Stefania Uccheddu|Mariangela Albertini|Ludovica Pierantoni|Sara Fantino|Federica Pirrone
The Impacts of a Reading-to-Dog Programme on Attending and Reading of Nine Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
University of Milan|University of Milan
poor knowledge available effectiveness reading dogs educational settings particularly children autism spectrum disorders asd study test hypothesis reading dog improves propensity towards books motivation read end programme well reading cognitive skills children asd study prospective randomized controlled trial consisting testing retesting 10 sessions reading programme without presence dog nine children asd 611 years old randomly assigned control cg reading without dog n 4 experimental group eg reading dog n 5 childrens attendance reading sessions recorded session parents perceptions evaluated end programme detect changes childrens attitudes motivation toward reading psychologistadministered validated reading cornoldis mt2 reading test test reading comprehension torc metaphonological competence test mcf cognitive tests wechsler intelligence scale children wisc iv vineland children baseline end reading programme compared cg children children eg group participated frequently reading sessions reported motivated readers home programme however differences reading cognitive tests scores either within group children groups studies warranted order understand whether incorporating dogs reading programme beneficial children asd socioemotional cognitive level