Wellness Effects of Animal-assisted Activities With Autism Spectrum Disorder Youth in a Specialized Psychiatric Hospital
Condition: Child Behavior; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Psychiatric Hospitalization; Veterinary Therapeutics
MeSH terms: Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Background: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at higher risk for developing
      co-existing mental health conditions and consequently experiencing psychiatric
      hospitalization, compared to the general pediatric population. However, hospital environments
      can be exceptionally stressful for this population, given their social-communication
      deficits, ineffective emotional regulation skills and heightened physiological arousal. While
      the use of animal-assisted activities (AAA) show potential for various improvements in
      children with ASD in community settings, these "stress-reducing" and "social-buffering"
      benefits have not yet been studied within a psychiatric hospital setting for youth with ASD.

      Objectives: Evaluate whether an AAA with canines can lead to reduced physiological arousal
      and improvements in social-communication as well as aberrant behaviors in children and
      adolescents diagnosed with ASD in a specialized psychiatric hospital setting.

      Methods: Participants were recruited from the Neuropsychiatric Special Care (NSC) program's
      inpatient and/or partial day-treatment program. Prior to study participation, baseline
      demographic measures were acquired from caregivers and participants' ASD diagnosis was
      confirmed. Participants experienced two, randomly assigned 35-minute sessions (AAA and
      Control Condition) with a minimum two-day washout period between groups. Each session
      included a baseline 20-minute social skills group immediately followed by a 10 minute
      experimental or control condition. The AAA condition introduced a canine and volunteer
      handler for free interaction time while the control condition introduced a novel toy and a
      volunteer for free interaction. Participants' physiological arousal was continuously assessed
      throughout all conditions via the Empatica E-4 wristbands (Empatica Inc. 2014). All sessions
      were videotaped for behavioral coding using the Observation of Human Animal Interaction for
      Research - Modified, v.1.
    

Detailed description: 
      Background: Children with ASD are at higher risk for developing co-existing mental health
      conditions and consequently experiencing psychiatric hospitalization, compared to the general
      pediatric population. However, hospital environments can be exceptionally stressful for this
      population, given their social-communication deficits, ineffective emotional regulation
      skills and heightened physiological arousal. While the use of animal-assisted activities
      (AAA) show potential for various improvements in children with ASD in community settings,
      these "stress-reducing" and "social-buffering" benefits have not yet been studied within a
      psychiatric hospital setting for youth with ASD.

      Objectives: Evaluate whether an AAA with canines can lead to reduced physiological arousal
      and improvements in social-communication as well as aberrant behaviors in children and
      adolescents diagnosed with ASD in a specialized psychiatric hospital setting.

      Methods: Participants were recruited from the Neuropsychiatric Special Care (NSC) program's
      inpatient and/or partial day-treatment program. Prior to study participation, baseline
      demographic measures were acquired from caregivers and participants' ASD diagnosis was
      confirmed. Participants experienced two, randomly assigned 35-minute sessions (AAA and
      Control Condition) with a minimum two-day washout period between groups. Each session
      included a baseline 20-minute social skills group immediately followed by a 10 minute
      experimental or control condition. The AAA condition introduced a canine and volunteer
      handler for free interaction time while the control condition introduced a novel toy and a
      volunteer for free interaction. Participants' physiological arousal was continuously assessed
      throughout all conditions via the Empatica E-4 wristbands (Empatica Inc. 2014). All sessions
      were videotaped for behavioral coding using the Observation of Human Animal Interaction for
      Research - Modified, v.1.
    

Intervention name(s): Activity
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): 10 minutes interaction with therapy dog and adult handler in small group (2-4 participants).
Other intervention name(s): animal-assisted activity (AAA)
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Intervention model description: To investigate the effect of canine animal assisted activities (AAA) on physiological arousal levels in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (ages 4 to 17 years) in a specialized psychiatric hospital program. It is hypothesized that children with ASD will demonstrate lower physiological arousal in the presence of canines, compared to a non-animal control.
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Health Services Research