Effects of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy on the Social and Communication Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Hernández-Espeso, Nazaret; Martínez, Eva Rosa; Sevilla, Dolores Grau; Mas, Luis Abad

doi:10.1080/08927936.2021.1885140

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…An updated search also identified another study taking a non-equine-based approach by Hernández-Espeso et al (2021) in which dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) was delivered to 48 children with ASD, involving structured games and activities in water equivalent to those with horses in equine-assisted services. Significant improvements in VABS 2 socialization were reported in the DAT group; however, these improvements were not significantly different to those found in an active therapy without dolphins control.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies were, however, limited by similar issues identified in previous trials, such as a lack of blinding in outcome assessment. The remaining study by Hernández-Espeso et al (2021) evaluated the efficacy of a dolphin-assisted intervention and reported significant improvements, which did not differ significantly from an active control. This demonstrates the importance of trials using active controls for animal-assisted interventions, especially in the case of ‘exotic’ animal interventions where costs are likely to be significantly higher than equivalent interventions without animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Calm with horses? A systematic review of animal-assisted interventions for improving social functioning in children with autism

Sissons

Blakemore

Shafi

et al. 2022

Autism

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The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effect of animal-assisted interventions on social functioning in children with autism spectrum disorder, based on evidence from randomized control trials. Included studies were articles published in English, with school aged children from 4 to 18 years with autism spectrum disorder. Databases searched were MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL and Zoological Record. Data extraction from included studies included demographics and sample features, interventions and controls descriptions, outcome measures, study funding and descriptive statistics. Risk of bias was assessed, considering randomization, allocation concealment, blinding, attrition, selective reporting and other sources of bias. Studies were synthesized narratively based on the animal approach taken and the use of waitlist versus active controls. Nine studies were included reporting across eight trials. Studies overall reported improvements in social functioning following equine-assisted services, with preliminary evidence suggesting improvements are sustained in the short and medium term. Insufficient evidence was available to draw conclusions on the efficacy of other animal-assisted interventions. Future research should aim to address the limitations common to included designs. Lay abstract Children with autism typically experience difficulties interacting socially with others when compared to their non-autistic peers. Establishing how effective interventions are for improving social functioning is important to help inform what should be offered to children with autism. This study reviewed how effective interventions that involved interaction with a live animal, known as animal-assisted interventions, are in improving social functioning in children with autism. A systematic search of the evidence on this topic found nine studies, which were explored for the effectiveness of animal-assisted interventions and the quality of methods used. Overall, these studies showed improvements in social functioning following equine-assisted or therapeutic horse-riding interventions, with initial evidence showing improvements are sustained in the short and medium term. However, several issues were identified, which limit the strength of any conclusions that can be drawn from this evidence. For example, in many studies people assessing the children were aware that they received the intervention or were in a control group. There was also not enough evidence available to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of other animal-assisted interventions. Future research should address the limitations that were common in the designs of these studies and investigate the potential benefit of other animal populations, such as dogs and cats.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calm with horses? A systematic review of animal-assisted interventions for improving social functioning in children with autism

Sissons

Blakemore

Shafi

et al. 2022

Autism

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“…Nesse sentido, Clapham et al (2020), Güeita-Rodríguez et al (2021, Hernández-Espeso et al (2021), Marzouki et al (2022), Moseley (2019), Zanobini e Solari (2019) destacaram os benefícios da terapia aquática no aspecto social. Esse resultado é corroborado por Battaglia et al (2019), que observou melhoras nas habilidades sociais, como contato e interação social em adolescentes com TEA submetidos ao programa aquático específico CI-MAT (Multi-Systemic Aquatic Therapy) -que consiste em uma abordagem multissistêmica desenvolvida especificamente para indivíduos com TEA, e inclui três fases: adaptação emocional, adaptação à natação e integração social (CAPUTO; IPPOLITO, 2016).…”

Section: Resultsunclassified

Estudos Multidisciplinares Sobre Saúde Da Criança E Do Adolescente

SOUSA¹,

BARBOSA²,

MACÊDO³

et al. 2023

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A primeira edição do Congresso Brasileiro de Saúde da Criança e do Adolescente foi realizado de forma remota, nos dias 16, 17 e 18 de dezembro de 2022, sendo promovido pelo Instituto Academic (CNPJ: 42.698.982/0001-87). O evento contou com a participação de vários palestrantes renomados que discutiram temáticas relevantes sobre o cuidado à saúde da criança e adolescente. O objetivo do evento foi de promover a educação, capacitação, treinamento e atualização multidisciplinar na área da saúde da criança e do adolescente, sendo destinado a discentes, docentes, profissionais de saúde e demais interessados pela discussão da temática. O e-book é composto por 50 capítulos que servem de base para a construção do conhecimento baseado em evidências, servindo de base para reflexão, discussão e embasamento teórico para a construção de outros estudos sobre a área.

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“…In this category, we included studies that controlled for environmental factors, such as being in water (e.g., Antonioli and Reveley, 2005 ; Hernandez-Espeso et al, 2021 ), being outdoors (e.g., Urban et al, 2015 ), or being on a farm (e.g., Breitenbach et al, 2009 ) in the control condition. We found that 14 studies controlled for the environment as a non-specific factor.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Specific and Non-specific Factors of Animal-Assisted Interventions Considered in Research: A Systematic Review

Wagner

Grob²,

Hediger³

2022

Front. Psychol.

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Research on animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) has increased massively in the last few years. But it is still not clear how AAIs work and how important the animal is in such interventions. The aim of this systematic review was to compile the existing state of knowledge about the working mechanisms of AAIs. We searched 12 major electronic databases for previous AAI studies with active control groups. Of 2001 records identified, we included 172 studies in the systematic review. We extracted previously published hypotheses about working mechanisms and factors that have been implicitly considered specific or non-specific in AAI research by categorizing control conditions using content analysis. We analyzed the categories using descriptive statistics. We found that 84% of the included studies mentioned a hypothesis of working mechanisms, but 16% did not define specific hypotheses. By analyzing their control conditions, we found that in most controlled studies, the animal or the interaction with the animal was implicitly considered as a specific factor for the effects of the AAI. Non-specific factors such as therapeutic aspects, social interactions, or novelty have also been controlled for. We conclude that AAI research still cannot answer the question of how and why AAIs work. To address this important research gap, we suggest using component studies with innovative control conditions and results from placebo research to address both the specific and non-specific, contextual factors of AAIs to disentangle its mechanisms.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=158103, identifier: CRD42020158103.

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Effects of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy on the Social and Communication Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Cited by 15 publications

References 20 publications

Calm with horses? A systematic review of animal-assisted interventions for improving social functioning in children with autism

Calm with horses? A systematic review of animal-assisted interventions for improving social functioning in children with autism

Estudos Multidisciplinares Sobre Saúde Da Criança E Do Adolescente

Specific and Non-specific Factors of Animal-Assisted Interventions Considered in Research: A Systematic Review

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