Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 18, 2025
Wheel Running and Environmental Complexity as a Therapeutic Intervention in an Animal Model of FASD
Published on: February 2, 2017
Dog-Assisted Therapy for Children and Adolescents With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders a Randomized Controlled Pilot
Raquel Vidal1,2,3,4, Laura Vidal1,2, Francesc Ristol5
1Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
Objective:
The rationale of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of dog-assisted therapy (DAT) combined with pharmacological treatment in children and adolescents with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Method:
We conducted a randomized, rater-blinded, controlled pilot trial in a cohort of 33 children and adolescents with FASD. Participants were randomly assigned either to DAT group (n = 17) or Treatment as Usual (TAU control group) (n = 16).
Results:
Of the initial 39 participants enrolled, 33 completed treatment. A mixed-effects model analysis revealed that participants who were assigned to the DAT group experienced significantly improvements on social skills (SSIS-P social skills: p = 0.02, d = 0.8), reductions on externalizing symptoms (CBCL externalizing: p = 0.03; d = 0.56), and lower scores on FASD severity (CGI-S clinician: p = 0.001, d = 0.5).
Conclusion:
DAT is a promising adjunctive treatment for children and adolescents with FASD.
Clinical Trial Registration:
Dog-assisted therapy for children and adolescents with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: a randomized controlled pilot study; http://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier NCT04038164.
