Applied Ethics in Animal Research: Philosophy,Regulations, and Laboratory Applications Edited by John P. Gluck,Tony DiPasquale,and F. Barbara Orlans

ABSTRACT

The goal of this study was to test if dolphin-assisted therapy could be an effective therapeutic intervention for children with significant social and communication disabilities. Furthermore, it was crucial to determine the relative importance of the dolphin and the parent consultation factors implicit in the therapy. The method employed was a before-and-after comparison of three control groups and one experimental group. In the experimental group, all three aspects of the therapeutic intervention—interaction with dolphins, parent counseling and a curative, relaxed environment—were included. Control group 1 (outpatient therapy group) was limited to just interaction with dolphins. In control group 2 (farm animal group), the parents were counseled after the children interacted with farm animals (which replaced dolphins). Control group 3 received no treatment. The post-treatment parent questionnaire results revealed therapeutic success in the areas of both productive and receptive language, processing of non-verbal cues, social skills, and self-confidence. Observations of parent–child interaction indicated that after treatment in the experimental group, interactions of children could be interpreted more accurately, on a long-term basis. The discovered therapeutic effects occurred regardless of whether the children were in the water during therapy or not.