Evaluating Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Dog-Assisted Therapy for Reducing Challenging Behaviours Demonstrated by Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Abstract

Canine-assisted therapy, also known as dog-assisted therapy (DAT) is a type of animal-assisted therapy that uses dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) to help people improve their mental and physical well-being. Although there is only emerging evidence for the effectiveness of DAT, it is possible that DAT may support children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) with managing challenging behaviours such as aggression, self-injurious behaviours, and property destruction. The purpose of this study is to assess perceptions of DAT in reducing challenging behaviours through an online survey while exploring the potential utility of this approach. Across different groups of individuals (e.g., caregivers, clinical professionals), views of DAT varied with some groups showing interest and others indicating that DAT could be effective at reducing challenging behaviours. However, a number of potential stakeholder-specific barriers were identified that should be addressed before an experimental investigation of DAT is conducted. The findings from this study explores how stakeholders view DAT and provides avenues for future research, including what should be considered in future empirical research, and developing interventions that are practical. Keywords: challenging behaviours, dog-assisted therapy, therapy dog, survey