducing body dissatisfaction. To facilitate replication, the article includes a description of the objectives and activities for each of the six sessions. It is recommended that future research efforts focus on testing the long-term efficacy of this program.