Professional Applications Of Animal Assisted Interventions

Discusses screening people for participation, screening dogs for the job, intervention goals, precautions and professional responsibilities. Includes ideas for all ages and abilities, and is useful for many professions within the interdisciplinary team.

Professional Applications of Animal Assisted Interventions: Eva's Favorites is a collection of animal assisted intervention activities used in occupational therapy with Eva. Many of these activities were previously published in Dogwood Doga, Blue Dog Book, or Gray Dog Book. This collection was pulled together to celebrate Eva's life and her legacy. While it is a tribute to her, it is filled with animal assisted therapy and animal assisted education activities that catered to Eva whose abilities outweighed her diagnoses (mitochondrial metabolism disorder, quadriplegic cerebral palsy, seizures, closed dislocations of the hip, cortical visual impairment, strabismus, spasticity, feeding tubes, and communication disorder). Eva appeared to have many challenges, but this book illustrates a glimpse into her occupational therapy sessions, which were based on the human animal bond, the key motivating factor in her sessions, which resulted in measurable functional progress and quality of life. This book contains activities that are useful for just about anyone in the interdisciplinary team, who works with a person with similar abilities. Readers are guided through activities step by step to identify therapeutic value, supplies needed, precautions, and modifications to make activities more or less difficult. In addition, words of wisdom from the dog's point of view are provided so that the dog receives prerequisite training and introductions to environments, people and activities. The baseline information on ethics, standards of practice, and screening people and dogs for participation is included. This title, Eva's Favorites, and 100% of the proceeds have been gifted to the Little Mustard Seed Trust Fund, so we celebrate Eva's life with a sample of letters from some of her students, friends and family.

The human-animal bond has therapeutic value regardless of the nature of the interaction. Recently, the work has begun to diverge into two distinct directions. First, many organizations continue to support volunteer visiting teams in a variety of community settings; however, a secondary breed of programs are emerging as more healthcare, social service, and educational practitioners carry the responsibility to ensure professional level standards of practice that blend seamlessly with each disciplines practice framework. The patient, client, and student goals are formal and practiced in a discipline specific modality. Dogwood Doga is not meant to be a “cookie cutter” book for activities, rather, it is meant to educate professionals about how to think about intervention or educational plans, activity and biomechanical analysis, modifications, and safety for human and dog. This book caters to those who use dogs in discipline specific sessions. DOGWOOD DOGA is the first book in a series that offers an occupational therapists perspective on having a canine co-therapist or co-educator work with clients, patients or students to reach functional goals including health maintenance, neuromusculoskeletal and motor skills, sensory and cognitive functions, communication and interaction skills, and more. The book includes pictured demonstrations, instructions, activity analysis, and modification ideas. Each activity in DOGWOOD DOGA also offers information about incorporating the dog and intermediate dog training requirements. It is recommended that users have experience with biomechanics/yoga, and have dogs with solid obedience and interaction skills.

"Animal-Assisted Interventions are goal-oriented and structured interactions that incorporate the human-animal bond. By including animals in health and human services, unique and significant therapeutic gains can be achieved. However, Animal-Assisted Interventions involve so much more than simply having a dog or horse present during therapy. For the sake of both the animals and humans involved, the health professional must be cognizant of a profusion of information in order to deliver ethical and effective services. Animal-Assisted Interventions for Health & Human Service Professionals provides physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language therapists, audiologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, and other health and rehabilitation specialists with the core knowledge required to effectively introduce dogs and horses into their practice. Wide-ranging and up-to-date content is provided by expert clinicians and researchers in the field of Animal-Assisted Interventions to produce the only comprehensive text to address topics relevant to all health professionals. Explicit direction is also provided separately for dog-human and horse-human therapy teams. Finally, discipline-specific attention is given to the latest in research and development, application, and best practice of including animals in healthcare and human services. This book is essential reading for any health and human service provider who is currently working with animals or who is considering expanding their practice to include the help of animal co-workers"--

The domestication of dogs has led us across a very meaningful journey. Around the world, dogs are seen as confidants, family members, and a large part of our social network. Over time, dogs have been recognized for their natural healing ability to perform volunteer work within healthcare and human service environments. In recent times, the human-animal bond is recognized as a legitimate intervention within traditional and non-traditional healthcare, social sciences, and education. While our canine colleagues fulfill equally important volunteer and professional roles, within each realm, the expectations and skill sets for both human and hound are very different. The series of books titled Professional Applications of Animal Assisted Interventions is meant to initiate a learning experience for those who include dogs in healthcare, human services, and education. The Gray Dog Collection includes introductory and intermediate content such as discussions about screening people for participation, screening dogs for the job, intervention goals, modification of activities, precautions and professional responsibilities. Written by an occupational therapist that also trains dogs, the Gray Dog Collection is a fully illustrated book that describes nearly 50 new activities for participants of all ages and abilities. Readers are taken through activities step by step to identify the therapeutic value, supplies needed, precautions, modification ideas, and dog welfare, well-being and training. Like other books in the series, The Gray Dog Collection offers practitioners and educator's valuable considerations from the canine perspective, and makes recommendations for prerequisite training skill sets, prior to joining in the activity. Activities from over a decade of workshop contents and clinical application are included. Therapists, veterinarians, educators, dogs with intermediate skills, and participants of all ages and abilities have evaluated the activities and found them to be fun, engaging, safe and purposeful.

Offers practitioners and educators valuable considerations from the canine perspective. Includes recommendations for prerequisite training skill sets, prior to joining in the activity. Readers are taken through activities step by step to identify the therapeutic value, supplies needed, precautions, and modification ideas.

"Animal-Assisted Interventions are goal-oriented and structured interactions that incorporate the human-animal bond. By including animals in health and human services, unique and significant therapeutic gains can be achieved. However, Animal-Assisted Interventions involve so much more than simply having a dog or horse present during therapy. For the sake of both the animals and humans involved, the health professional must be cognizant of a profusion of information in order to deliver ethical and effective services. Animal-Assisted Interventions for Health & Human Service Professionals provides physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language therapists, audiologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, and other health and rehabilitation specialists with the core knowledge required to effectively introduce dogs and horses into their practice. Wide-ranging and up-to-date content is provided by expert clinicians and researchers in the field of Animal-Assisted Interventions to produce the only comprehensive text to address topics relevant to all health professionals. Explicit direction is also provided separately for dog-human and horse-human therapy teams. Finally, discipline-specific attention is given to the latest in research and development, application, and best practice of including animals in healthcare and human services. This book is essential reading for any health and human service provider who is currently working with animals or who is considering expanding their practice to include the help of animal co-workers"--