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Donkey-assisted rehabilitation program for children: a pilot study.

Paola De Rose¹, Elisabetta Cannas, Patrizia Reinger Cantiello

¹Istituto San Giovanni di Dio, Ospedale Fatebenefratelli, Genzano di Roma, Rome, Italy.

Annali Dell'Istituto Superiore Di Sanita

|December 24, 2011

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Donkey-assisted therapy leverages the patient-donkey-therapist relationship to foster child development. Children in these programs communicate more through physical expressions, aiding in identifying strengths for motivation-building.

Area of Science:

Animal-assisted therapy
Child psychology
Developmental psychology

Background:

Animal interaction facilitates emotional connection and therapeutic engagement.
Donkey-assisted programs utilize a unique patient-donkey-therapist mediation model.
Donkeys serve as effective facilitators for motivation and development.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of donkeys in facilitating psycho-affective and psycho-cognitive development in children.
To analyze children's communication methods during donkey-assisted therapy sessions.
To identify how donkey interactions can support motivation-building in pediatric rehabilitation.

Main Methods:

Observational study focusing on child-donkey interactions.
Analysis of communication patterns (verbal vs. physical) during therapy.

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Qualitative assessment of the therapeutic relationship dynamics.

Main Results:

Children predominantly use physical expressions over verbal language when interacting with donkeys.
The patient-donkey-therapist relationship proves effective in stimulating development.
Donkey interactions highlight children's strengths, providing a basis for motivation.

Conclusions:

Donkey-assisted interventions offer a unique pathway for therapeutic engagement and child development.
Therapeutic communication with animals often relies on non-verbal cues.
Identifying children's strengths through animal interaction is key for building motivation in rehabilitative settings.