Browsing by Subject "eläinavusteinen toiminta"

Aim. Animal-assisted activities are continually increasing as one of the alternative interventions, but the research on this subject has been relatively limited. The purpose of the study was to find out what kind of animal-assisted activity could support the child's autism spectrum in contact ability and communication skills, and whether animal aided activities could be one of the support measures needed for special children, especially children with autism spectrum. The purpose was to analyze what possible means of communication and contact had arisen in everyday life. In addition, the aim was to consider which methods of animal assisted activities could be activities that support communication and interaction. From the symptoms of autism spectrum the study emphasizes particularly the challenges of communication and social relationships. Methods. The study was conducted as a qualitative study and the study material was collected by interviewing parents whose children of autism had participated in animal assisted activities. There were three interviews and interviews were conducted in theme interviews in January and February 2018. The theme interview was aimed at making the interview situation open for discussion. The research product was a phenomenological approach. The aim of the interview was to find out the experiences of the parents. The material was transcribed and analyzed by substance-driven content analysis. Results. The study found that child contact and interaction skills had increased at the same time as the initiation of animal assisted activities. The development had been partly slow, and children needed time for construct the bond with the animal. There weren’t animal-assisted activities that supported children more than another animal-assisted activities because the different children had benefited from different activities. While the research material was small, no generalizable conclusions could be drawn, but the material referred to the fact that animal-assisted activities had supported the child in communication skills and contact ability. In the future, it would be useful to continue research with a larger study material and, for example, by observing the child.