Dog-Assisted Therapy vs Relaxation for Children and Adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Researchers split the kids with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder into two groups. One group spent one hour a week playing and training with a therapy dog. The other group spent the same hour doing quiet relaxation exercises.

The program lasted 12 weeks. Parents filled out checklists about behavior, mood, and social skills before and after.

Kids who worked with the dog showed medium-sized drops in hitting, yelling, and rule-breaking. They also gained social skills and felt happier.

The relaxation group improved only a little. The dog group beat them on every measure.

Chan et al. (2021) pooled 12 exercise studies for autistic kids and saw small-to-medium social gains. Raquel’s dog therapy matches those gains, but for kids with FASD instead of autism.

Loukus (2015) simply asked parents of autistic children if they owned dogs. Families with dogs rated their kids as slightly more social. Raquel’s trial moves from “having a pet” to real therapy sessions and still lifts social skills.

Tse (2020) showed 12 weeks of jogging cut behavior problems in autistic children. Raquel got similar behavior drops using dogs instead of running, hinting that fun movement with an animal works as well as plain exercise.

You now have a ready-made option for clients with FASD who hate exercise or groups. One hour a week with a certified therapy dog team can trim problem behavior and boost social bids. If you work in a clinic or school, partner with a local assistance-dog group and schedule a pilot block of 12 sessions. Track parent ratings before and after—you may see the same medium gains without adding staff hours.