Currently, there are assisted therapies that help these little ones.
Assisted therapies seek, through dogs and other animals, that children with autism can have a positive interaction with people, although it is not the only requirement. Dogs like the Golden Retriever and Labrador are two more widely used breeds, but you can find mongrels that also do an incredible job since the secret is knowing how to select and train dogs well.
Nuria Blanco Piñero, child therapist of the ATAP Foundation comments that? The dog is one more tool for the professional, who will select the traits that interest him the most for the group with which he will work. Will it help in addressing physical, social, behavioral or emotional problems, from the perspective of rehabilitation, stimulation, learning or compensation of functions and resources?
Dogs can help redirect the child’s gaze, capturing their attention and serving as a vehicle for the therapist to do their job more easily. For children with behavior problems, who are frustrated, who cannot deal with prohibitive answers or with a “no”, who do not know concepts such as turn, wait or attention, the pet motivates them to respect some times and orders until achieving results.
For children who find it hard to empathize or have mental or depressive disorders, an animal will help them release more oxytocin (love) and endorphins (happiness), reduce the level of stress and therefore lower blood pressure and help them make friends.
And not only do dogs function as therapists, but there are also success stories where a parrot named Pythagoras plays with children who have trouble expressing or understanding words; the Hannibal chinchilla that is gently touched as a way to control impulsivity; And if a stick insect, a cub and fish are added to the game, the multi-species session becomes a space for social skills and team games.
The benefits will be especially on the emotional plane, reducing the feeling of stress that hides this problem and creating emotional ties, with care and accompaniment.