Animal Assisted WHAT? HOW? WHY?
At AIA we aim to stay up to date with the latest research and evidence in our industry. This includes terminologies of what all this 'animal assisted stuff' is! Here is some useful information we have provided (references below) to help you understand the ins and outs of our industry.
Many organisations are making the mistake of calling their services 'pet therapy' or 'animal assisted therapy' when in fact they are NOT qualified therapists! Hopefully this information below will help you to understand our services and that of others.....
Many organisations are making the mistake of calling their services 'pet therapy' or 'animal assisted therapy' when in fact they are NOT qualified therapists! Hopefully this information below will help you to understand our services and that of others.....
What is the difference between animal-assisted therapy and animal-assisted activities?
The main difference between AAT and AAA is that AAT is goal-oriented, and part of a specific therapeutic treatment plan while AAA involves using animals for recreation, motivation, education and other life improvement activities.
Animal Assisted Learning is a program that is goal oriented to help a participant to achieve their learning goals
How does Delta Society define animal-assisted therapy?
Animal-assisted therapy is the use of certified therapy animals as part of a therapeutic plan. Pet Partners, once known as the Delta Society, has described animal-assisted therapy as a "significant part of treatment for many people physically, socially, emotionally or cognitively challenged."
Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI)
Animal-assisted interventions are goal-oriented and structured interventions that intentionally incorporate animals in health, education, and human service for the purpose of therapeutic gains and improved health and wellness. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT), animal-assisted education (AAE), and animal-assisted activities (AAA) are all forms of animal-assisted interventions. In all these interventions, the animal may be part of a volunteer therapy animal team working under the direction of a professional or an animal that belongs to the professional.
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)
Animal-assisted therapy is a goal-oriented, planned, structured, and documented therapeutic intervention directed by health and human service providers as part of their profession. A wide variety of disciplines may incorporate AAT. Possible practitioners could include physicians, occupational therapists, physical therapists, certified therapeutic recreation specialists, nurses, social workers, speech therapists, or mental health professionals.
Animal-Assisted Education (AAE)
Animal-assisted education is a goal-oriented, planned, and structured intervention directed by a general education or special education professional. The focus of the activities is on academic goals, prosocial skills, and cognitive functioning with student progress being both measured and documented.
Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA) (also known as Animal Assisted Learning / Equine Assisted Learning in Australia)
Animal-assisted activities provide opportunities for motivational, educational, and/or recreational benefits to enhance quality of life. While more informal in nature, these activities are delivered by a specially trained professional, paraprofessional, and/or volunteer, in partnership with an animal that meets specific criteria for suitability.
The terms AAI, AAT, AAE, and AAA are the preferred industry terms.
The term ‘pet therapy’ should be avoided because it is inaccurate and misleading. The term was widely used several decades ago to refer to animal training programs. By contrast, the currently preferred terms imply that the animal is acting as a motivating force to enhance the treatment provided by a well-trained person.
Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (AACR)
Animal-assisted crisis response is a form of animal-assisted activities which provides comfort to those who have been affected by natural, human-caused, or technological disasters. AACR is effective because the safety, familiarity, novelty, and interest in the animal have been found to be impactful when building rapport with a person affected by crisis.
Animal-Assisted Workplace Well-being (AAWW)
When therapy animal teams make workplace well-being visits, they boost employee morale and satisfaction, and increase productivity. Numerous studies have shown that when people take just a few moments to pet an animal, their stress is reduced. Research also shows that animals in the workplace often lead to more productive coworker interaction, increased trust levels between colleagues, and more effective collaboration.
Animal-Related Engagement (ARE)
Animal-related engagement is any engagement opportunity that allows participants the benefits of the human-animal bond by encouraging the remembrance of feelings that are commonly associated with interaction with an animal.
