A Stakeholder-Engaged Approach to Development of an Animal-Assisted Intervention for Obesity Prevention Among Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Pet Dogs.

Linder and her team asked parents, kids, and ABA staff what they wanted in a dog-based exercise program.

They ran six focus groups and 15 interviews. Families helped pick goals, games, and reward systems.

The finished plan, called CAAN, fits into normal in-home ABA visits. Kids walk, play fetch, and track steps with their own pet dog.

This paper only describes how they built the program. No kids were tested yet, so there are no child outcome numbers.

The authors list the final lessons, worksheets, and data sheets you can print and use right away.

Dababnah et al. (2025) did the same "ask first" move. They let autistic adults design an online parent-training course. Both studies show that when end-users write the script, the program feels useful on day one.

Geckeler et al. (2000) reviewed plain behavioral tools for weight loss: self-monitoring, goal setting, and stimulus control. CAAN slides these same tools into dog games, proving old tactics work in new costumes.

Bao et al. (2017) taught parents the Social ABCs at home and saw big language gains. CAAN copies the in-home parent-coach style, but swaps talking drills for dog-walk drills. Same couch, new target.

You now have a free, step-by-step dog program that was co-written by families. Plug it into your next in-home session to add light exercise without buying extra gear. If you like stakeholder buy-in, borrow the focus-group script to update any intervention you already run.