Pawsitive Connections: How Therapy Dogs Help Kids Learn Social-Emotional Skills (Part 2)
“I discovered that animals have vast resources of ability to inspire growth and bring about healing and transformation with children who appear unreachable or unresponsive to interventions…The motivation to bring healing to these children through my therapy services became a driving force that changed the course of my relationship with animals and how I saw myself as a therapist.” Kimbra Kern, speech-language pathologist
What happens when you take children who have experienced trauma, abuse, or years of social and academic failure and introduce an open-hearted therapy dog to their educational experience?
Speech-language pathologists Kimbra Kern and Noel Tang have watched amazing connections form with even the most challenging of clients—children and adolescents who need intensive support in specialized educational settings due to severe emotional and behavioral difficulties.
Following up on part one, in which animal-assisted interventionists Marjorie Borreda and Dr. Barb Vokatis shared how they include therapy dogs in social-emotional lessons for preschoolers and elementary age students in general education, let’s explore even more possibilities for enhancing children’s development…
Speech therapy dogs for building trust with emotionally dysregulated kids
Kimbra Kern, currently of Missouri, has partnered with therapy dogs and horses in public school settings for twenty years, starting the programs Hoofbeats and Heartbeats as well as Kids and Canines while living in Washington State. Serving primarily students in a self-contained Emotionally Disturbed program, she has also worked with individuals with articulation disorders, language delays, selective mutism, and pragmatic language deficits.
Over the years Kimbra has developed a systematic program to target self-regulation, pragmatic language, and social problem solving complete with lesson plans, tracking sheets, and permission forms that she hopes to someday publish.
(Author’s note: Yes, please--I’ll order the first copy!)
Kimbra has worked with five amazing therapy dogs over the years, all rescues—Bassett hound/pitbull mix Rainbow, shepherd/heeler mix Callie, Bassett hound Lucy, Australian shepherd mix Cinch, and now Luna, a purebred Labrador Retriever.
“Because of my canine co-therapist I could reach and motivate students who would otherwise be difficult to reach. I found the sessions with the dogs were extremely powerful because they were experiential…and much of the insights were generated from the feedback from the dog.”
In an excerpt from the book she’s in the process of writing, working-titled “Ripples in the Pond,” Kimbra shared her first experience in animal-assisted therapy with her partner Rainbow.
When she met a preschooler named Jake with selective mutism, he “would not say a single word to me. None of my fancy-dancy speech therapy tricks worked for me…Puppets, story books, silliness, trucks…nothing seemed to inspire this little fellow to open up. I was just met with stealth and unresponsiveness.”
When a paraprofessional suggested bringing in Kimbra’s companion dog Rainbow, she thought, “What do I have to lose? In those days I had never heard of animal-assisted therapy or therapy dogs or anything of the sort.
“Upon entering the building with Rainbow in tow…I saw a literal transformation I would have never ever predicted. Jake would not stop talking to Rainbow…Thinking the ice had been broken, I did not bring Rainbow to the next session. Big mistake on my part, as the only thing Jake would say to me was, ‘Where is Rainbow?’ Without Rainbow, the rest of the session was met with silence.
“After that revelation, Rainbow became part of the therapy team as my ‘Speech Therapy Dog.’ As the weeks passed, we used Rainbow as a bridge for Jake to learn to trust the other teachers in the preschool and to verbally interact with them. After several months, Jake would even interact verbally with me on the days I could not bring Rainbow.”
Animal-assisted speech therapist Kimbra Kern with rescue dog Sweet Pea, the inspiration behind her children’s book The Magic of Sweet Pea: The Dog with a Legendary Heart.
Reaching the seemingly unreachable with a speech therapy dog
Later in Kimbra’s career, therapy dog Callie was able to profoundly impact a child’s life as well. “As I sat at my computer, deeply engrossed with writing my end of the year speech and language reports, I was startled back to reality by blood-curdling screams coming from across the hall.” Kimbra saw a nine-year-old girl named Haley threatening physical harm and so out of control that staff had to physically restrain her. “My heart sank to see such an intense interaction needed to control such a young child.”
One of the worst cases of abuse the referring counselor had seen, Haley was often sent home early because of the severity of her tantrums and physical assaults. “In addition, she was shunned by the children in the classroom. They were afraid of her and their parents wanted her out of the class. Even her therapeutic foster parents were questioning if they could handle her much longer…I felt an urgency to help her.”
