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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Feb;19(2):125-37.
doi: 10.1177/1087054713502080. Epub 2013 Sep 23.

Canine-assisted therapy for children with ADHD: preliminary findings from the positive assertive cooperative kids study

Sabrina E B Schuck  1 , Natasha A Emmerson  2 , Aubrey H Fine  3 , Kimberley D Lakes  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Canine-assisted therapy for children with ADHD: preliminary findings from the positive assertive cooperative kids study

Sabrina E B Schuck et al. J Atten Disord. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to provide preliminary findings from an ongoing randomized clinical trial using a canine-assisted intervention (CAI) for 24 children with ADHD.

Method: Project Positive Assertive Cooperative Kids (P.A.C.K.) was designed to study a 12-week cognitive-behavioral intervention delivered with or without CAI. Children were randomly assigned to group therapy with or without CAI. Parents of children in both groups simultaneously participated in weekly parent group therapy sessions.

Results: Across both treatment groups, parents reported improvements in children's social skills, prosocial behaviors, and problematic behaviors. In both groups, the severity of ADHD symptoms declined during the course of treatment; however, children who received the CAI model exhibited greater reductions in the severity of ADHD symptoms than did children who received cognitive-behavioral therapy without CAI.

Conclusion: Results suggest that CAI offers a novel therapeutic strategy that may enhance cognitive-behavioral interventions for children with ADHD.

Keywords: ADHD; canine-assisted therapy; human–animal interactions; pet therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CONSORT diagram to illustrate study recruitment, screening, random assignment, and treatment completion and follow-up.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Predicted mean ADHD-RS scores for non-CAI (n = 12) and CAI (n = 12) treatment groups across four time points. Note. CAI = canine-assisted intervention.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Predicted mean Problem Behaviors scores for non-CAI (n = 12) and CAI (n = 12) treatment groups plotted at each assessment time point. Note. n = 11 for non-CAI at follow-up due to missing data. CAI = canine-assisted intervention.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Predicted mean Social Skills scores for non-CAI (n = 12) and CAI (n = 12) treatment groups plotted at each assessment time point. Note. n = 11 for non-CAI at follow-up due to missing data. CAI = canine-assisted intervention.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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