In Spain, a therapy dog named Soul established a strong bond with children with disabilities. The beautiful golden retriever is helping these youngsters adjust to being back in school months after excessive time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Educators from the Escola Iris institution, located near Barcelona, Spain’s Sant Vincec dels Horts, claim that the therapy dog program has contributed significantly to their students as they prepare to go back to school six months after staying at home. In an interview with Reuters, Meritxell Arias, a special education teacher, and dog-assisted intervention technician said they noticed their students paid more attention to the animal during the pandemic.
The situation required their educators to wear face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As a result, the children couldn’t see or read their expressions because of these sheaths. Arias said that having Soul around – who did not have to wear a mask to cover his face – made them see unexpected reactions from their students.
Joan Francesc Porras, the school director, also told the outlet that Soul’s puppy smile and wagging tail presence made his students more collaborative and responsive. He added that they also understood how the canine became an essential tool for them.
It is common knowledge that canines are used in counseling and physical and occupational therapy circumstances. Often, they are employed to initiate behaviors to assist people with their goals or be instrumental in providing emotional support.
Haylee Bergeland, CPDT-KA, RBT, and pet health and behavior editor for Daily Paws, call these animal-assisted interventions. This is an implication that individuals use canines as some modality for therapy, essentially making them tools.
And often, therapy dogs like Soul serve as a stress reliever just by their mere presence inside the classroom. More often than not, having a canine inside the room can redirect children’s attention, especially if they are stressed or distracted after being away from school for a long time.
According to Bergeland, who also trained service and therapy dogs to work with special-needs children, canines serve as an icebreaker that could connect with them. She said that the four-legged creatures act as an instrument to get individuals talking and interacting when they usually wouldn’t.
They also help with emotional processing for people, particularly those who might be on the autism spectrum. Research shows that children who encounter difficulties reading human emotions or expressions don’t have trouble seeing through animals. However, there are still nuances in trying to understand what a dog is saying – but most of the time, tail wagging or other exciting movements such as barking could easily be associated by most humans as happiness.
Thirty thousand years ago, dogs began walking alongside humans – ultimately labeling them as man’s best friend. This strong bond between a pet owner and his four-legged companion, especially therapy dogs, has resulted in much positivity on the people they aim to serve.
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