Kimbra suggested incentivizing the girl with interactions with therapy dog Callie. “When I brought up the topic of dogs, she looked over to me with a much softer but sadder eye and shared that her dog had been given away when she was removed from her home.”
After consulting with a behavioral specialist who understood how to integrate animal-assisted therapy, the girl was taught to give her aide a card saying “I need a break” to go see Kimbra and her therapy dog. On her way, the girl would practice breathing and waiting until she was calm enough to pet Callie. “Haley was very excited about having a dog be part of her support team!”
The girl would come to visit Callie 3-5 times a day. “When she arrived she was controlled and could articulate what had set her off. She was also open to my guidance to assist her with the issues she was having. Her frustration level was very high, but the motivation to be with Callie helped her remain calm. When she saw Callie I saw a light in her eye that was not there before and a smile on her face…sometimes she would just sit next to Callie and rub her belly.”
The girl’s curiosity about why Callie followed Kimbra around led to discussion about what the word “bonded” meant. “I used this as an opportunity to explain and model how healthy relationships were built. Upon understanding, she said she would like to be bonded to Callie.”
Kimbra also shared that as a rescue, Callie’s story was not that different than her student’s.
“When Haley was with Callie, the past trauma and current stresses were temporarily forgotten and she could just be a child in a space of peace and contentment. She had a new friend who did not judge her or put demands on her and would just be there when she needed help.
“She was able to make it through the last six days of school without any tantrums…her foster family reported that there were no tantrums at home that week and she was less demanding and rude.”
The importance of teaching staff about speech therapy dogs
Kimbra expressed that the most challenging aspect of including therapy dogs in her work at school is that some teachers view her program only as a reward and try to withhold time with the therapy dog as a consequence for undesired behavior. She’s found the need to constantly educate about canine-assisted therapy and provide insights into its role as a credible intervention.
She also found that while all her therapy dog partners showed a love for going to work, she had to regulate the number of sessions per day and how the students interacted with the dogs to prevent burn-out.
Kimbra closed our discussion with an anecdote about the Vice Principal at Haley’s school noting that “if the year before anyone had told her she not only would be allowing dogs in school but would actually be wanting a dog as a permanent member of the school team, she would have told them they were nuts.”
To contact Kimbra, email her at hoofbeats45@gmail.com
Getting students to love speech therapy with the help of a therapy dog
Noel Tang works in a special School for Social Development (SSD) for girls ages 12-18. The school provides intensive support for students with moderate to severe emotional and behavioral difficulties to enhance their learning motivation and life skills with a goal to resume education in ordinary schools as quickly as possible.
Noel notes that her primary challenge is “to obtain trust with these girls so that assessment and/or intervention can start as early as possible…Except for those students who have an overwhelming fear of dogs (only one or two of them), therapy dogs help me break the ice and connect with students in no time.” She calls her dogs, “fall-in-love-at-first-sight-four-legged friends.”
A therapy dog “creates not only a motivating environment but also delivers loads of fun and warmth in every session. And the students are looking forward to meeting up with the dog (and me, haha) every day.”
She’s even had students who do not actually exhibit speech difficulties pretend to have an articulation or fluency problem just for a chance to meet her therapy dog, Charlie.
Therapy dog Charlie, who partners with SLP Noel Tang to provide animal-assisted speech therapy in a self-contained program for teen girls with emotional and behavioral challenges. Charlie is a mixed-breed rescue dog.
Noel researched animal-assisted speech therapy as part of her degree work, submitting her unpublished paper “Using a dog-assisted approach to promote communicative functions in children with ASD” in 2016. She’s also worked with the Education University of Hong Kong to investigate further evidence of the complementary benefits of therapy dogs in speech therapy. In an article in the Kung Kao Po (issue 4141, June 2023), she explains that therapy dogs serve three roles in speech therapy. Namely as co-therapist, companion, and reinforcement, though these roles are not mutually exclusive and may vary depending on the intervention goals.
Noel has even been interviewed by print and TV media in Hong Kong about how she is innovating with speech therapy dogs!
She noted that working with students who often struggle with emotional difficulties, she wanted to provide animal-assisted therapy because with dogs around kids “feel secure, comfortable, and happy. I guess oxytocin kicks in once dogs with their multisensory stimuli come near.” After all, therapy is only effective when students are calm and attentive.
