Uccheddu Stefania, Albertini Mariangela, Pierantoni Ludovica, Fantino Sara, Pirrone Federica
Vet Ethology, Leemveldstraat 44, 3090 Overijse, Belgium.
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Milan, Via Celoria, 10, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Animals (Basel). 2019 Jul 26;9(8):491. doi: 10.3390/ani9080491.
Poor knowledge is available on the effectiveness of reading to dogs in educational settings, particularly in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In this study, we test the hypothesis that reading to a dog improves propensity towards books and motivation to read after the end of the programme, as well as reading and cognitive skills in children with ASD. The study is a prospective, randomized controlled trial, consisting of testing and re-testing after a 10 sessions reading programme with and without the presence of a dog. Nine Children with ASD (6-11 years old) were randomly assigned to a control (CG, reading without a dog, n. 4) or experimental group (EG, reading to a dog, n. 5). Children's attendance at reading sessions was recorded at each session. Parents' perceptions were evaluated at the end of the programme to detect changes in children's attitudes and motivation toward reading. Psychologist-administered validated reading (Cornoldi's MT2 reading test; test of reading comprehension, TORC; metaphonological competence test, MCF) and cognitive tests (Wechsler intelligence scale for children Wisc IV, Vineland) to all children, at baseline and at the end of the reading programme. Compared with CG children, children in the EG group participated more frequently in the reading sessions, and they were reported to be more motivated readers at home after the programme. However, there were no differences on reading and cognitive tests' scores either within each group of children or between groups. Further studies are warranted in order to understand whether and how incorporating dogs into a reading programme is beneficial to Children with ASD at the socio-emotional and cognitive level.
关于在教育环境中给狗读书的有效性，尤其是对自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的有效性，目前了解甚少。在本研究中，我们检验了这样一个假设：给狗读书能提高儿童在项目结束后对书籍的喜爱程度和阅读积极性，以及提高ASD儿童的阅读和认知技能。该研究是一项前瞻性随机对照试验，包括在有狗和没有狗陪伴的情况下进行10次阅读课程后的测试和重新测试。9名ASD儿童（6 - 11岁）被随机分配到对照组（CG，无狗陪伴阅读，n = 4）或实验组（EG，给狗读书，n = 5）。每次阅读课程都记录儿童的出勤情况。在项目结束时评估家长的看法，以检测儿童对阅读的态度和积极性的变化。在基线和阅读项目结束时，由心理学家对所有儿童进行经过验证的阅读测试（科尔诺尔迪的MT2阅读测试；阅读理解测试，TORC；元语音能力测试，MCF）和认知测试（韦氏儿童智力量表Wisc IV，文兰适应行为量表）。与CG组儿童相比，EG组儿童更频繁地参与阅读课程，并且据报告在项目结束后在家中更有阅读积极性。然而，无论是在每组儿童内部还是两组之间，阅读和认知测试的分数都没有差异。有必要进行进一步的研究，以了解将狗纳入阅读项目是否以及如何在社会情感和认知层面上对ASD儿童有益。
