University of Missouri.
University of Missouri, Thompson Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
J Appl Behav Anal. 2020 Jul;53(3):1419-1431. doi: 10.1002/jaba.668. Epub 2019 Dec 19.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate preference for and reinforcing efficacy of a therapy dog to increase verbal statements across different contingencies. Five children with autism spectrum disorder ages 3-8 years participated. Alternating treatments and reversal designs were used to compare conditions in which (a) a therapy dog was not present, (b) access to a therapy dog was noncontingent, (c) access to a therapy dog was contingent on interacting with a therapist, and (d) access to another preferred item was contingent on interacting with a therapist. Results varied across participants. Noncontingent access to the therapy dog slightly increased verbal statements for 1 participant. Contingent access to the therapy dog increased social interactions for 2 participants; however, this was the most effective intervention for only 1 participant. Practitioners should be aware that some clients may be better suited for interventions including therapy dogs than others.
本研究旨在评估治疗犬对增加不同情境下言语表达的偏好和强化效果。研究对象为五名年龄在 3 至 8 岁之间的自闭症谱系障碍儿童。采用交替治疗和反转设计来比较以下条件：（a）治疗犬不在场；（b）治疗犬的使用与治疗师的互动无关；（c）治疗犬的使用与治疗师的互动有关；（d）另一个喜欢的物品的使用与治疗师的互动有关。结果因参与者而异。对于 1 名参与者，治疗犬的非条件使用略微增加了言语表达。治疗犬的条件使用增加了 2 名参与者的社交互动；然而，这对只有 1 名参与者是最有效的干预措施。从业者应该意识到，一些客户可能比其他客户更适合包括治疗犬在内的干预措施。
