Wright, H., Hall, S., Hames, A., Hardiman, J., Mills, R., PAWS Project Team, & Mills, D. (2015). Pet Dogs Improve Family Functioning and Reduce Anxiety in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Anthrozoös, 28(4), 611–624. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2015.1070003

Reducing Anxiety in Children with ASD Using Dogs Reference

Boston College

Research found that fifty percent of individuals with autism suffer from social anxiety disorder. This can happen due to the anxiety that people with autism face in social situations, causing them to develop social anxiety disorder.

Social Anxiety Disorder and Autism Comorbidity

This study tested the effects of dog ownership on anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder and also the impact on overall family functioning. They compared a family who had recently acquired a dog and a family who did not own a dog for this study. The group who owned dogs showed significantly more improvement in family functioning(reduced weaknesses, increased family strengths) than the group who did not own a dog. Also, the dog-owning group showed greatly reduced anxiety levels in the children themselves, and displayed lower anxiety levels than the group without dogs. Therefore, it was concluded that dogs can reduce anxiety levels in children with ASD and improve overall family functioning.

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