The application of animal-assisted therapy with older adults has proven effective on multiple occasions. Below, we detail an example of a dog-assisted intervention with residents who present some type of dementia (Alzheimer’s, vascular, senile, etc.) and advanced cognitive impairment.
Session duration:
one hour (approx.)
Professionals involved:
IAA specialist therapist who directs the activities + center psychologist as a support professional.
Number of people in therapy:
9-10 people
Space organization:
therapy attendees are positioned so that the dog can move without hindering the performance of the exercises. And sufficiently separated from each other to be able to perform individual or pair exercises.
Initial recommendations:
The therapist can focus more on those individuals who are more receptive and less on those who present some type of temporary or lasting resistance.
If working with a dog of considerable size, it can be a rejection factor in the first encounters. If the size is small, this possibility is reduced.
It is very important to observe the reactions of the attendees during the first contact session, since when working with people with dementia, many of them have lost the ability to express themselves through language, and only through their reactions will we know their level of pleasure or displeasure with a situation.
First session:
It is just an introductory session. The dog will enter the room when the participants are calm and in their positions, and will gradually approach each of them, trying to get them to pet it but without forcing them to do so. Reactions of nervousness, joy, rejection, fear, etc., may arise. In most cases, therapy is stimulating and positive, but an acceptance reaction from all attendees should not be expected.
Next sessions:
Contact activities and exercises, such as brushing the dog, offering it food, throwing cookies to it… will be carried out in future sessions, taking into account the group’s mood in each one, choosing the best activity in each case. Many abilities are worked on simultaneously, such as fine and gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, communication, sensory stimulation, social skills, memory, positive channeling of anxiety and aggression, etc.
Example activities:
– Individually, the patient is asked to pick up a cookie of a specific color and then give it to the dog.
– With colored balls, the patient is asked to pick up a specific ball and throw it for the dog to go get it.
With ISEP’s Master’s in Animal-Assisted Therapy, you will be trained to identify situations suitable for working with animals and to define which animal is appropriate for each intervention. In addition, you will design the most suitable activity program according to the objectives, space, professionals involved, and available resources.