Imitation-based Dog Assisted Intervention, for Children With Developmental Disabilities.
| Status: | Recruiting |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Cognitive Studies |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Psychiatry / Psychology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 8 - 17 |
| Updated: | 3/22/2019 |
| Start Date: | May 1, 2017 |
| End Date: | April 30, 2019 |
| Contact: | Megan MacDonald, PhD |
| Email: | megan.macdonald@oregonstate.edu |
| Phone: | 5417373273 |
Development and Evaluation of a Novel Imitation-based Dog Assisted Intervention, 'DIAD Training', to Increase Joint Activity and Social Wellbeing for Adolescents With Developmental Disabilities.
This R21 application will provide a multidisciplinary One Health approach to DAID physical
activity intervention for adolescents with developmental disabilities and their family dog.
The novel intervention approach includes the use of the family dog in an established dog
training protocol, focused on physical activity and aimed at improving physical activity,
quality of life and social wellbeing for children with and without developmental
disabilities. Recent pilot work has revealed physical and social-emotional improvements in
children with developmental disabilities following an animal assisted intervention. There has
been relatively limited research focused on the physical activity of adolescents with
developmental disabilities and there remains a critical need to develop strategies that will
encourage an active lifestyle for adolescents with and without developmental disabilities.
Animal assisted therapy has known positive impacts on morale and is also known to reduce
depressive psychological symptoms for children and adults. Yet, traditional 'service dogs'
are prohibitively expensive for many families. Dog ownership alone is known to improve
health-related physical activity. Thus, a critical need exists to create physical activity
interventions that are easily accessible and provide manageable home-based physical activity
adherence, but that are less expensive than traditional service dogs. To achieve these goals
the investigators of this project have developed the following specific aims: 1) To develop
and evaluate a novel DAID dog training program to promote physical activity in children with
and without developmental disabilities; 2) To determine what impact participation in a DAID
dog-training program has on the child's quality of life, feelings of social wellbeing and the
child-dog relationship. The long term goal of this research is to improve the lives of
adolescents with and without developmental disabilities. This research supports the One
Health initiative and brings together aspects of improving health related to human and animal
development.
activity intervention for adolescents with developmental disabilities and their family dog.
The novel intervention approach includes the use of the family dog in an established dog
training protocol, focused on physical activity and aimed at improving physical activity,
quality of life and social wellbeing for children with and without developmental
disabilities. Recent pilot work has revealed physical and social-emotional improvements in
children with developmental disabilities following an animal assisted intervention. There has
been relatively limited research focused on the physical activity of adolescents with
developmental disabilities and there remains a critical need to develop strategies that will
encourage an active lifestyle for adolescents with and without developmental disabilities.
Animal assisted therapy has known positive impacts on morale and is also known to reduce
depressive psychological symptoms for children and adults. Yet, traditional 'service dogs'
are prohibitively expensive for many families. Dog ownership alone is known to improve
health-related physical activity. Thus, a critical need exists to create physical activity
interventions that are easily accessible and provide manageable home-based physical activity
adherence, but that are less expensive than traditional service dogs. To achieve these goals
the investigators of this project have developed the following specific aims: 1) To develop
and evaluate a novel DAID dog training program to promote physical activity in children with
and without developmental disabilities; 2) To determine what impact participation in a DAID
dog-training program has on the child's quality of life, feelings of social wellbeing and the
child-dog relationship. The long term goal of this research is to improve the lives of
adolescents with and without developmental disabilities. This research supports the One
Health initiative and brings together aspects of improving health related to human and animal
development.
Several publications have demonstrated the extent of physical activity deficits in adolescent
children with DD, however very few interventions have targeted this health disparity. Not
only do significant disparities exist when children with DD are compared to their peers
without disabilities, but without intervention, physical activity behaviors in children with
DD further decline with age. The investigators, have successfully worked together on animal
assisted interventions, ultimately focused on promoting physical activity in children with
disabilities. Preliminary data strongly support the conclusion that physical activity,
quality of life and social wellbeing improves with a family-dog-assisted intervention. While
dog-assisted interventions have become increasingly popular across applied settings, the need
for further empirical evaluation is clear. Given the rapid growth of scientific knowledge in
the areas of developmental disabilities, human-animal interactions and canine behavior in
recent years, the development and empirical evaluation of new animal assisted intervention
programs built on a solid theoretical foundation and targeted to the needs of children with
DD is especially critical. In addition to the development of this intervention, we will
employ an experimental design to conduct within- and between-group evaluations that will be
used to assess the efficacy of the proposed DAID intervention, as well as its relative value
when compared with a traditional dog walking intervention and waitlist control (true
control). To further strengthen our approach, the investigators will use a combination of
objective validated physical (physical activity accelerometers), self-report (Quality of
Life, Dog Care Responsibility Inventory, and Pet Relationship & Friendship Scales) and
behavioral measures (Child-dog/Dog-child proximity seeking, sociability and attachment) to
evaluate program outcomes.
children with DD, however very few interventions have targeted this health disparity. Not
only do significant disparities exist when children with DD are compared to their peers
without disabilities, but without intervention, physical activity behaviors in children with
DD further decline with age. The investigators, have successfully worked together on animal
assisted interventions, ultimately focused on promoting physical activity in children with
disabilities. Preliminary data strongly support the conclusion that physical activity,
quality of life and social wellbeing improves with a family-dog-assisted intervention. While
dog-assisted interventions have become increasingly popular across applied settings, the need
for further empirical evaluation is clear. Given the rapid growth of scientific knowledge in
the areas of developmental disabilities, human-animal interactions and canine behavior in
recent years, the development and empirical evaluation of new animal assisted intervention
programs built on a solid theoretical foundation and targeted to the needs of children with
DD is especially critical. In addition to the development of this intervention, we will
employ an experimental design to conduct within- and between-group evaluations that will be
used to assess the efficacy of the proposed DAID intervention, as well as its relative value
when compared with a traditional dog walking intervention and waitlist control (true
control). To further strengthen our approach, the investigators will use a combination of
objective validated physical (physical activity accelerometers), self-report (Quality of
Life, Dog Care Responsibility Inventory, and Pet Relationship & Friendship Scales) and
behavioral measures (Child-dog/Dog-child proximity seeking, sociability and attachment) to
evaluate program outcomes.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Between 8- 17 years with or without a disability (per parental report)
- Has a family dog (dog in the home)
Exclusion Criteria:
- Not able to follow basic instructions/
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