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Posted: 6th January 2015

Pets may improve social skills of autistic children
Children with autism who live with animals have stronger social skills, new research has found.
Children who live with pets are more assertive

Children with autism have stronger social skills when they live with animals, new research has found.

Previous research has demonstrated that cats, dogs and other pets play a key role in individual's social lives and that they can act as catalysts for social interaction. However, a great deal of media attention has focused on how dogs can improve the social skills of children with autism. Now, research by the University of Missouri has found that children with the condition have stronger social skills when they live with any kind of pet.

Gretchen Carlisle, research fellow at the Research Centre for Human-Animal Interaction (ReCHAI) in the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, said: “When I compared the social skills of children with autism who lived with dogs to those who did not, the children with dogs appeared to have greater social skills.

"More significantly, however, the data revealed that children with any kind of pet in the home reported being more likely to engage in behaviours such as introducing themselves, asking for information or responding to other people’s questions. These kinds of social skills typically are difficult for kids with autism, but this study showed children’s assertiveness was greater if they lived with a pet.”

Carlisle explained that pets often serve as "social lubricants". In social settings, such as in a classroom, children talk and engage with each other more if animals are present. This effect also seems to apply to children with autism, and could account for their increased assertiveness when they live in a home with pets, Carlise said.

70 families who had children with autism between the ages of eight and 18 took part in the research. Of these, almost 70 per cent of the families that participated had dogs and about half had cats. Other families owned pets such as fish, rodents, farm animals, rabbits, and reptiles.

“Dogs are good for some kids with autism but might not be the best option for every child,” Carlisle said. “Kids with autism are highly individual and unique, so some other animals may provide just as much benefit as dogs. Though parents may assume having dogs are best to help their children, my data show greater social skills for children with autism who live in homes with any type of pet.”

“The Social Skills and Attachment to Dogs of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder” was published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.



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