Being a father to an autistic child can be challenging at times, but when Sam noticed the immense impact his dogs had on his son’s behaviour, he knew that they were more than just pets. English bull terrier, Ollie, would lay on his son whenever he was having meltdowns, calming and regulating his emotions. Now Sam has his own therapy dog, Chance, who helps many other autistic individuals learn how to manage their anxieties in order to thrive; and with the pandemic having a detrimental effect on people’s routines and structure, more autistic individuals than ever are reaching out for help.
Sam Lee-McCloud is a qualified autism specialist teacher alongside being a father to his autistic son, Daniel. He says: “I realised when Daniel was young what a positive effect the dogs had on his behaviour and temperament. As Daniel has grown up he has struggled to cope emotionally but we realised that the dogs helped him to self-regulate. He had an English bull terrier who would lay on top of him like a weighted blanket when he had a meltdown … animal assisted therapy (AAT) has helped him cope in public situations as he can regulate his mood based on how the dog is reacting to him, they will indicate when he is getting loud or agitated. He has also learned how to read body language rather than emotions and feel safe in settings that would have previously made him very stressed. I do not think my son would have the coping strategies he has today without animal assisted therapy.”
Autistic individuals like routine and structure, which conveniently dogs do too, making them perfect therapy animals. “Dogs are empathetic and attentive which makes them perfect listeners,” Sam says. “Interacting with dogs can enable them [autistic individuals] to manage their anxiety and begin to develop self-confidence and self-esteem, without realising they are learning. Developing a relationship with a dog through a range of activities such as grooming, training, walking and observing their body language to recognise if they are enjoying the activity, can help them become more aware of their own mental and physical processes.” Sam also identifies that through AAT, young people become more open to their education as their confidence flourishes, making them more open to social interactions and capable of managing stressful situations. “There are so many ways that it can help, it would be impossible to list them all,” he says.
It is only dogs with the correct temperament and skills that can aid these individuals and help them thrive. Sam explains that there is no formal training for a dog to become a therapy dog in the UK, only a temperament assessment through Pets As Therapy, so he has followed and adopted guidance from America and Australia, where legislation is more advanced. Sam and Chance even attended US emotional assistance dog training sessions via Zoom to perfect Chance’s performance.
Matt Robinson, national volunteer and events manager for Pets As Therapy, who has been with the charity for five years, explains: “There isn’t in fact any official training for the animals themselves. What we do ask for is that they have the right temperament, the right behaviour. We’re looking for the right level of friendliness … we want the dog, or cat, to be approachable, we don’t want them to shy away because that would be detrimental to the engagement, but we also don’t want them to be so friendly that they’re jumping up and barking because that can put people off.”
Whilst the use of small domestic animals to aid mental health and illness can be dated all the way to back the 18th century, and even ancient Greece with horses, AAT now goes far beyond what you may expect.
In fact, Dale Preece-Kelly, 54, from Kidderminster, who offers a unique counselling service in hopes to unleash the healing power of animals, works with over 60 exotic animals. With 40 years of experience caring for and working with animals, he decided to take a leap of faith and set up his very own AAT business; Critterish Allsorts. Now, 10 years on he has been featured in multiple magazines and on national TV, including the BBC’s documentary series, Animal Saints and Sinners, Channel 5 News and Channel 4’s Educating Greater Manchester.
When Dale was unable to work due to health issues, he was encouraged by his son’s nursery teacher to complete educational visits with his animals. One thing led to another and he eventually secured his first regular AAT visitation to a psychiatric ward. He describes his service as ‘all inclusive’, since he has over 60 animals there is one for everybody, including those allergic to fur. Lizards, ferrets, skunks, snakes, hedgehogs and tarantulas are just a few animals included in his array. He says: “Different animals bring out different associations in people. The snakes are very popular, especially the big one because she acts like a weighted blanket, she’s very calming. I worked with one girl in a psychiatric hospital who wouldn’t speak to me unless I had stick insects with me, go figure.”
Dale with just a small selection of his exotic animals.
Dale with just a small selection of his exotic animals.
