Long-Term Effectiveness of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy for Children with Severe Disabilities

Bibliographic Data

ID2994796
AuthorsDavid E Nathanson (Dolphin Human Therapy, Miami, Florida, USA)
Year1998
Volume11
Issue1
Pages22-32
Publication date1998-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthrozoös (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0892-7936 • E-ISSN: 1753-0377
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08927936.1998.11425084
OpenAlexW2028916829
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited23

Long-term effectiveness of dolphin assisted therapy, as practiced by Dolphin Human Therapy, was analyzed via a 15 item closed form, ratio scale parent questionnaire (n=71). Children with severe disabilities of many etiologies, from eight countries, received either one or two weeks of therapy in the multidisciplinary, behavior modification program. Results on three clinical issues were analyzed. First, children maintained or improved skills acquired in therapy about 50% of the time even after 12 months away from therapy. Second, no difference in long-term effects occurred as a function of differences in three categories (genetic, brain damage, unknown causes) of etiology (ANOVA, F(2,39)=2.79, p>0.05). Third, two weeks of therapy produced significantly better long-term results than did one week of therapy (t=3.105, df=28, p<0.01

Etiology · Physical therapy · Early Childhood Education and Development · Human-Animal Interaction Studies · Medicine · Internal Medicine · Pediatrics

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