Human-animal interactions: starting with pets of children with cerebral palsy.

BACKGROUND

Human-Animal Interaction and Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) are those which include an animal for therapy. AAI is used to promote developmental outcomes in children with CP. Here, as a start to understanding the accessibility to pets and aspects of human animal-interactions for children with CP we: (1) describe the number and type of pets; and (2) examine the relationship between the presence of pets, environmental factors, and parent-reported measures.

METHODS

100 children with CP (range 2–8 years) were part of a randomized controlled trial. Data from baseline assessments, before any intervention, were used to describe the prevalence of pets; and associations with presence of pets, environmental descriptive, and parent-reported outcome measures were examined.

RESULTS

59% of the children had a pet with dogs being most common (76.3%). Children who lived in homes (X2= 10.94) were more likely to have pets compared to those who lived in apartments.

CONCLUSIONS

Pets are common for children with CP. For families of children with CP, it is unknown if there are any disability-related limits to having a pet (e.g. sensory issues, motor limitations, cognitive challenges). Future research could include developing interventions that incorporate pets and assessing the benefits of AAI in children without pets. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClincalTrials.gov ID (NCT02897024), Registered September 7, 2016.