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The dog as therapy for autistic children is an excellent option if you are thinking of including an element in your life that will help you in your social communication relationships.
As with equine therapy, children discover in the dog a trustworthy animal with which they have simple social relationships that allow them to be comfortable in their social interaction. In addition, it is important to remember that all therapies that treat children with autism must always be supervised by a professional.
In this article by PeritoAnimal we will tell you more about dog therapies for children with autism and how the dog can help an autistic child.
Why is dog therapy indicated for autistic children?
Having a child with autism is a situation that many parents live, so look for therapies that help and improve your disorder it's fundamental.
Autistic children understand social relationships differently from other people. Although autistic children cannot be "cured", it is possible to notice an improvement if we work with them properly.
For this article we spoke with Elizabeth Reviriego, a psychologist who works regularly with autistic children and who recommends therapies that include dogs. According to Elizabeth, autistic children have difficulty relating and little cognitive flexibility, which makes them not react in the same way to an event. In animals they find a simpler and more positive figure than the helps to work on self-esteem, social anxiety and autonomy. These factors of secondary symptomatology work in therapy with dogs.
How the Dog Helps the Autistic Child
Dog therapies do not directly help to improve the social difficulties that the child suffers, but it can improve their quality of life and their perception of the environment. Dogs are animals widely used in therapy with both children and the elderly.
Not all dogs are suitable for working with autistic children, it is essential to select docile and quiet specimens and having the therapy always under the supervision of a professional. It is for this reason that these puppies in particular can help, establish a calm, positive and appropriate relationship for your disorder.
The difficulty that autistic children go through in relationships decreases when dealing with a dog, since do not show social unforeseen that the patient himself cannot understand, they dominate the situation.
Some extra benefits can be reduced anxiety, positive physical contact, learning about responsibility and also practicing self-esteem.
We share these images of Clive and Murray, an autistic boy who was known to improve his confidence with this therapy dog. Thanks to him, Murray overcame his fear of crowds and can now go anywhere.
