Skip to main content
Log in

The Social Skills and Attachment to Dogs of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have deficits in social skills, and interaction with service dogs has been associated with increased social skills for children with ASD. In this telephone survey of 70 parents of children with ASD, children owning dogs had greater Mean scores for social skills, using the Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scale, while those with some type of pet (not excluding dogs) had significantly greater skills for subscale item “assertion”. Parents described their children as attached to their dogs. Children owning dogs completed the Companion Animal Bonding Scale, and reported strong bonding with dogs. These findings suggest children with ASD may bond with their dogs, and pet ownership may be associated with increased social skills.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • American Veterinary Medical Association. (2012). U.S. pet ownership & demographics sourcebook. Schaumburg, Ill.: American Veterinary Medical Association.

  • Berry, A., Borgi, M., Francia, N., Alleva, E., & Cirulli, F. (2013). Use of assistance and therapy dogs for children with autism spectrum disorders: A critical review of the current evidence. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 19(2), 73–80. doi:10.1089/acm.2011.0835.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, B. K. (1990). The richness of the child-pet relationship: A consideration of both benefits and costs of pets to children. Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 3(4), 253–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burrows, K. E., Adams, C. L., & Spiers, J. (2008). Sentinels of safety: Service dogs ensure safety and enhance freedom and well-being for families with autistic children. Qualitative Health Research, 18(12), 1642–1649. doi:10.1177/1049732308327088.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carlisle, G. K. (2012). Pet dog ownership in families of children with autism: Children’s social skills and attachment to their dogs (Doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri--Columbia, Columbia, Missouri). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10355/16523.

  • Carlisle, G. K. (2014). Pet dog ownership decisions for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder, 29(2), 114–123. doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2013.09.005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S. P. (2002). Can pets function as family Members? Western Journal of Nursing Research, 24(6), 621–638. doi:10.1177/019394502320555386.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Daly, B., & Morton, L. L. (2006). An investigation of humananimal interactions and empathy as related to pet preference, ownership, attachment, and attitudes in children. Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 19(2), 113–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, G., Webb, S. J., & McPartland, J. (2005). Understanding the nature of face processing impairment in autism: Insights from behavioral and electrophysiological studies. Developmental Neuropsychology, 27(3), 403–424. doi:10.1207/s15326942dn2703_6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Endenburg, N., & van Lith, H. A. (2011). The influence of animals on the development of children. The Veterinary Journal, 190(2), 208–214. doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2010.11.020.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farmer, C. A., & Aman, M. G. (2011). Aggressive behavior in a sample of children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5(1), 317–323. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2010.04.014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fine, A. H. (2010). Handbook on animal-assisted therapy theoretical foundations and guidelines for practice (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Elsevier. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780123814531.

  • Gilchrist, J., Sacks, J. J., White, D., & Kresnow, M.-J. (2008). Dog bites: Still a problem? Injury Prevention, 14(5), 296–301. doi:10.1136/ip.2007.016220.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grandgeorge, M., Tordjman, S., Lazartigues, A., Lemonnier, E., Deleau, M., & Hausberger, M. (2012). Does pet arrival trigger prosocial behaviors in individuals with Autism? PLoS ONE, 7(8), e41739. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041739.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (2008). Social skills improvement system: Rating scales. Bloomington, MN.

  • Hansen, K. M., Messinger, C. J., Baun, M. M., & Megel, M. (1999). Companion animals alleviating distress in children. Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 12(3), 142–148. doi:10.2752/089279399787000264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, R. P., & Lee, A. (1998). Hello and goodbye: A study of social engagement in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 28(2), 117–127. doi:10.1023/A:1026088531558.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Iarocci, G., & McDonald, J. (2006). Sensory integration and the perceptual experience of persons with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1), 77–90. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0044-3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L., et al. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2(3), 217–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kidd, A. H., & Kidd, R. M. (1987). Seeking a theory of the human/companion animal bond. Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 1(3), 140–145. doi:10.2752/089279388787058489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langdell, T. (1978). Recognition of faces: An approach to the study of autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 19(3), 255–268. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1978.tb00468.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McNicholas, J., & Collis, G. M. (2000). Dogs as catalysts for social interactions: Robustness of the effect. British Journal of Psychology, 91(1), 61–70. doi:10.1348/000712600161673.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Melson, G. F. (2001). Why the wild things are: Animals in the lives of children. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melson, Gail F., Peet, Susan, & Sparks, Cheryl. (1991). Children’s attachment to their pets: Links to socio-emotional development. Children’s Environments Quarterly, 8(2), 55–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melson, G. F., & Swarz, R. (1994). Pets as social support for families of young children. In Annual meeting of the delta society. New York.

  • Nimer, J., & Lundahl, B. (2007). Animal-assisted therapy: A meta-analysis. Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 20(3), 225–238. doi:10.2752/089279307X224773.

  • O’Haire, M. E. (2013). Animal-assisted intervention for autism spectrum disorder: A systematic literature review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(7), 1606–1622. doi:10.1007/s10803-012-1707-5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Poresky, R. H., Hendrix, C., Hosier, J. E., & Samuelson, M. L. (1987). The companion animal bonding scale: Internal reliability and construct validity. Psychological Reports, 60(3), 743–746. doi:10.2466/pr0.1987.60.3.743.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva, K., Correia, R., Lima, M., Magalhães, A., & de Sousa, L. (2011). Can dogs prime autistic children for therapy? Evidence from a single case study. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 17(7), 655–659. doi:10.1089/acm.2010.0436.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, O. (2012). Doing, being and becoming: The sociality of children with autism in activities with therapy dogs and other people. Cambridge Anthropology, 30(1), 109–126. doi:10.3167/ca.2012.300110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, P., Funk, C., & Craighill, P. (2006). Gauging family intimacy: Dogs edge cats (Dads trail both) (A social trends report). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://pewsocialtrends.org/files/2010/10/Pets.pdf.

  • Triebenbacher, S. L. (1998). Pets as transitional objects: Their role in children’s emotinal development. Psychological Reports, 82(1), 191–200. doi:10.2466/pr0.1998.82.1.191.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vidović, V. V., Stetić, V. V., & Bratko, D. (1999). Pet ownership, type of pet and socio-emotional development of school children. Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 12(4), 211–217. doi:10.2752/089279399787000129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wild, D. L. (2012, June). The impact of canine assistance for children with autism and the family unit. Walden University.

  • Wilson, E. O. (1984). Biophilia. United States of America: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges the University of Missouri Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders for the use of their data set in recruitment. A grant to support this study was awarded from Sigma Theta Tau—Alpha Iota Chapter. This paper was prepared from the author’s doctoral dissertation, acknowledging the support of her dissertation committee members, Dr. Rebecca A. Johnson, Dr. Lawrence Ganong, Dr. Debra Gayer and Dr. Micah Mazurek. A poster presentation of the data was made at the Midwest Nursing Research Society conference in Chicago, Illinois on March, 2013.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gretchen K. Carlisle.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Carlisle, G.K. The Social Skills and Attachment to Dogs of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 1137–1145 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2267-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2267-7

Keywords

Navigation