Animal-Assisted Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

描述(由申请人提供)：拟议研究的长期目标是确定人与动物的互动策略，以改善自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童及其典型发育(TD)同龄人的社交和情感发展。这一特定项目的目标是通过在包容性教室进行动物辅助干预(AAI)，对学校中动物的治疗使用情况进行经验性评估。具体目的是研究AAI对自闭症儿童和他们的TD同龄人的社会和情感互惠(目标1)、社会网络(目标2)和压力的生理指标(目标3)的影响。研究背景和意义。对于患有自闭症的儿童来说，学龄期尤其具有挑战性，因为他们在社交和沟通方面存在诊断障碍，这往往会导致同龄人的拒绝和受害。这些消极的同伴关系与心理和生理压力、焦虑以及问题行为有关。在包容性课堂中为自闭症儿童制定创新和有效的治疗战略是一项重要的研究优先事项，特别是因为干预自闭症儿童的主要途径之一是通过教育系统。不幸的是，大多数教育机构缺乏时间、人力和资源来有效地帮助患有自闭症的儿童。从事ASD工作的理论家和临床实践者提出，在当前做法的基础上，一个可行的补充可能是课堂上的AAI，这只需要最少的动物维护资金，并且可以由非专业志愿者或教师来促进。动物提供了一种独特的、多感官的刺激，吸引了孩子的注意力，并提供了进行移情非语言交流的机会。动物也可以起到缓解焦虑的作用，这可能会帮助教室里患有自闭症的孩子们平静下来。最后，在以小组为基础的AAI中，患有自闭症的儿童被提供机会通过共同的兴趣/活动建立同伴关系。这项拟议研究的目的是评估课堂中的人工智能，这可能提供一种相对简单和具有成本效益的方式，帮助教育机构帮助越来越多患有自闭症的学生。设计。参赛者将包括5-12岁的儿童。随机对照设计将被用来在一个小团体、两周一次的社交技能干预的背景下，检查活动物与电子动物的影响。将采用基线干预(A或B)设计，每个参与者组(一名患有自闭症的儿童和一名来自同一教室的TD同龄人)将经历8周的不干预(基线)，然后随机分配到：(A)对活体动物进行AAI或(B)对电子动物进行对照干预。将采用测试前、测试后的设计，在三个时间点对参与者进行评估：(1)基线前，(2)基线/干预后，和(3)干预后。对每个特定目标的结果的多模式评估将包括盲评分员的现场和录像观察、举报人报告问卷和非侵入性生理评估。 公共卫生相关性：拟议的研究将对自闭症谱系障碍儿童及其在包容性教室中典型发育的同龄人在学校使用动物的治疗方法进行实证评估。通过使用以课堂为基础的模式，它有可能利用少量资源影响许多儿童的健康和发展。它将审查与他们的社会和情感发展有关的结果，包括社会和情感互惠(目标1)、社会网络(目标2)和压力的生理指标(目标3)。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term objective of the proposed research is to identify Human-Animal Interaction strategies to improve the social and emotional development of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their typically developing (TD) peers. The goal of this particular project is to empirically evaluate the therapeutic use of animals in schools through an Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) in inclusion classrooms. The specific aims are to study the effect of AAI on social and emotional reciprocity (Aim 1), social networks (Aim 2), and physiological indicators of stress (Aim 3) in children with ASD and their TD peers. Background and Significance. For children with ASD, the school-age years are particularly challenging because of their diagnostic impairments in social interaction and communication, which often lead to rejection and victimization by peers. These negative peer relationships are associated with psychological and physiological stress and anxiety, and problem behaviors. Developing an innovative and effective therapeutic strategy for children with ASD in inclusion classrooms is an important research priority, particularly since one of the main avenues of intervention for children with ASD is through the education system. Unfortunately, the majority of educational institutions lack the time, manpower and resources to effectively assist children with ASD. Theorists and clinical practitioners who work with ASD have proposed that one viable addition to current practices may be AAI in the classroom, which requires minimal funds for animal maintenance and can be facilitated by a non- specialist volunteer or teacher. Animals provide a unique, multi- sensory stimulus that captures children's attention and provides opportunities for empathic non-verbal communication. Animals also act as anxiolytic stress-reducers, which may help calm children with ASD in the classroom. Finally, in a group-based AAI, children with ASD are provided opportunities for peer bonding over a common interest/activity. The purpose of the proposed study is to assess AAI in the classroom, which may provide a relatively simple and cost-effective means of helping educational institutions to help their growing number of students with ASD. Design. Participants will include 64 children aged 5-12. A randomized-control design will be used to examine the impact of a live animal versus an electronic animal in the context of a small group, bi-weekly social skills intervention. Baseline to Intervention (A or B) design will be used, whereby each participant group (one child with ASD and one TD peer from the same classroom) will experience 8 weeks of no intervention (Baseline) followed by random assignment to either: (A) an AAI with a live animal or (B) a control intervention with an electronic animal. A pre-test, post-test design will be used, whereby participants will be assessed at three time points: (1) pre-baseline, (2) post-baseline/pre-intervention, and (3) post-intervention. Multi-modal assessments of outcomes for each specific aim will include live and video-recorded observation by blind raters, informant- report questionnaires, and non-invasive physiological assessments. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed study will empirically evaluate the therapeutic use of animals in schools for children with autism spectrum disorder and their typically developing peers in inclusion classrooms. By using a classroom- based model, it has the potential to influence the health and development of many children with a small number of resources. It will examine outcomes related to their social and emotional development, including social and emotional reciprocity (Aim 1) social networks (Aim 2), and physiological indicators of stress (Aim 3).