Animal-Assisted Interventions for School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis

Dimolareva, M. and Dunn, T. J.

J Autism Dev Disord (2021) 51: 2436–2449

DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04715-w

Abstract

Research has indicated beneficial effects of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) for children with Autism. However, there is a dearth of meta-analyses and findings are often contradictory. The current meta-analysis assesses the effectiveness of AAIs on social interaction, communication and global Autism symptoms. A total of 1447 studies were returned, of which 16 (n = 489) met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analyses indicated small effect sizes related to improvements in social interaction and communication and reduction in Autism Spectrum Disorder symptoms. Additionally, there was little evidence for a relationship between dosage and effect size. In conclusion, AAIs appear to offer small improvements in social interaction and communication for children with Autism, which may be comparable to activities used in active control conditions.

Citation

Dimolareva, M., & Dunn, T. J. (2021). Animal-Assisted Interventions for School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis. J Autism Dev Disord, 51(7), 2436–2449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04715-w Animals, Male, Female, Humans, Adolescent, Child, Child, Preschool, Treatment Outcome, Communication, Children, *Animal Assisted Therapy, Animal-assisted interventions, Schools, Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder/psychology/*therapy, School-age, Social Interaction

Keywords

• Animals
• Male
• Female
• Humans
• Adolescent
• Child
• Child
• Preschool
• Treatment Outcome
• Communication
• Children
• *Animal Assisted Therapy
• Animal-assisted interventions
• Schools
• Autism
• Autism Spectrum Disorder/psychology/*therapy
• School-age
• Social Interaction