{"title":"Exploring Play Interactions of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Their Pets.","authors":"Caitlin Lisk, Lisa Mische Lawson, Bri Sugiura, Devin Humpherys, Gabbi Rao","doi":"10.1177/15394492231188311","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The purpose of this secondary qualitative analysis was to explore the play interactions of children with autism (<i>n</i> = 10) and their pets in the home environment. Researchers coded 115 minutes of video of children playing with their pets at home and transcripts from eight caregiver interviews. Thematic analysis revealed six codes which represented three themes, including <i>children with ASD play with pets in a variety of ways, playing with pets supports child development</i>, and <i>playing with pets yields benefits for children with ASD</i>. 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.</p>","PeriodicalId":47195,"journal":{"name":"Otjr-Occupation Participation and Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Otjr-Occupation Participation and Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15394492231188311","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/7/24 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"REHABILITATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
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. Researchers coded 115 minutes of video of children playing with their pets at home and transcripts from eight caregiver interviews. 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. 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.
期刊介绍:
The aim of OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health is to advance knowledge and science in occupational therapy and related fields, nationally and internationally, through the publication of scholarly literature and research. The journal publishes research that advances the understanding of occupation as it relates to participation and health.