Animal-assisted therapy in the socio-behavioral improvement of autistic individuals: a scoping review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34024/rnc.2024.v32.15667Keywords:
Animal-Assisted Therapy, Autism, Social Behavior, EffectivenessAbstract
Objectives. With the aim of assessing the impacts of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) on the improvement of social behaviors in individuals with autism, this scoping review is dedicated to mapping the available data and identifying knowledge gaps on this subject. Method. This scoping review followed the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Initially, the research question was formulated following the Patient (P), Context (C), Concept (C) - PCC model. Subsequently, articles were searched using Mesh Terms and Boolean operators in the scientific databases PubMed, Scielo, Web of Science, Scopus, and BVS. The retrieved studies were exported to the Rayyan manager. Later, two blinded reviewers selected the articles according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a spreadsheet summarizing the findings was constructed. Results. Nineteen articles were chosen as they aligned with the objectives of this research. In the sample, controlled and randomized clinical trials (42.10%) and qualitative studies (21.05%) stand out. Of the studies, 68.4% had the impacts of AAT evaluated by experts in the therapeutic or educational field, while 31.5% were assessed from the perspective of parents or close relatives. In approximately 94.73% of the manuscripts, it was observed that AAT promoted sociocomportamental improvements in autistic participants. Conclusions. The results obtained from this review suggest that AAT facilitates sociocomportamental improvement in individuals with autism. However, further in-depth studies are needed to expand the scientific evidence.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Davi Ricardo Soares Gama de Amorim, Daniel Gondim Malta, Abla Vitórya Nejaim Tenório Xavier, William Roberto Pereira Barbosa, Vitória Açucena Menezes Souza, Lucas Eduardo Horacio da Silva, Rafael Vieira de Menezes, Marllon José Saraiva Roldino de Luna Peixoto, Ludmila Belo Ramos da Silva, Hugo Rafael de Souza e Silva
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