An example visual from an animal-assisted therapy activity led by SLP Noel Tang in Hong Kong. Her current speech therapy dog partner, Charlie, is featured top left.
The importance of finding the right speech therapy dog partner
Feeling that understanding dog psychology and behavior is extremely important for incorporating therapy dogs in our work, Noel astutely observed that clients that suffer socio-emotional distress “are highly sensitive and can sense that a dog is not happy enough…Our clients and students will benefit the most when interacting with a happy and confident dog.”
To that end, Noel obtained a diploma in dog training at Hong Kong Academy for Professional Dog Trainers. In addition to her therapy dog work, Noel has helped rehabilitate hundreds of dogs to avoid abandonment and euthanasia due to behavioral issues.
While her original beloved therapy dog partners Katy and Lily passed away a couple years ago, she currently partners with three-year-old mixed breed Charlie who she adopted at six months of age. “In terms of personality I am keen on a middle rank type of dog who has a submissive nature. That means they are easy to train and get along well with other animals (including humans). And the number one reason I chose Charlie as my therapy dog partner is that he is extremely affectionate towards humans. Other skills can be trained but the affectionate nature is hard to come by.” Charlie’s long fluffy coat is also a cherished aspect for Noel.
“As a dog trainer, I rehabilitate dogs and give them a second chance at life. As a dog owner and speech therapist, I suggest adoption and give the best rescue dog candidate a second chance to thrive as my co-therapist”
“Before Charlie, I used to tailor my work to meet the qualities of Katy and Lily…But with Charlie I don’t have to do so now. I can focus only on planning my session as Charlie really can’t wait to snuggle up to anyone I meet in my clinic.”
The human-animal bond persists even when a therapy dog isn’t present
Noel incorporates Charlie into her work teaching social cognition through the Social Thinking protocol. “My experience is that students work very hard to make Charlie happy and calm. This is the first step to establish a social mind” (i.e., taking another’s perspective by interpreting their thoughts, emotions, intentions, and behaviors).
Sharing a powerful story of how Charlie inspired change in a student without even being present, Noel discussed a student with language difficulties who was so overwhelmed at a class barbecue that she stood with her back to the group, avoiding all eye contact. Noel asked her to sit with her back to a wall to instill a sense of security, then shared that Charlie learned new things by watching, since observing visual cues is a key social skill.
“Her motivation and sustained attention was immediately noted whenever Charlie was mentioned. With the support of her classmates who taught her to roast marshmallows, she began to enjoy the fun and the food in her class.
“There are lots of activities that are intentionally planned, but lots of others are intuitive, keeping in mind what the language goals are initially determined and/or even noted on the spot.” The success of animal-assisted speech therapy for social-emotional teaching “really depends on how creative and sensitive the clinicians are.”
Noel, who is also chairman of the Association of Canine-Assisted Speech Therapy, feels therapy dog work has an “extremely positive” impact on the lives of her four-legged partners. “In the wild, dogs (or their ancestor wolves) survive by foraging every day” while domestic dogs don’t have this daily mental stimulation. Some dogs “develop behavior problems as they do not have a proper way to vent out their energy. Coming to work with me is the best way to vent out my dog’s energy by having him mentally and physically stimulated.”
(For more on this topic , see “The Flip Side: Balancing Valid Welfare Concerns with Potential Positives for Career Speech Therapy Dogs.”
Dog trainer and animal-assisted speech therapist Noel Tang with therapy dog partner Charlie.
If you’re interested in more information about speech therapy dog training in Asia, Contact acast.speechdogs@gmail.com
Learning more about animal-assisted speech therapy
Feeling inspired to follow in these innovative therapists’ footsteps and start partnering with your own therapy animal to improve the social-emotional well-being of your clients?
Check out the book Paws for Progress: Integrating Animal-Assisted Interventions Into Your Speech-Language Pathology Practice (ASHA Press 2024) or dive into the 7+hour course Talk to the Paw: Foundations for Therapy Animal Inclusion in a Professional Setting. I’ve posted several pertinent videos on the Speech Dogs YouTube channel and you can follow @Speech_Dogs as well!
May your day be filled with puppy wiggles and children’s giggles,
Sharlet
P.S., If you’re interested in learning more about working with kids with social-emotional challenges, I personally recommend any book by Dr. Ross W Greene as a starting point.
Related articles:
