{"id":8609,"date":"2014-08-15T18:54:07","date_gmt":"2014-08-16T01:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/?p=8609"},"modified":"2023-11-08T10:32:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T18:32:49","slug":"animal-assisted-speech-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.speechbuddy.com\/blog\/speech-therapist\/animal-assisted-speech-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Animal-Assisted Speech Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Animal<\/a>

Animals Can Be An Excellent Supplement to Speech Therapy. Image courtesy of www.pawsandthink.org<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Shark Week is here! Shark Week is here!!\u00a0 Sure, it\u2019s fun to watch on TV, but what does it have to do with speech and language therapy? Actually, quite a bit. Sure, there is our good friend the Shark Buddy<\/a>, but what about swimming with dolphins, riding horses or even petting a dog? Animal-assisted therapy has been gaining strength in popularity and recognition as an effective part of a therapy regime for children who have a wide range of social, language and communication disorders.
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\nAnimal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is defined by The American Humane Society<\/a> as:<\/p>\n

“a goal-directed intervention in which an animal is incorporated as an integral part of the clinical health-care treatment process. AAT is delivered or directed by a professional health or human service provider who demonstrates skill and expertise regarding the clinical applications of human-animal interaction.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Animal-Assisted Therapy is not new. In fact, using animals to assist in various therapies dates back\u00a0to the 19th century when dogs were brought into therapy sessions to help encourage communication with patients.\u00a0In 1859, Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, wrote, \u201cA small pet animal is often an excellent companion for the sick, for long chronic cases especially.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benefits of Animal-Assisted Speech Therapy<\/h2>\n