New research investigates whether canine-assisted therapy impacts the behaviour of children with ADHD.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that affects around 5% of children. It is a neurobehavioural disorder characterised by restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and acting on impulse. ADHD is more commonly diagnosed in boys than girls, and most children are diagnosed before the age of 12.

ADHD cannot be cured, but some of the more challenging aspects of the condition can be managed using a combination of medicine and therapy. A popular therapy is cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) which aims to change the way a child thinks and behaves. Recently, US researchers investigated the impact of an animal-assisted intervention on CBT, revealing a significant enhancement in the social behaviour of children with ADHD.

New integrated approach

The study, which was part of a larger randomised control trial, included 35 children aged between 6-9 years. All children were diagnosed with ADHD, but not currently taking medication for their condition. The children were randomly assigned to either the experimental group in which they interacted with a live therapy dog, or the control group, in which children interacted with a stuffed toy dog. In addition, half of the children were placed in a waitlist control condition to control for the possible influence of time and child development.

All children participated in the CBT intervention for two weeks, in a total of 23 sessions, which included activities such as journal writing, reading and learning about coping mechanisms. Five of these sessions, spread across the study period, were recorded. Each session was then divided into ten-minute subsections, from which one-minute sections were randomly selected for behavioural coding to analyse the children’s behaviour, including interactions with others.

Therapy dogs vs stuffed toy dogs

The results revealed that no differences were observed between the amount of time children interacted with the live therapy dogs compared to the stuffed toy dogs. However, the presence of the live therapy dog did positively impact human social interactions, especially towards adults. Children interacting with the live therapy dog showed greater increases in interactions with adults over the course of the intervention than children interacting with the stuffed toy dog.

The findings of this study demonstrate the powerful impact that therapy dogs can have as social facilitators for neuroatypical children. This is particularly important as children with ADHD often face social challenges, including initiating and sustaining social interactions. Further research could provide a deeper understanding by investigating the content and context of these interactions to determine how therapy dogs influence them.

Research implications

By investigating the impact of animal interactions on traditional therapies, the study contributes towards a wider array of tools that professionals and families can use to support children with ADHD. By creating a more supportive and engaging environment, previous research has shown that therapy dogs can improve neurodivergent children’s social and emotional connection, and participation in everyday activities.

As the treatment options for effectively managing ADHD in children continue to evolve, the insights from this study make a compelling argument for dog-assisted therapy to boost children’s social interactions, particularly with adults. However, further research is needed to fully understand the mechanism of action.

Key study findings:

• No difference was observed in how much children interacted with the live therapy dog compared to the stuffed toy dog
• Over the course of the intervention, all children increased their interactions with adults and peers
• Children interacted with adults significantly more in the presence of the live therapy dog