The Role of Pets in Supporting Children with Autism

There’s an increasing amount of evidence that shows that pets can have a calming influence on many people. For years, service dogs have been helping support people who have certain disabilities, such as blindness.

In the last few years, emotional support pets have entered the fray as well, helping to provide a calming influence on everyone from children to older adults.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face many challenges, including deficits with social interactions and communication, as well as restrictive interests, repetitive behaviors and/or sensory sensitivities. All of this could result in them often feeling stressed, anxious, isolated and/or overwhelmed.

Many studies have shown that pets can play an important role in supporting children with autism. In fact, some have shown that something as simple as petting an animal for as little as 15 minutes can lower someone’s blood pressure by as much as 15%.

Let’s analyze the role of pets in supporting children with autism further.

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What Benefits Do Pets Provide Children with Autism?

Pets, and dogs in particular, can provide a wealth of benefits to people from all walks of life. They can be especially helpful for children with autism, aiding them with everything from dealing with their emotions to supporting their overall development.

Here are some of the major benefits that pets can provide children on the autism spectrum.

Mental Wellness

Pets can have an overwhelmingly positive effect on a child’s mental wellness. As mentioned before, simply petting them can lower a person’s blood pressure, which helps to calm and soothe children if they’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious and/or panicked.

If your child experiences a lot of meltdowns, pets can provide an excellent support system for them. Dogs especially have the ability to detect a change in someone’s mood, and will then gravitate toward them if they’re feeling negative emotions.

Dogs can actually be specifically trained to help children with autism manage their meltdowns. They can apply pressure and weight to them to help ground and calm them, lick them to comfort and support them, and use their body and paws to prevent the child from hurting themselves.

Pets can also provide a sense of consistency and stability to children with autism, too. They can help to feed, walk and/or generally care for the pet, all at predictable times and in predictable ways, which contributes to a sense of inclusion as well.

Developmental Progress

Pets can also help to support the development of children with autism, which can prove to be particularly beneficial in the areas in which they typically struggle.

While children with autism tend to struggle with communication and social interactions, studies have shown that they can thrive in these areas with pets. Even children who don’t communicate well with other people or who have trouble interacting with them may talk to pets freely and without worry.

In doing so, the child will be improving their vocabulary and speech skills, which can lead to big progress in communication skills with others. Nonverbal children with ASD can also learn new ways to communicate with animals that they can then use when communicating with other people.

Pets also can help children with autism learn other things, such as empathy and caring. By caring for and interacting with a pet, children can learn the importance of putting the needs of others before their own, which can then translate into other scenarios in their life so that they can learn caring, empathy and kindness.

Having a pet can also teach children important lessons of responsibility, as mentioned before, as well as how to read certain nonverbal cues. For example, if a dog is wagging its tail, it might mean they are excited because it’s time for them to eat.

Can Pets Be Used in Treatment for Children with Autism?

Some dogs can be trained to help support children with autism in specific ways. This includes catering to their needs if they’re having a meltdown or helping them build their social and communication skills.

They can also be incorporated into bigger treatment plans, such as with applied behavior analysis, or ABA therapy. As a science-based approach to learning and behavior, ABA therapy looks to foster learning, skill building and behavior modification through proven means — and pets have been proven to have a transformative effect on some children with autism.

Depending on your child’s particular needs, and their responses to pets, animals may become part of the ABA therapy process to help your child learn new skills or remain calm, as an example.

Blue Gems ABA Supports Children on the Autism Spectrum

Pets can truly play a transformative role in supporting children with autism. Studies have shown they can provide amazing physical, mental and developmental health benefits, depending on your child’s specific needs.

At Blue Gems ABA, we support children on the autism spectrum by administering ABA therapy. Our team of experienced BCBAs creates personalized treatment plans based on the unique preferences, strengths and challenges of each individual patient — helping to produce better outcomes in the long run.

To learn more, please contact us today.