Evaluation of the effectiveness of the dog-assisted therapy in the rehabilitation of children with Down syndrome. Preliminary report
Keywords:
dog therapy, down syndrome, mental retardation, animal therapyAbstract
Introduction. Similarly to their healthy peers, handicapped children should have the possibility of fulfilling their hobbies. Apart from rehabilitating, non-standard forms of therapy help shape the child’s interests, develop the child’s passions. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy dog sessions as a supplementary therapeutic method dedicated to children with Down Syndrome.
Material and methods. The research was carried out on a group of 36 children with Down Syndrome. Their average age was 11.2. 19 of them attended dog therapy sessions conducted as part of their therapies. The majority of children were characterized by moderate (n=19) and severe (n=11) mental retardation. The diagnostic poll method was applied in the research. The research tool was an authorial survey filled in by the parents of children suffering from mental retardation. The survey comprised of 21 questions concerning the child’s physical fitness, locomotion lesions, self-care and visual-motor coordination from the beginning of the classes.
Results. Majority of children attending dog therapy sessions made considerable progress in their ability to communicate with the environment (95%) and self-confidence (89%). Improvement was also noted in the area of lifestyle and sociality. Differences between the judo group and the control group were statistically significant (p<0.001). However, distinguishable differences were not recorded in the area of physical fitness.
Conclusions. 1. The therapeutic value of dog therapy dedicated to children with mental retardation has not been recognized yet. However, the results achieved by a group of patients attending them clearly indicate their high effectiveness. 2. There is the need to look for and evaluate new form of supporting therapy children with mental retardation.
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