Autism spectrum disorder and pet therapy.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) encompasses a wide range of social and mental afflictions that are difficult to treat. Due to a lack of established treatments for ASD, alternative therapies have been the primary form of intervention. One of these alternatives is pet therapy, a field that has experienced growing interest and has recently accumulated studies that investigate its efficacy. This article reviews and summarizes that effectiveness as well as the findings and limitations associated with pet therapy for ASD. The majority of research on ASD and pet therapy has examined children and has primarily used dogs and horses for therapy. Studies have shown positive effects for the therapy, including high satisfaction rates among the participants' families. Major limitations of studies in the current literature include the lack of control groups and small sample sizes. Future research should incorporate better study designs and large samples to validate pet therapy as an appropriate treatment for ASD.