Multi-site Animal Assisted Intervention for Children With DD and Their Family Dog

The goal of this proposal is to evaluate a large scale novel multidisciplinary approach to fostering atherapeutic partnership between adolescents with developmental disabilities (DD) and the participants family dog. The investigators will evaluate imitative 'Do As I Do' (DAID) training into a unique Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) aimed at increasing activity levels, enhancing social support by promoting a stronger dog-human bond, and increasing feelings of responsibility and wellbeing within this population.

The investigators propose to address the critical need for empirical evaluation of novel theoretically based multi-site animal assisted interventions through the following specific aims.

Specific Aim 1: To evaluate a novel multi-site DAID dog training intervention to promote physical activity in adolescents with developmental disabilities.

Specific Aim 2: To evaluate the impact of a multi-site DAID intervention on the adolescent's quality of life and feelings of social wellbeing.

Specific Aim 3: To evaluate the impact of a multi-site DAID intervention on the child-dog relationship and mutual wellbeing.

Participant Population: Adolescent participants with a developmental disability, between the ages of 10-17 years will be recruited through community-based programs/organizations associated with children with DDs in around our sites. A DD will be confirmed through parent report (e.g., initial recruitment conversations, and documented through the initial demographic questionnaire).

Inclusion criteria

• Age 10-17 years
• Developmental disability (per parental report)
• Possesses family dog
• Participant can follow basis instructions.

Exclusion criteria

• Cannot follow basic instructions.
• Non english-speakers.