Study could prove whether human-animal interactions help with autism


Posted by Beth Finke on October 9th, 2009

A New York Times article this week reports that the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development will study the health benefits animals can provide to children. The article opens with a description of a yellow Labrador retriever who has been paired-up with an 11-year-old boy who has autism.

“Within, I would say, a week, I noticed enormous changes,” Ms. Vaccaro said of (her son) Milo, whose autism impairs his ability to communicate and form social bonds. “More and more changes have happened over the months as their bond has grown. He’s much calmer. He can concentrate for much longer periods of time. It’s almost like a cloud has lifted.”

Dr. Melissa A. Nishawala, clinical director of the autism spectrum service at the Child Study Center at New York University, said she saw “a prominent and noticeable change” in Milo, even though the dog sat quietly in the room. “He started to give me narratives in a way he never did,” she said, adding that most of them were about the dog.

The changes have been so profound that Ms. Vaccaro and Dr. Nishawala are starting to talk about weaning Milo from some of his medication.

We’ve all heard stories about dogs and other animals — whether service and therapy animals or family pets — helping their human companions feel better. Who knows? Maybe someday we’ll have scientific evidence that shows just how much interacting with animals affects typical development and health, and whether human-animal interactions have therapeutic and public-health benefits.


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One Response to “Study could prove whether human-animal interactions help with autism”

  1. Zelda Says:
    November 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pm

    Thanks for your support. See you then.

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