Dogs Could Lower Stress For Autistic Children

Recent research has revealed that dogs that are specially trained could help to relieve stress for autistic children. Dogs have hitherto been used to help the blind and other handicapped people, and now they could make a difference for autistic kids as well.

Specially trained dogs were seen to help lower stress and problematic behavior among autistic children who may have mild symptoms such as some impairment of relationships to more profound symptoms such as anxiety, poor speech and isolation. There has been anecdotal evidence of this previously but now research is also supporting this theory.

Canadian researchers examined the behavior of autistic children before the introduction of a dog into the family, while the dog was a part of the family and then later when the dog was removed from the family.

It was found that when the specially trained dogs from the MIRA Foundation (Quebec) were introduced to be part of the family, fewer behavioral problems such as anxiety and tantrums were reported by parents.

Also there was a better tolerance of household noises reported. The dogs were trained for a period of three months and were taught to remain calm even when their surroundings became chaotic.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

ten + 9 =

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.