User:Yakun Fu/sandbox

Draft of extending wikipedia article (ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY)

Conditions Benefit from Animal-Assisted Therapy

Based on current research, there are many conditions/disorders that can benefit from animal-assisted therapy (AAT) in diverse settings around the world. Those conditions include psychological disorder, developmental disorder, dementia, cancer, chronic pain, advanced heart failure, etc. ^{[5] [4]} Animal-assisted therapy is commonly used for psychological disorder. Disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), autism spectrum disorder(ASD), post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD) are part of psychological disorders that can benefit from animal-assisted therapy. ^[6]

Type of Animal-Assisted Therapy

There are various animals can be used in animal-assisted therapy (AAT) such as dogs, cats, birds, horses, and pigs. ^[6][7] Although wide types of animals can be used in AAT, to insure the presence of animals is beneficial to the client population those animals are always evaluated with strict criteria before they really participate in AAT. The criteria include the appropriate size, age, aptitude, typical behaviors, and the correct level of training or skill. ^[5] Due to these restrictions, the most popular forms of AAT are narrowed down into canine assisted therapy, dolphin therapy, and equine-related therapy.^[16]

Canine Assisted Therapy

Dogs are most common and popular companion animal. They are sensitive to the changes of human facial expression, behavior, and emotions, so un-surprisingly, dogs are good choice for animal assisted intervention with therapeutic aim. ^[3] This intervention is called canine assisted therapy. Canine assisted therapy utilizes the interaction between clients and therapy dogs to enhance therapeutic activities and well-being such as physical, cognitive, behavioral and socio-emotional functioning of clients. ^{[2] [4]} Well trained therapy dogs exhibit the behavior that human clients construe as friendly and welcoming. ^[3] They comfort clients via body contact. ^[4] Therapy dogs are also required to possess a calm temperament for accommodating the contact with unfamiliar clients while they serve as a source of comfort. ^[4] They promote patients engaging in interactions which can help patient improve motor skills and establish trusting relationship with others. The interaction between patients and therapy dogs also aids reducing stressful and anxious feelings patients have. ^[4] Due to those benefits, canine assisted therapy is used as a complement to other therapies to treat diagnosis such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and dementia. ^{[4] [2] [3]} Except for using in the therapy, canine assistance can also be used in classroom for promoting the development of creative writing and living skills and the participation of children in group activities. ^[2] There are programs called canine-assisted reading programs which facilitate children with special educational needs. These programs utilize the calm, non-judgmental, happy characteristics of canine to let the process of reading become more meaningful and enjoyable for children. ^[2] With these benefits, researchers suggest to incorporating dogs into assisting learning and educational programs. ^[2] 

Effectiveness of Animal-Assisted Therapy

In recent decades, an increase number of research indicates the social, psychological, and physiological benefits of animal assisted therapy in health and education field. ^[2] The effectiveness of AAT in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and dementia has gradually been exposed to the public.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may decrease behavioral issue and improve socialization skills with the intervention of AAT. Compared to children only received cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), children who received both canine-assisted therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) had reduce in severity of ADHD symptoms. ^{[1] [5] [3] [4]} However, the canine-assisted therapy had no effect on relieving ADHD symptoms in long-term treatment. ^[3]

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Canine assisted therapy is an encouraging and non-invasive method for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans. ^[4] In psychological condition, the interaction between canine and veterans supports social interactions for isolated veterans, reduces symptoms associated with PYSD such as depression and anxiety, and increases veterans’ calmness. ^[4] In physiological condition, canine assistance can potentially mediate oxytocin which effects social and physical wellbeing and decrease blood pressure, and therefore can reduce the detrimental symptoms of PTSD in veterans. ^[4] However, canine-assisted therapy also has the limitation. It may actually obstruct veterans from cultivating their own way of control over stressful situation. The effectiveness of AAT is still unclear due to the lack of scientifically based clarify regarding the degree to which the canine itself contributes in the recovery process. ^[4]

Autism Spectrum Disorder

AAT could reduce the symptoms of ASD such as aggressiveness, irritability, distractibility, and hyperactivity. ^[1] Therapeutic horseback riding showed positive effects on children with ASD. It increased children’s ability of communication and decreased their ASD symptoms. Canine assisted intervention provided a calmer environment by reducing the stress, irritation, and anxiety that children with ASD were experiencing. ^[5] However, the impact of AAT upon parent-child interaction is not clear. ^[1]

Reference

[1] Hoagwood, K. E., Acri, M., Morrissey, M., & Peth-Pierce, R. (2017). Animal-assisted therapies for youth with or at risk for mental health problems: A systematic review. Applied developmental science, 21(1), 1-13.

[2] Fung, S. C. (2017). Canine-assisted reading programs for children with special educational needs: rationale and recommendations for the use of dogs in assisting learning. Educational Review, 69(4), 435-450.

[3] Lundqvist, M., Carlsson, P., Sjödahl, R., Theodorsson, E., & Levin, L. Å. (2017). Patient benefit of dog-assisted interventions in health care: a systematic review. BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 17(1), 358.

[4] Krause-Parello, C. A., Sarni, S., & Padden, E. (2016). Military veterans and canine assistance for post-traumatic stress disorder: A narrative review of the literature. Nurse education today, 47, 43-50.

[5] Andreasen, G., Stella, T., Wilkison, M., Szczech Moser, C., Hoelzel, A., & Hendricks, L. (2017). Animal-assisted therapy and occupational therapy. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 10(1), 1-17.

[6] https://www.psychologytoday.com/therapy-types/animal-assisted-therapy

[7] Trotter, K. S. (Ed.). (2012). Harnessing the power of equine assisted counseling: Adding animal assisted therapy to your practice. Taylor & Francis.