Mental disorder is a gargantuan peril that is inflicting pain in humans as well as animals. It can be genetic or can occur in any stage of life, like one of the developmental disorder called Autism spectrum disorder diagnosed at any age, disturbing the communication and behavior in humans. American psychiatric association described it as a spectrum due to a wide variation in type and severity of symptoms patients experience and is seen in all ethnic, racial and economic groups. ASD can be a lifelong disorder, treatments and services can improve a person’s symptoms and ability to function. Patients presented to the rehabs and hospitals show difficulty in social interaction, communication, repetitive behaviours, and restricted interests. Being one of the galling disorders, it is a perplexing condition for scientists to rule out the exact cause but there are some risk factors studied like having a sibling with ASD, having older parents, having certain genetic conditions such as Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, and Rett syndrome, and very low birth weight. Diagnostic acumen involves analyzing patient’s behaviour together with development, and Autism is reliably diagnosed by the age of 2 while in case of adults it is often more complex than diagnosing in children because the symptoms can overlap with symptoms of other mental health disorders, like anxiety or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
God created every human being with some special attributes, same is the case with Autistic patients, gifted with some golden traits like lying rarely, not being distracted by the social cues and random chitchat, not judgemental, more passionate, not tied to social expectations and blessed with terrific memories. The advanced qualities of autistic patients can be well understood from a movie based on the true story of Dr. Temple Grandin (American professor of Animal Sciences and inventor of “Hug box”, a device that calms autistic patients); she is one of the first personalities who have publicly shared a broader insight from her personal experience of Autism. To curb the menace of mental disorders there are a plethora of therapeutic interventions on the table, but in case of ASD there are no single best treatments recorded, so it needs to be diagnosed and treated early by working closely with a doctor or health care professional that helps in finding the right treatment program.
Medicines prescribed by the doctors for ASD show some fewer problems like irritability, aggression, repetitive behaviour, hyperactivity, anxiety, and depression. Also, behavioural, psychological and educational therapies that may involve family members are carried out for ASD. Our furry friends too are on the list of therapeutic inclusion for ASD, known as Animal-assisted intervention (AAI). The first official therapeutic and research work into animal-assisted therapy was executed in 1961 by a child psychologist Dr. Boris Levinson and is gaining popularity since the late 1990s. Manifold areas of functioning that are impaired in ASD have shown marvellous results, like increased social interaction and communication as well as a decline in autistic severity, and stress via animal therapies. Placing the furred companions in contact with autistic patients helps in enhancing psychosocial wellbeing by alleviating stress, heart rate and, blood pressure, plus it reduces loneliness and isolation. The raison d’être for including animals in ASD treatment stems from a multi-disciplinary field of research known as anthrozoology, or human-animal interaction (HAI), which encompasses ‘‘the mutual and dynamic relationships between people and animals and how these interactions may affect physical and psychological health and well-being. For socially isolated individuals such as those with ASD, animals have been speculated to offer a unique outlet for positive social engagement.
Many research studies have shown that autistic children interacting with dogs help them in alleviating anxiety, stress, temper tantrums and irritation. Animal-assisted therapy can be as simple as bringing a family pet into the household or as structured as sessions that offer horseback riding or swimming with dolphins. Animal interactions help children in becoming more physically developed plus it improves their strength, coordination, communication/social skills and physical abilities. Many animals are on the list of assistance in mental disorders such as dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, dolphins, birds and some other small animals. Studies have shown those children with autism show signs of a better sense of well-being, better problem-solving skills, self-confidence and a better state of mind with animal-assisted therapy. Benefits of animal-assisted therapy for autism also show in the learning of new vocabulary, aid in enhancing memory and improve concept learning such as size and color. In animal-assisted therapy Children can do the sessions in groups or individually at home or school, or in a clinic. Depending on an individual child’s needs, the therapy usually involves 6-12 sessions. Psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and other professionals use animals, particularly dogs for autistic patients.
How can health care professionals help? The first step is to recognize the extent of animal companionship in the country. A healthcare professional must provide accurate advice about the benefits and risks associated with keeping the pet. Most negative health outcomes related to companion animals involve zoonotic diseases (like toxoplasmosis, salmonella infection, avian psittacosis), injuries from bites/scratches, and allergies. In the case of psychiatric patients suffering from depression, anxiety disorders, and mood swings, the health care professionals must advise their patients of keeping pets so that they can relieve their anxiety levels with good and effective results. Medicos should give awareness to people regarding zoonotic diseases so that they can take all preventive measures before buying and keeping a pet. Also, health care professionals must follow the worldwide one health initiative achieved by the collaborative efforts of human and veterinary health care professionals to improve human, animal, and environmental health. As we know that there is a massive rise in consumption of cardiovascular, cholesterol-lowering, and antianxiety drugs these days with concomitant increase in cost and the adverse effects of polypharmacy but if incorporating patient activities with pets as an adjunct to current therapy capitalizes on resources already in place and enhances the patient’s perception of normalcy without additional cost. The physician’s acknowledgment of the importance of pets in a patient’s life can also strengthen the therapeutic alliance.
Dr. Abrar Ul Haq Wani, Columnist/P.hDScholar; Dept. of Medicine, SKUAST K and can be reached at dr.abrar79@gmail.com
