Dogs are recognized as best friend of human being, but a new study has revealed that dogs can help kids suffering developmental disorders. The research team from the University of Motreal found that specially trained service dogs could considerably diminish levels of anxiety in autistic children.
The dogs can help autistic kids to develop their social skills, which is an area many kids find tricky as they struggle to comprehend emotions and feelings of other people, reported the study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology. It could give a comparatively easy solution to help pretentious children and their families deal with the demanding circumstances.
Their findings showed that a dog had clear impact on the stress hormone levels of the children. To identify stress levels team led by Dr Lupien measured the amount of cortisol present in the saliva of forty-two autistic children. Cortisol is a hormone that is created by the body in reply to stress and is measurable in saliva.
Cortisol crests after half an hour of waking up which is known as cortisol awakening response and dwindles all through the day. They used service dogs to determine the stress levels in children by measuring in three trails conditions, before and during the introduction of a service dog to the family and after the dog’s separation.
All through the trail, parents were told to complete a questionnaire addressing the manners of the kids before and after the introduction of the dog. Parents counted thirty-three problematic behaviors before to living with the dog, and only twenty-five whilst living with the animal.
Introducing service dogs to children with ASD has received growing attention in recent decades. Until now, no study has calculated the physiological impact. Their results provide support to the prospective behavioral advantages of service dogs for autistic children, added Dr Lupien.