Dolphin-Assisted Therapy: Changes in Interaction and Communication between Children with Severe Disabilities and Their Caregivers

Abstract

The goal of this study was to test if dolphin-assisted therapy could be an effective therapeutic inten/ention for children with significant social and communication disabiiities. Furthermore, it was crucial to determine the relative importance of the dolphin and the parent consultation factors implicit in the therapy. The method employed was a betore-and-after comparison of three control groups and one experimental group. In the experimental group, all three aspects of the therapeutic intervention-interaction with dolphins, parent counseling and a curative, relaxed environment-were included. Control group 1 (outpatient therapy group) was limited to just interaction with dolphins. In control group 2 (farm animal group), the parents were counseled after the children interacted with farm animals {which replaced dolphins). Control group 3 received no treatment. The posttreatment parent questionnaire results revealed therapeutic success in the areas of both productive and receptive language, processing of non-verbal cues, social skills, and self-confidence. Observations of parent-child interaction indicated that after treatment in the experimental group, interactions of children could be interpreted more accurately, on a iong-term basis. The discovered therapeutic effects occurred regardless of whetiner the children were in the water during therapy or not.

Animals in Social Work

“…In children with severe disabilities (including social and communication delays), dolphin-assisted therapy has been demonstrated to result in an increase in communication capacity as well as improvement in social/emotional behaviour. This positive increase in communication capacity remained stable for 6 months (Breitenbach, Stumpf, Fersen, & Ebert, 2009). In a descriptive study directly observing nine autistic students, interaction with a guinea pig increased the number of social interactions in general as well as the frequency of interactions with an acquaintance.…”

The Effect of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy on the Cognitive and Social Development of Children with Down Syndrome

“…Previous studies (Nathanson et al 1997;Nathanson 1998;Kohn 2003;Breitenbach et al 2009) have demonstrated a positive effect of DAT on verbalization, self-esteem, personal confidence, and communication in children with a variety of disabilities such as autism and DS. Marino andLilienfeld (1998, 2007), who analyzed the validity of five peer-reviewed DAT studies, concluded that all showed methodological shortcomings such as no experimental control and no controlled novelty effects.…”

“…In one comparative study (Nathanson et al 1997), positive results of DAT were found more quickly and were more cost-effective than those of conventional therapy. Breitenbach et al (2009) conducted a study with four groups: an experimental group which participated in three modules of therapy (recreational/vacation atmosphere, counseling and interaction with the dolphins); a non-treatment group, designed to control; an outpatient therapy group (dolphin-assisted therapy); and a farm-animal group. Parents of both DAT groups (experimental and outpatient) reported stable and important functional therapy effects in verbal speech and non-verbal reactivity.…”

Delfinų terapijos ilgalaikio efekto vertinimas: tėvų apklausos duomenys

“…Autoriai nurodo, kad po DT pagerėja negalią turinčių vaikų kalba, komunikacinė elgsena, motorinės funkcijos (5). Delfinų terapijos metu arba po jos vaikas su negalia tampa drąsesnis, labiau atsipalaidavęs bei pasitikintis savimi, gebantis geriau sukoncentruoti ir išlaikyti dėmesį, pagerėja jo kalbos raiška, gebėjimas išlaikyti akių kontaktą, vaikas yra labiau linkęs bendrauti su kitais vaikais, labiau įsitraukia į atliekamą veiklą ir apskritai į savo šeimos gyvenimą (1,11).…”

“…Daugumoje atliktų tyrimų DT efektyvumas vertinamas arba tuoj pat po terapijos, arba praėjus 6 -12 mėnesių (1,10,11).Tokiuose tyrimuose dažniausiai apklausiami tėvai (1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 11), nors ir pripažįstama, kad tėvų akimis regimi pokyčiai nebūtinai sutampa su nepriklausomo stebė-tojo fiksuojamais vaiko elgesio pokyčiais (2). Taip pat tikė-tina, kad tėvų vertinimai gali būsi susiję su tėvų lūkesčiais prieš DT bei vaiko sunkumų pobūdžiu.…”