Canine-Assisted Therapy for Children With ADHD: Preliminary Findings From The Positive Assertive Cooperative Kids Study
Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to provide preliminary findings from an ongoing randomized clinical trial using a canine-assisted intervention (CAI) for 24 children with ADHD. Method: Project Positive Assertive Cooperative Kids (P.A.C.K.) was designed to study a 12-week cognitive-behavioral intervention delivered with or without CAI. Children were randomly assigned to group therapy with or without CAI. Parents of children in both groups simultaneously participated in weekly parent group therapy sessions. Results: Across both treatment groups, parents reported improvements in children’s social skills, prosocial behaviors, and problematic behaviors. In both groups, the severity of ADHD symptoms declined during the course of treatment; however, children who received the CAI model exhibited greater reductions in the severity of ADHD symptoms than did children who received cognitive-behavioral therapy without CAI. Conclusion: Results suggest that CAI offers a novel therapeutic strategy that may enhance cognitive-behavioral interventions for children with ADHD.
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Biographies
Sabrina E. B. Schuck, PhD, is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine. She is the principal investigator of Project Positive Assertive Cooperative Kids (P.A.C.K.). She collaborated on developing the theoretical rational for the study intervention and the protocol for practical application of those interventions. She collaborated on the hypotheses and analyses for the present study, and contributed to the development of the manuscript.
Natasha A. Emmerson, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine. She, an investigator of Project P.A.C.K., contributed to developing the overall intervention and protocol, collaborated on the hypotheses, and conducted all analyses for the present study to contribute to the development of the manuscript. Her research interests focus on novel cognitive-behavioral and alternative interventions using exercise and human–animal interventions for youth with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families.
Aubrey H. Fine, PhD, is a professor of education at California Polytechnic State University, San Bernardino, and is a consultant to the Project P.A.C.K. He collaborated on developing the theoretical rational for the study intervention and the protocol for practical application of those interventions. He was specifically involved in helping develop the human–animal interaction (HAI) intervention and contributed to the development of the manuscript.
Kimberley D. Lakes, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine. She is an investigator for the Project P.A.C.K. study, collaborated on the hypotheses and analyses for the present study, and contributed to the development of the manuscript.
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Article first published online: September 23, 2013
Issue published: February 2015
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PubMed: 24062278
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