Dale uses solution-focused therapy; a technique that looks to the future and how individuals can make positive changes in order to thrive and survive. “The focus is on the animals and patients will talk through them,” he explains. “They can sit with Beans [his dog] and talk about their experiences while relating them to the dog because of his own experiences being a rescue. The patients won’t maintain eye contact with me, they’d rather pet the dog and look at him when talking. It’s far less intimidating for them to open up to Beans, it takes away the power dynamic that might be there in other traditional forms of therapy.”
Before Dale carries out AAT sessions, he sits with patients to figure out what exactly he and his animals can help them with. “It’s all about focusing on the individual’s own needs and passions,” he says. Dale used to carry out work in St. Andrew’s Healthcare hospital, Mansfield, where they provided care for males with autism, and found that because the discussions were around something different, it stimulated engaging, focussed conversations. “It gave them a sense of purpose as they would go away to do their own research and art projects based around the animals,” he explained.
Yet while the proof is in the pudding, AAT is still not widely accepted. Dale’s goal is to eventually, have an AAT practitioner based at every doctor’s surgery. He emphasises: “If they prescribed six sessions of animal assisted therapy over a period of a few months for the beginnings of anxiety and depression it would save a lot of people from being on pills they maybe don’t need to be on. After my second wife left me, I was told I had depression and was given pills. I didn’t take them. Six weeks later after being surrounded by my animals, I was fine again. That’s what got me out of it. I think it would save the NHS a lot of money on tablets, but I also think it would save people a lot of heartaches.”
Dale isn’t the only one who feels AAT should become a mainstream intervention, Maggie Drew-Taylor, Founder of SCEAP (Staffordshire and Cheshire Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Learning), is also an advocate for the topic. “It’s something I’m really passionate about,” she says. “I think it should be shared because of the difference it makes to people’s lives.” Maggie has, however, noticed a progression and believes change is coming. She explains: “We feel the tide is turning a little bit because social workers are also seeing a response from children that they’ve not seen from other traditional therapies. We’re called by the local social workers ‘the little hidden jewel’ because they just trust this place as being a safe place to bring the children.”
Sticky, a giant spiny stick insect.
Sticky, a giant spiny stick insect.
Dale and his beloved rabbit, Smokey.
Dale and his beloved rabbit, Smokey.
Wubble, the friendly frog.
Wubble, the friendly frog.
Maggie is a trained councillor and teacher who has always worked with special needs students, both children and adults. She founded SCEAP five years ago and now has a herd of six horses that help heal and support many clients: Paddy, James, Goldie, Sicily, Flicker and Tiny.
To help understand just how exactly horses can have such a calming influence on humans, she explains: “For horses, they have an electromagnetic field around their heart which is about ten times bigger than a human one, so when you actually go in with the horses, your heartbeat will synchronise with theirs and it just brings your heartbeat down, so it kind of calms you.” At SCEAP, patients will meet the horses first, having the chance to interact with each of them individually. From this point, they learn each of the horses’ stories. Some of them have been rescued from abusive settings, some are retired show horses, but they all have their own unique story. Whichever horse they feel they are most connected to will be the horse that individual works with throughout their journey. “They create a really special bond with that horse,” Maggie says.
“Horses are body language experts” Maggie explains. The horses will respond to an individual depending on the body language they display. “The young person isn’t focusing on me, they don’t have to actually talk to me if they choose not to,” she adds. “There is no need for them to verbally communicate things so it really helps somebody who’s not very confident at speaking or not very confident with new people. The animals just work their magic and you find that people just respond automatically to the animals, then that’s your way in and you can really help them from there.”
Maggie’s services are open to anyone in need. She says: “We find we are mostly working with young people who have got additional needs and adults who have problems with their mental health.” Maggie has helped many autistic individuals in her time and explains: “This is a really safe place to be, it’s safe physically and it’s safe emotionally too. We have a lovely big field for the horses to go in and we find anybody who has ASD (autism spectrum disorder) actually really relishes that freedom … they’re not restricted in any way which then helps them to open up and allows them to be really authentic.”
