Department of Psychology, Towson University, Towson, MD, 21252, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45220, USA.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2021 Dec;51(12):4605-4620. doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-04891-3. Epub 2021 Feb 13.
Animal-assisted intervention (AAI) has garnered public interest and has been implemented for youth with autism spectrum disorders-a practice supported by anecdotal evidence. While investigations of AAI for children with autism have been conducted, the extant literature is characterized by significant variability in methodology and practice. The present meta-analysis examines the aggregated effects of equine AAI on adaptive functioning among children with autism. Results indicated that interacting with an equine specifically during AAI produced small-to-medium effects (g = 0.40) on the adaptive functioning of children with autism. Recommendations are made for future research on this topic.
动物辅助干预（AAI）引起了公众的兴趣，并已被用于自闭症谱系障碍的青年群体-这一实践得到了轶事证据的支持。虽然已经对自闭症儿童的 AAI 进行了调查，但现有文献在方法和实践方面存在很大的差异。本荟萃分析考察了马科动物辅助干预对自闭症儿童适应功能的综合影响。结果表明，在 AAI 期间与马科动物互动对自闭症儿童的适应功能产生了小到中等的影响（g=0.40）。针对这一主题的未来研究提出了建议。
