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Integration of therapy dogs into education sessions

Project end date: Ongoing project

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Researchers at the University of British Columbia are looking for children with autism spectrum disorder/ autistic children (diagnosed or suspected) between the ages of 3-7 years to participate in a new study to better understand how to best integrate therapy dogs into education sessions.

The purpose of this study is to understand how different handling styles of therapy dogs influence children’s social behavior and interactions with the dogs. The researchers want to know if changing how therapy dogs are presented will impact the outcomes (social and affiliative behavior as well as stress behavior) for children during animal-assisted education sessions.

The participants will take part in educational (social skills games) sessions at the University of British Columbia for 2 sessions, 60 min each (for a total of 2 hours of participation).
No compensation will be provided and the participation in the sessions is free. The child can quit at any moment with no consequences.

For more information or to participate, please contact Dr. Camila Cavalli at [email protected] or by phone at 604-827-2803.

Posted on July 14, 2023