Animals have amazing abilities to nurture and bond with children. Dogs in particular can sometimes reach a child who seemed unreachable sometimes better than a therapist. They are a wonderful addition to your therapy arsenal, if you are able and willing to bring in a furry member to your family. The pay off though is usually well worth the investment. A trained therapy dog can do a lot for a child with autism.
Therapy Dogs can Stop Behaviors
Therapy dogs can be trained to gently nudge or even lap a child to stop taught behaviors. This is most often used when targeting specific behaviors of the self injuries variety such as head banging or hitting themselves.
A therapy dog can be trained to lap a child before they get out of hand, and redirect them to their furry friend. Children with autism in particular have trouble forming friendships and bonding with others, but animals do not confuse children with talking, and they will love them unconditionally.
Many families have seen a great improvement in the area of socialization from adding a dog to the family. Once a child learns to bond with the dog, this can be transitioned to the family and friends.
Therapy Dogs can help with Wandering
A therapy dog is trained to sit whenever the handler tells them to sit, much like any trained dog. Generally the idea is getting the child to follow the dogs lead, which is on a long leash that the parent is in control of at all times, while the child walks with the dog. Most children cannot handle having their hands held because of heightened sensory input. The child is also tethered to the dogs harness while they are learning this skill.
Overall the best reason to have a therapy dog is the stress relief all animals provide, the companionship and the amazing gifts dogs give people every day. They ask for very little in return, but the rewards can be life changing to children that really need it. Numerous families have benefited from adding a dog to the household even if it was not fully trained in service.
Therapy Dogs in NJ - Therapy Dogs International - 88 Bartley Road, Flanders, NJ
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