Physical therapy with toys and dog-assisted therapy in infants: observational study

ABSTRACT This study aimed to compare physical therapy with toys with dog-assisted therapy in the neuromotor development of 4-month-old infants with and without neuromotor alterations. This is a qualitative descriptive and observational study carried out with 10 infants, who were evaluated by the Alberta Infant Motor Scale, divided into Group 1 (G1) and Group 2 (G1), and subdivided into Toy Group (TG1 and TG2) and Dog Group (DG1 and DG2) for the performance of fortnightly interventions. By the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development - Infant Scale, we assessed the opportunities present in the home environment. Qualitative data were analyzed using photos and videos. The presence of a dog in DG1 and DG2 resulted in a relaxed and fun environment, infants interested in touching the animal’s fur, alternating limb movements, eye contact, sound production, increased social interaction, and feeling of security. In TG1 and TG2, decrease in motivation was observed as well as the absence of sound production and eye contact by infants, and interest in touch restricted to toys that had different colors and sounds, with little agitation and motivation for motor skills in those groups. We concluded that the dog’s presence promoted better motor, social, affective, and cognitive results. Animal-assisted therapy can be an effective method to support conventional physical therapy for infants with delayed neuropsychomotor development.

摘要 本研究旨在对比玩具物理疗法与犬辅助疗法，对伴或不伴神经运动异常的4月龄婴儿的神经运动发育影响。本研究为一项质性描述性观察研究，纳入10名婴儿，采用阿尔伯塔婴儿运动量表（Alberta Infant Motor Scale）进行评估，将其分为第1组（G1）与第2组（G2），并进一步细分为玩具组（TG1、TG2）与犬辅助组（DG1、DG2），每两周开展一次干预。采用《运动发育家庭环境可供性婴儿量表》（Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development - Infant Scale）评估婴儿家庭环境中存在的运动发育相关可供性机会。质性数据通过照片与视频进行分析。犬辅助组（DG1、DG2）中，犬只的存在营造了轻松愉悦的环境，婴儿会主动触碰动物毛发、交替完成肢体运动、进行眼神交流、发出声响，社交互动增多且安全感提升。玩具组（TG1、TG2）中，观察到婴儿动机下降，且未出现声响发出与眼神交流行为，触摸兴趣仅局限于带有不同色彩与音效的玩具，该组婴儿的运动相关活跃度与动机均较低。本研究结论认为，犬只的陪伴可带来更优的运动、社交、情感与认知发育结果。动物辅助疗法可作为有效辅助手段，支持伴神经精神运动发育迟缓婴儿的常规物理治疗。