Animal Assisted Therapy for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Parent perspectives.

London et al. (2020) asked parents of autistic children and teens to share their views after five sessions of animal-assisted therapy with trained dogs.

The team used open-ended interviews to learn what changed in communication, behavior, and community outings.

Parents said their kids talked more, stayed calmer, and joined in new places like parks and pet stores.

Families felt the dog sessions created a friendly bridge between home and the outside world.

Dababnah et al. (2016) looked at ten older studies on AAT for people with intellectual disability. They also saw positive social sparks, but warned the proof was thin.

Funahashi et al. (2014) tracked one boy’s smiles during a single dog visit and found the same upbeat social swing, giving a tiny numeric echo to these parent stories.

Eckes et al. (2023) show that full ABA packages can raise IQ and daily skills, yet do not touch language or parent stress. Doyle’s parents, however, credit brief AAT for communication and regulation gains—different lens, different outcome spotlight, not a true clash.

You now have parent voices saying five dog visits can matter. If a family wants a low-risk boost while they wait for intensive ABA, offer a short AAT trial and track communication and calm moments. Share quick wins with parents to keep hope high.