Maggie communicates how parents have seen “a real transformation in the way the young person behaves.” Some have begun to make eye contact when this is something they haven’t done before; their confidence gradually grows as they continue to work with their chosen horse.
Tini Riese is a psychologist who has also seen autistic individuals come on leaps and bounds through AAT with her therapy dog, Skådi. She explains that Skådi showed an aptitude for recognising distress from an early age and as she worked with neurodiverse adults, it made sense to combine the two. Skådi now accompanies Tini when carrying out in-person clinical diagnostic assessments and supports groups of autistic individuals. “We had one group where one person was electively mute,” she says. “Over the course of around six sessions, she started to speak. First holding Skådi on her lap and then speaking to Skådi and eventually interacting without her. It was just brilliant.”
Many specialist schools now also include AAT with their students. Serena Green previously worked with her therapy dogs, Keeper and Gunner, at Peterhouse School in Merseyside, a specialist school for children and young people who have ASD. She says: “The children responded with many questions and completely engaged with us. At that time, I had no idea that this group of children would not normally be sat together or hold their attention on what was happening.” After Keeper’s sad passing, Serena and Gunner continued to work with the school and went on to receive commendation from the PDSA for her amazing work at the school. Carole James, a teacher from Peterhouse, says: “The effect on our pupils in the presence of Serena and Gunner is delightful to see, groups of pupils who would normally struggle to sit for any length of time are mesmerised and beautifully calmed in his presence. Pupils with autism may have impaired social interaction skills, but with Gunner, these barriers are removed as they play, tickle and talk to Gunner easily and comfortably which they may struggle to do with their peers or adults. It’s lovely to see.”
When Gunner sadly passed, Peterhouse School decided to embrace a permanent AAT dog. Lesley Fleming, autism practice lead at Peterhouse, trained and owns their therapy dog, Paisley. Each AAT session is adapted specifically for each child and they cover many different topics such as confidence, communication and reading. “We worked with a child with selective mutism and the sessions involved walks where we chatted about dogs. She talked to me through the dog. She then read to the dog and gradually extended language using the dog as a topic,” Lesley explains.
Tini and Skådi the therapy dog are always happy to help! Source: @skadi_of_valmorah on Instagram.
Tini and Skådi the therapy dog are always happy to help! Source: @skadi_of_valmorah on Instagram.
Serena embracing the love and comfort Gunner has to offer. Source: Serena Green, Facebook.
Serena embracing the love and comfort Gunner has to offer. Source: Serena Green, Facebook.
Lesley and Paisley work at Peterhouse school to comfort and aid the children. Source: Lesley Fleming
Lesley and Paisley work at Peterhouse school to comfort and aid the children. Source: Lesley Fleming
Brian Benson and his therapy dog, Magnus, who are based in New York and boasts over 300k followers on Instagram (@magnusthetherapydog), have also done visits to schools for children with emotional and learning disabilities. He details one student who stands out to him. “There was one boy standing far off in the corner visibly uncomfortable,” he says. “I asked the teacher if everything was ok. He said the student was terrified of all dogs, not because of any traumatic incident, but it was just an innate fear he had developed that was exacerbated as a result of his autism.” Brian asked the boy if he wanted to join multiple times, suggesting different approaches such as having Magnus face away from him. His answer remained a definite no as he was trembling in fear. “I then showed him how I can take a small treat, place it between my thumb and pointer finger and place it in Magnus’ mouth,” he explains. “Magnus will try to get the treat, but as soon as I said ‘leave it’, Magnus opened his mouth and my fingers and the treat were intact. I explained that Magnus will never bite down on a person, even when they have food in their hands. The boy then agreed to try and feed Magnus a treat. He loved it! Then he did it again, and again, and again. He was so happy he started giggling like a toddler. The teacher said he has never seen a breakthrough like this. Moments like this are exactly why we do it.”
Animals hold the power to deeply connect with individuals who have difficulty forming relationships and bonds. They hold the power to teach people life lessons others may never be able to. They hold the power to help autistic individuals grow and thrive in confidence and so much more. AAT still has a long way to go before it can be considered a mainstream therapy, but gradually the miracles of its work are breaking through and being recognised.
