The Role of Therapy Dogs in Speed and Accuracy to Complete Motor Skills Tasks for Preschool Children

Construct Validity of Animal-Assisted Therapy and Activities: How Important Is the Animal in AAT?

“…Finally, Gee, Harris and Johnson (2007) measured the effects of AAT on gross motor skills in children and found significantly faster completion of many tasks in the experimental group compared with the control group but also both increases and decreases in accuracy depending upon the task. They did not find an expected speed-accuracy trade-off, as a power analysis indicated that, for the expected effect size, their sample size was too small.…”

Exploring Animal-Assisted Programs with Children in School and Therapeutic Contexts

“…This perception of therapy dogs as non-judgemental is often cited as support for their inclusion in treatment programs in therapeutic (Levinson 1969;Mallon 1994) and special-needs environments (Gee et al 2007;Limond et al 1997;Prothmann et al 2006). For example, a study by Gee et al (2007) examined how therapy dogs might affect the speed and accuracy of motor skills tasks in 14 children aged 4-6 years. In this study, the children were asked to perform 10 motor skill tasks such as long jump, high jump, throwing, and balancing on a balance beam.…”

“…Research which examines children's interactions with animals has demonstrated marked benefits for children physiologically (Odendaal 2000), emotionally and socially (Anderson and Olson 2006;Walters Esteves and Stokes 2008;Zasloff and Hart 1999), and physically (Gee et al 2007). Physiologically, the presence of a dog has been found to significantly lower behavioural, emotional, and verbal distress in children when participating in a mildly stressful activity such as a visit to the doctor's office (Nagengast et al 1997), and lower blood pressure and heart rate when a child reads aloud (Friedmann et al 1983).…”

“…Granger and Kogan (2006) note that ''the term ''pet therapy'' is used commonly to convey forms of human-animal interaction, without differentiating between animal-assisted therapy and activity'' (p. 264). In the context of this paper, I refer to AAT in therapeutic environments, including therapy clinics where children receive one-on-one therapy sessions with a therapist (Levinson 1969;Prothmann et al 2006); in residential treatment centres for children (Mallon 1994); and in special-needs environments, including classrooms designed to meet the special needs of children within the regular school setting (Gee et al 2007; Walters Esteves and Stokes 2008) and school/classroom settings designed specifically to meet the special needs of children (Limond et al 1997). Nimer and Lundahl (2007) clarify that AAT is a supplemental intervention treatment which has been used in various settings, including hospitals, therapy clinics, libraries, and special-needs classrooms.…”

An Interdisciplinary Approach of Animal Assisted Therapy for the Special Needs Children

“…A significant body of research investigating children's interactions with animals indicates significant benefits for children, such as physiological (Odendaal, 2000), emotional and social (Anderson & Olson, 2006;Walters, Esteves, & Stokes 2008;Zasloff & Hart, 1999) and physical (Gee et al, 2007).…”