Role of Animal Assisted Intervention on Social and Communication Skills of Children with Autism: Review Article.
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Abstract
The practice of Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) has been recommended as a possible management for children with autism. In this article review the focus will be on the possibilities to increase social and communication skills of autistic children with the help of AAI. Social skills defined as behaviors that predict fundamental social outcomes for children, which can include peer acceptance, academic achievement, self-esteem, acceptable psychological adjustment, and teacher or parent judgment of key communicative social interactions. Due to these deficits in social skills, many children with ASD have difficulty bonding with loved ones, and often have episodes of elopement and irregular mood, and behavior that can be challenging for parents. This study will aimed to explain the concept of autism spectrum disorder, discuss the animal assisted intervention and highlight the role of animal assisted intervention in management of children with autism. A literature search was conducted within 4 months. In total 42 studies were identified that fitted the inclusion criteria. The results show many positive outcomes from AAI on children with autism were found that can contribute to increase their social and communication skills.
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References
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