Exploring Play Interactions of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder & Their Pets

AIMS: The purpose of this secondary qualitative analysis was to explore the play interactions of children with autism (n = 10) and their pets in the home environment.

METHODS: Researchers coded 115 minutes of video of children playing with their pets at home and transcripts from eight caregiver interviews.

RESULTS: Thematic analysis revealed six codes which represented three themes, including children with ASD play with pets in a variety of ways, playing with pets supports child development, and playing with pets yields benefits for children with ASD.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest playing with pets may be beneficial for developing responsibility and social skills of children with ASD, particularly in how they interact with animals. Future research should examine perspectives of families who do not own or who have relinquished pets and perspectives of adults with ASD to better understand positive and negative aspects of pet play.

IMPACT STATEMENT: OT’s should consider the day-to-day meaningful interactions children with ASD have with their animals, and how play is an integral part of learning and growing as a child. Further, OT’s can understand the differences in development for children with ASD and how play may look unique for each child, including differences in play with owned pets.

References

Lisk, C., & Mische Lawson, L. (2021). Coding human-animal interactions in homes of children with autism spectrum disorders. People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice. 1(1).

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(2), 1–87. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001