Inrecentyears,studieshaveshownthatinteractingwithanimals

canbenefitchildrenwithautism.Itseemsthatthepresenceofanimals
putthechildrenateaseandmayevenrelievestress.Somefindingshave
shownimprovementofsocialinteraction.Whatisitaboutanimalsthat
attractchildrenwithautism?Itseemsthatchildrenwithautismand
animalsseetheworldthroughthesamelenses,sharingsimilarthought
processesandestablishinganamazingbond.
Autismaffectseveryonedifferentlyandtovaryingextents.The
disorderimpairsthreeareasofhumanfunctioning:socialinteraction,
communication,andrepetitivebehavior.Itisalifelongdisorder.Signs
ofthedisordercanbedetectedfromasearlyasinfancy,with
unresponsivenessandfocusononeobject.Childrenwithautismmay
avoideyecontactandfinditdifficulttoproduceempathyforothers,
lackingadetectionofsocialcues.Oftentimes,itisdifficulttoeven
smile.Repetitioniscommon,bothinspeechandbodymovement,such
asmovingahandbackandforth.Insomecases,childrenwithautism
canexhibithostilebehavior.Intermsofintellectualcapabilities,found
inmostsamples,about50%ofcasesofthosewithautismhadsevere
intellectualdisability,while30%hadmildtomoderate,and20%with
normalIQs(Tonge2003).
Interestingly,thecauseofautismisrelativelyunknown.Itisgenerally
acceptedthattherearegeneticandenvironmentalfactorsatplay,butno
singlecausehasbeenestablished,onlytheoriesremain.Patternsof
autismhavebeendetectedinmanyfamilies,hintingatagenetic
implication.Apossiblesusceptibilitytoautismisbeingresearched,but
noinstigatorestablished(Muhleetal2004).
TheUShasmanyfacilitiesdedicatedtothetreatmentofautism,
butthereisnocure.Therapieshavedevelopedovertheyears,like
AppliedBehaviorAnalysisandSensoryIntegration,yetscientistshave
founditdifficulttoguaranteepermanenteffects.Suchisthecasewith
animalassistedtherapy,themainfocusofthissite.Thoughimmediate
resultsareoftenpraised,anysortofevidencethatatreatmentforautism
produceslongtermchangeshasnotbeenfoundyet(Green2007).

Severalstudieshavebeenabletoproducefindingsonthebenefits
ofautisticchildrensuccessfullyinteractingwithanimals.Inmanycases,
itcandependontheanimal.Inthiswebsiteareexamplesofthetypeof
animaltherapiesthatareavailabletopeoplewithautism:dolphins,
horses,anddogs.Whilereadingthesethreedescriptions,it'sinteresting
toseethewaysinwhicheachanimalhelpsachildwithautism,almost
asifeachanimalhastheirownwayofdoingso.Dolphinsareintuitive,
horsesarepatient,anddogsencourageenergy.Withthiswebpage,I
hopetopeakaninterestinthefascinatingtopic.Ialsowishtogarner
supportforatherapythat,althoughisntyetscientificallyproven
effective,showsaspecialchangeinthosewithautismastheyinteract
withtheanimals.
WorksCited(forlitreview)
Green,Vanessa."ParentalExperiencewithTreatmentsforAutism."SpringerLink.
JournalofDevelopmentalandPhysicalDisabilities,2007.Web.28Sept.
2015.
Muhle,Rebecca,StephanieTrentacosta,andIsabelleRapin."TheGeneticsof
Autism."AAPublications,n.d.2004.Web.
Tonge,Bruce."WhatIsAutism?"PsycEXTRADataset(2003):n.pag.ACTNow.
Web.