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Clinical Trials/ACTRN12618001801202
ACTRN12618001801202
Recruiting
N/A

Exploring the impact of animal assisted therapy for preschool children with speech and language delay – A preliminary study

a Trobe University0 sites6 target enrollmentNovember 5, 2018

Overview

Phase
N/A
Intervention
Not specified
Conditions
language delay
Sponsor
a Trobe University
Enrollment
6
Status
Recruiting
Last Updated
6 years ago

Overview

Brief Summary

No summary available.

Registry
who.int
Start Date
November 5, 2018
End Date
TBD
Last Updated
6 years ago
Study Type
Interventional
Sex
All

Investigators

Sponsor
a Trobe University

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Preschool age (no younger than 3 years) – this is the target age of study
  • Diagnosis of speech and/or language delay – this is the target condition being treated
  • English\-speaking background

Exclusion Criteria

  • Non\-English\-speaking background – this is to mitigate the influence of confounding variables given the nature of the condition being treated (English language)
  • Global developmental delay/intellectual disability/other developmental disorder \- There is currently only one published pilot study that has investigated AAT with children with language delay (Boyer \& Mundschenk, 2016\). Results from this study indicated that animal\-assisted therapy produced best results when utilised with children with language delay without co\-morbidities and was less effective with children also presenting with intellectual disability and Down syndrome.
  • Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder \- The premise for excluding children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities arose from a review of the literature. Much of the literature available on the use of animal\-assisted therapy and communicative behaviours has been with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, for which several studies have found promising results. However, there is far less evidence available on the use of this treatment for children with language delay without other diagnoses
  • Known allergies/fear of dogs – in order to protect participant welfare and wellbeing. This will be discussed with parents/caregivers to determine

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Not specified

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