What is it about?
This paper describes some methods for treating the severe fear of dogs shown by some populations with severe autism and intellectual disabilities. We have demonstrated that graded exposure successfully reduces the fear of dogs so that the participants were able to remain in the presence of dog without running away or behaving in otherwise dangerous ways.
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Why is it important?
Most papers on the treatment of fear of dogs have described participants who are able to speak. The group treated in this study were not able to speak or understand speech and therefore they were informed about the treatment process through the use of standardised visual symbols (PECS).
Perspectives
I led a team of psychologists who developed the methods involved. The number of authors does not reflect the number of personnel involved in managing the dogs and the young people with autism and intellectual disabilities. I would like to commend the volunteers from Pets As Therapists for their willingness to trial this approach.
Dr Timothy Ivor Williams
University of Reading
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Treating specific phobias in young people with autism and severe learning difficulties, The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, January 2017, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s1754470x17000241.
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