Squishes, Deep Breaths, and Therapy Dogs…Oh My! How a Speech Therapy Dog Can Improve Sensory Regulation

Delta’s expression made me laugh…

There she lay, shifting her weight like a surfer, ears pricked as she listened to the boy.  Like a character in Audrey Woods’s The Napping House, Delta was on top of the cushy mat on top of the relaxing child in a speech office where everyone was now smiling.

The scene had been different just minutes before.  Angus, a middle schooler working on higher level literacy skills and nearing discharge after years of speech, language, and reading interventions, had come in yawning.  He complained sharply he already knew “this stuff” and that his head was hurting.

In times past he had sometimes appreciated having my therapy dogs lie on his lap or across his back to provide deep pressure input.

However, he also sometimes reacted with hypersensitivity if their paws grazed him, plus he had grown into a robust young man.  So I offered to let him try Delta’s newly mastered “heavy squishes”, trained specifically to help another young adult on my caseload.  To see Angus’s reaction, click here.

Time and again I find one of the most impactful benefits of working with a speech therapy dog is their ability to help a child achieve a calmer, more regulated state.  It’s a trait I take advantage of almost daily working with kids on my caseload diagnosed with autism, attention-deficit disorder, tourette’s, and even some of my neurotypical kids who are just having a bad day. 

Here’s three ways my speech therapy dogs and I work together to bring about a calmer, more regulated state:

Speech therapy dog Delta provides “heavy squishes” to a young man with autism as part of a sensory regulation routine to prepare for more structured language-learning activities.

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#3 Providing deep pressure input with a speech therapy dog

Deep pressure therapy is a way of providing firm, steady, proprioceptive input to help calm a nervous system stuck in “fight or flight” (sympathetic nervous system) mode.  It’s believed to increase the parasympathetic nervous system response to help balance the sensory system and may also stimulate increased feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine.  It’s the reason weighted blankets are so popular as a relaxation aid.

I’ve worked with all my therapy dogs to feel comfortable lying across a child’s lap or gently resting their chest and front legs on a child’s back as they lie face down. 

A few very important aspects when providing deep pressure with a therapy dog:

·       I always check with the child for consent, even if I know they’ve enjoyed this in the past, as sensory differences can vary from day to day. This may be words or body language signals depending on the child’s abilities. 

·       With new children I will often show a video of my dog providing these “squishes” to another child, ask the caregiver to demonstrate first, or try it with my weighted stuffed puppy.  

·       The child is given a key word to tell the therapy dog to get up.  I typically use, “That’s enough” as a polite phrase that can also be generalized to other protests.  However, since my therapy dogs actually follow my hand signals to get up, any word, sign, or icon can be easily used based on communication abilities. 

·       I also watch the child’s body language and remove the dog instantly if I see any sign of stress.

Because one of my long-time clients with high sensory regulation needs is now a teenager over six feet tall, I recently worked with Delta to increase the amount of input she provides by lying fully on top of him. 

To protect from sharp nails and pointy elbows, he lies inside a gym mat with his head resting on a pillow.  He now differentiates requesting “light squishes” from these “heavy squishes” that I offered Angus that day.

Delta more often provides "light squishes" as part of animal-assisted speech therapy, using just part of her body weight for deep pressure input with smaller kids or those who need only slight sensory input .

#2 Calming breaths with a speech therapy dog

My speech therapy dogs also help provide a tactile component and visual focal point while taking slow, deep breaths to calm and focus. 

While I support the dog by petting their front end or slipping them treats, I coach clients to put their hands on the therapy dog’s back and take some breaths.  This can be either:

·       static, where the child’s hands stay on the dog’s shoulder and hips while breathing, or

·       dynamic, in which the child slowly slides their hands along the dog’s back from shoulders to tail in rhythm with breathing

A couple of my clients have even transitioned to watching the therapy dog sleep and timing their breath to hers in order to co-regulate.

This can be a mutually enjoyable activity for client and therapy dog if done gently. However, some therapy dogs are more empathic than others and may experience some “emotional contagion”, taking on the stress they feel from the client. Because Delta is one of those dogs, I often add in treats during and after this activity and make sure she gets extra down-time or a play break immediately after the session to recover.

Angus practices calming breaths while focusing on therapy dog Delta during an animal-assisted speech therapy session.

#3 Inclusion of animal-related engagement to improve sensory regulation

Of course it’s not usually possible to have a therapy dog providing sensory input for an entire session. 

I let my dogs tell me when they’ve had enough interaction, whether it’s by clearly pulling away or more subtle appeasement signals like licking lips or pulling ears back. 

Occasionally a child is too upset to safely ask my speech therapy dog to approach.

So I was thrilled when I recently found a darling weighted stuffed dog that kids can rest on their shoulders, laps, or even heads as they work when my therapy dog needs down-time.  Once children know the deep pressure and calm breathing routines with a live therapy dog, I’ve found many are willing try the same procedures with “Heavy Puppy”.

He also comes in handy for teaching and reviewing dog etiquette with anxious clients who exhibit approach-avoidant behaviors with a live therapy dog.

(Check out the post “No Therapy Dog? No Problem!  for more about animal-related engagement.)

“Heavy Puppy” provides sensory input throughout a session when speech therapy dog Delta needs a break.

Partnering with a speech therapy dog has changed my practice in many ways, but one I’m especially grateful for is their ability to help calm a dysregulated child. 

If you’re interested in learning how to get started with animal-assisted interventions, be sure to download your FREE Roadmap to Partnering with a Speech Therapy Dog.  Follow on Instagram @Speech_Dogs to find out how to get your copy  of Paws for Progress:  Integrating Animal-Assisted Interventions Into Your Speech-Language Pathology Practice coming from ASHA Press September ‘24!

May your days be filled with puppy wiggles and children’s giggles,

Sharlet

P.S.  New speech therapy dog Sky is just learning to provide deep pressure “squishes”. 

For now I’m only asking her for brief moments and treating almost constantly to keep her excited about the task. 

Given that she is smaller and less confident than my Labrador/Great Dane mix Delta, I’ll continue to watch to her signals to see if she feels comfortable lying on children for longer periods and/or graduating to providing the heavy squishes with a gym mat. 

Click to see one Sky’s first attempts learning “squish”.