Is there any research supporting animal-assisted speech therapy?

Yes, though there is still a lot of research waiting to be done!

Sherrill & Hengst (2022) published Exploring Animal-Assisted Therapy for Creating Rich Communicative Environments and Targeting Communication Goals in Subacute Rehabilitation in the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. They found increased spontaneous communication (including talk time, mean length of turns, and use of interactional discourse resources such as narrative use and playful language) by a group of 10 adults with acquired neurogenic communication disorders. This study’s findings also suggest attendance may be higher for some clients when animal-assisted therapy is incorporated. To read the article, click here.

Research in the field of education, mental health, and occupational therapy also support the benefit of the human-animal bond and animal-assisted therapy with a variety of clients. For an excellent overview of the existing research compiled by the Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals and Pet Partners, please click here.

Anecdotal evidence for animal-assisted therapy in speech-language pathology showing improved outcomes in pediatric clients are documented in the book Paws for Progress: Integrating Animal-Assisted Interventions into Your Speech-Language Pathology Practice  (ASHA Press, 2024). Benefits discussed include improved sensory regulation, improved memorability for concepts and activities, enhanced motivation to participate, and increased practice repetitions within sessions, in addition to improved clinician well-being,

What is the difference between Animal-Assisted Therapy, Animal-Assisted Interventions, Animal-Assisted Education, and Animal-Assisted Activities?

Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) is an umbrella term that refers to any therapeutic approach that incorporates animals in some form to target a specific aspect of human well-being.

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is the intentional inclusion of an animal within a heath or human service professional’s practice to address a client’s goals.

If these goals are part of a general education curriculum or included within special education to meet an Individualized Education Plan, it may be termed Animal-Assisted Education (AAE).

The incorporation of a therapy dog may be to help improve motivation, increase memorability, or facilitate a more regulated emotional or sensory state to improve learning. Interactions with a therapy dog may also provide opportunities to practice an emerging skill or generalize a learned skill to new contexts. In both AAT and AAE, data is taken to monitor client progress and inform decision-making.

Examples include asking a dog to perform a trick that includes a targeted speech sound instead of practicing speech flash cards, practicing decoding by reading a passage to a dog, or asking the dog questions using a particular grammatical form while playing a game.

Click to see video examples of AAT with a therapy dog in speech, language, and reading intervention.

This is also sometimes referred to as “canine-assisted therapy” or just “dog-assisted therapy”. However, many different species can be successfully incorporated into animal-assisted interventions. For more, click here for the Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals, “What is AAI?”

Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA) are the informal inclusion of a trained therapy animal to promote general well-being, such as decreasing anxiety or encouraging social interactions in general. These are typically performed by a volunteer therapy animal-handler team.

In practical use, these terms often get used interchangeably, but the primary idea behind all of them is that the power of the Human-Animal Bond (HAB) can stimulate changes in physical, behavioral, and mental well-being.

What is Animal-Related Engagement?

Animal-Related Engagement (ARE) is using animal-themed books, videos, games, discussion topics, craft projects, or virtual visits with a therapy animal to target client goals. Biophilia is the theory that human brains are wired to want to interact with nature, including animals, and that regular interaction with the natural world fosters physical and mental well-being. Many children’s games and books, for example, incorporate animal characters because they are naturally engaging. ARE can be used in place of or in conjunction with a live therapy dog. To learn more, check out this blog post on animal-related engagement. Like other animal-assisted interventions, ARE is goal-directed and data-driven to improve a client’s outcomes.

Click here for examples of Animal-Related Engagement materials to use with child speech therapy clients.

How do I know if my dog has potential as a speech therapy dog?

Whether you’re hoping to partner with your dog professionally as a co-therapist at a speech therapy facility or as a volunteer therapy dog-handler team that visits medical or school facilities, the primary factor is a therapy dog’s affiliative behavior. Affiliative behavior is a drive to interact with humans and is part of the dog’s inherent temperament. Though training, socialization, and experience will further improve your dog’s ability to interact therapeutically, a speech therapy dog must first and foremost want to work with people.

Any breed can potentially have the affiliative nature needed for animal-assisted interventions to be mutually beneficial to both client and therapy dog. Some breeds are more commonly represented because they have been bred over generations to work well with humans, but individuals from many breeds and mixes are successfully engaged in animal-assisted therapy around the world.

Because dogs mature at different rates based on breed and individual factors, some dogs are better suited to start therapy dog work at an older age than others. A qualified dog trainer who is familiar with therapy dog work and/or a therapy dog certifying organization can help you navigate when and how to start introducing therapy work and guide you in prioritizing helpful manners and behaviors to train.

Basic manners are a must to keep speech therapy clients and their families safe and comfortable. Special tricks can be useful to address specific client goals, but are not necessary. Often just the speech therapy dog’s presence is enough to encourage more spontaneous utterances, help a client regulate their sensory system to improve learning readiness, and act as a neutral third party to reduce power struggles with clients who exhibit oppositional behaviors. Therapy dogs can also be used to help clients with challenging behaviors transition into and out of therapy.

For myths about animal-assisted therapy and why your dog might be better suited than you realize, check out the Puppy Wiggles and Children’s Giggles blog post “Five Myths about Speech Therapy Dogs.”

Is it possible to get liability insurance for a speech therapy dog?

If you are working for an employer—whether that’s a school district, hospital, or private clinic—check to see if they have any guidelines currently in place. If not,  Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals offers a course on developing an animal-assisted intervention program manual to cover common workplace concerns such as infectious disease prevention, informed consent, incident reporting, and liability

If you are self-employed, check with your professional liability insurance provider. It may take some perseverance to get a firm answer as animal-assisted speech therapy is still fairly uncommon. You will want to know if there are any exclusions for working animals, any evaluations or registrations the therapy dog must obtain, and if damages such as mental anguish or property destruction by the therapy dog would be covered.

Likely you and your therapy dog will need to pass some form of third party evaluation, whether that’s a Canine Good Citizen award or passing a test by a therapy dog registering organization. (see Animal-Assisted Speech Therapy Resources for more information).

The Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals (AAAIP) started a pilot program in Fall ‘24 to provide assessment of professional therapy dog-handler teams, with those that pass eligible for a special liability policy (for more, click here). Stay tuned for a Puppy Wiggles and Children’s Giggles post about this process.

Although therapy animal organizations will provide liability coverage for you and your therapy dog in volunteer situations, this does not carry over to professional partnership with your dog. Homeowner’s insurance is also unlikely to cover animals being used for business purposes.