A terapia assistida por animais com crianças que apresentam transtorno do espectro autista

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to verify the effects of animal assisted therapy (TAA) with children who were exposed to autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in relation to reaction time and adherence to the sessions and to analyze the effect of therapy in the domains of social interaction, in the manipulation of the environment, mime, attention, initiative and reactions to a frustration. This is a randomized clinical study with 38 children (TEA), aged between three and six years, divided into two groups of comparable diagnosis, experimental group and control. In the experimental group, the intervention of the animal assisted therapy was carried out individually, with one session per week, lasting thirty minutes, totaling 10 sessions, with each child. In the control group, the same methodology was used, without the presence of the dog. In both groups activities were developed according to the needs of each child. The results obtained in this study were quantitatively analyzed. The statistical software SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Science), version 24.0 for Windows, was used to record the results. To analyze the reaction and adherence times and the proportion of children who presented the proposed symptoms for analysis and the effect of the two intervention models, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test and the generalized linear model for repeated measurements were used to verify the effect of both models of experimental intervention and control (p <0.001). Significant difference was identified in seven of the ten sessions performed for the experimental group compared to the control, since the children of this group entered with less time and remained for a longer time in psychotherapy. Likewise, a significant difference was identified for the experimental group in relation to the advances of positive behaviors developed by children with level 1 ASD who need support and 2 substantial support. It was concluded that the presence of the dog in the therapy session with children presenting with ASD is a motivational factor for the insertion and permanence in the psychotherapeutic session and an effective therapeutic method.