Guinea pigs as classroom pets
7 December 2010
SCAS scholarship winner Marguerite O’Haire summarises findings from her research study, which examined how guinea pigs as classroom pets affect the social behaviours of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their typically-developing classmates.
This article appears in the Winter 2010 issue of the SCAS Journal, which is free to SCAS members. Members can obtain a copy of the full research paper, including statistical analysis, by contacting the SCAS office.
Animals and children with autism Early school experiences are important for healthy mental, physical, and social development (Hertzman and Wiens, 1996). During the childhood years, children face unique social and developmental challenges. 
They are maturing physically and behaviourally and spend significantly less time at home and more time at school with their peers. For children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), this time is particularly challenging because a major feature of the disorder is impairment in social interactions (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).For children with ASD in mainstream classrooms, this deficit can be devastating. They tend to be rejected and victimized by their peers, which can lead to social isolation, psychological and physiological stress, anxiety, and problem behaviours (Kasari and Rotheram-Fuller, 2007).AAI in the classroom Developing an innovative and effective therapeutic strategy for children with ASD in mainstream classrooms is urgent. Therapists who work with ASD have proposed that one valuable addition to current practices may be the implementation of an Animal-assisted intervention (AAI) in the classroom (Law and Scott, 1995).
Animal-assisted interventions are defined as facilitated programmes with animals that provide 'opportunities for motivational, educational, recreational, and/or therapeutic benefits to enhance quality of life'
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Despite impairments in communication and social relationships with humans that characterize ASD, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children with ASD have a special connection with animals, in that they are able to understand and form close bonds with the pet animals in their lives (Grandin and Johnson, 2005).A handful of studies using animal-assisted interventions in therapeutic settings have demonstrated positive social outcomes for children with ASD (Reynolds, 2009). For example, an animal-assisted intervention with a dog increased the number of socially appropriate behaviours displayed by children with ASD (Redefer and Goodman, 1989; Martin and Farnum, 2002).A similar intervention with dogs, llamas, and rabbits increased the number and quality of social interactions for children with ASD (Sams et al., 2006). Most recently, an animal-assisted intervention with horses increased social motivation in children with ASD (Bass et al., 2009). Taken together, these studies highlight the potential of animal-assisted interventions to improve social skills deficits in children with ASD.