Assisted therapy by animals with children who present autism spectrum disorder

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.Sem bolsaO objetivo deste estudo foi verificar os efeitos da terapia assistida por animais (TAA) com crianças que apresentam o transtorno do espectro autista (TEA) com relação ao tempo de reação e adesão às sessões e analisar o efeito da terapia nos domínios da interação social, na manipulação do ambiente, mímica, atenção, iniciativa e reações ante a frustração. Trata-se de um estudo clínico randomizado com 38 crianças que apresentam o (TEA), na faixa etária de três a seis anos, divididas em dois grupos de diagnóstico comparável, grupo experimental e controle.No grupo experimental foi realizada a intervenção da terapia assistida por animais de forma individual, sendo realizada uma sessão por semana, com duração de trinta minutos, totalizando 10 sessões, com cada criança e no grupo controle foi utilizada a mesma metodologia, sem a presença do cão. Em ambos os grupos as atividades eram desenvolvidas de acordo com a necessidade de cada criança. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo foram analisados de forma quantitativa. Para o registro dos resultados, foi utilizado o programa estatístico SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Science), versão 24.0 para Windows. Na análise dos tempos de reação e adesão e a proporção de crianças que apresentaram os sintomas propostos para análise e o efeito dos dois modelos de intervenção, foi utilizado o teste não paramétrico de Mann-Whitney e o modelo linear generalizado para medidas repetidas a fim de verificar o efeito dos dois modelos de intervenção experimental e controle (p