Therapy Animal
Therapy animals can provide physical, psychological, and emotional benefits to those they interact with, typically in facility settings such as healthcare, assisted living, and schools. While most frequently dogs, therapy animals can include other domesticated species such as cats, equines, and rabbits, to name a few. These pets are evaluated on their ability to safely interact with a wide range of populations, and their handlers are trained in best practices to ensure effective interactions that support animal welfare. Therapy animal handlers may volunteer their time to visit with their animals in the community, or they may be practitioners who utilize the power of the human-animal bond in professional settings.
A therapy animal has no special rights of access, except in those facilities where they are welcomed. They may not enter businesses with “no pets” policies or accompany their handler in the cabin of an airplane regardless of their therapy animal designation.
Assistance Animal (also commonly called Service Animal)
Assistance animals are defined as dogs and in some cases miniature horses that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples include guide dogs for people who are blind, hearing dogs for people who are deaf, or dogs trained to provide mobility assistance or communicate medical alerts.
Assistance dogs are considered working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Guide, hearing, and assistance dogs are permitted, in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act in Australia, to
accompany a person with a disability almost anywhere the general public is allowed. This includes restaurants, businesses, and on airplanes.
Emotional Support Animal
An emotional support animal, sometimes also referred to as a comfort animal, is a pet that provides therapeutic support to a person with a mental illness. To be designated as an emotional support animal, the pet must be prescribed by a licensed mental health professional for a person with a mental illness. The prescription must state that the individual has an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, and that the presence of the animal is necessary for the individual’s mental health.
Individuals with emotional support animals do not have the same rights to public access as individuals with a service dog. Emotional support animals may only accompany their owners in public areas with the express permission of each individual venue and/or facility management. Emotional support animals usually live with their owners. Although most frequently dogs, other species may be prescribed as emotional support animals.
Facility Animal
A facility animal is an animal who is regularly present in a residential or clinical setting. These animals may be a variety of species from dogs and cats to birds or fish. They might live with a handler who is an employee of the facility and come to work each day, or they might live at the facility full-time under the care of a primary staff person. Facility animals should be specially trained for extended interactions with clients or residents of the facility, which may include AAA, AAE, or AAT. These animals do not have special rights of access in public unless they are accompanying and directly supporting a client with a disability.
The main difference between AAT and AAA is that AAT is goal-oriented, and part of a specific therapeutic treatment plan while AAA involves using animals for recreation, motivation, education and other life improvement activities.
Animal Assisted Learning is a program that is goal oriented to help a participant to achieve their learning goals
How does Delta Society define animal-assisted therapy?
Animal-assisted therapy is the use of certified therapy animals as part of a therapeutic plan. Pet Partners, once known as the Delta Society, has described animal-assisted therapy as a "significant part of treatment for many people physically, socially, emotionally or cognitively challenged."
Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI)
Animal-assisted interventions are goal-oriented and structured interventions that intentionally incorporate animals in health, education, and human service for the purpose of therapeutic gains and improved health and wellness. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT), animal-assisted education (AAE), and animal-assisted activities (AAA) are all forms of animal-assisted interventions. In all these interventions, the animal may be part of a volunteer therapy animal team working under the direction of a professional or an animal that belongs to the professional.
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)
Animal-assisted therapy is a goal-oriented, planned, structured, and documented therapeutic intervention directed by health and human service providers as part of their profession. A wide variety of disciplines may incorporate AAT. Possible practitioners could include physicians, occupational therapists, physical therapists, certified therapeutic recreation specialists, nurses, social workers, speech therapists, or mental health professionals.
Animal-Assisted Education (AAE)
Animal-assisted education is a goal-oriented, planned, and structured intervention directed by a general education or special education professional. The focus of the activities is on academic goals, prosocial skills, and cognitive functioning with student progress being both measured and documented.
Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA) (also known as Animal Assisted Learning / Equine Assisted Learning in Australia)
Animal-assisted activities provide opportunities for motivational, educational, and/or recreational benefits to enhance quality of life. While more informal in nature, these activities are delivered by a specially trained professional, paraprofessional, and/or volunteer, in partnership with an animal that meets specific criteria for suitability.
The terms AAI, AAT, AAE, and AAA are the preferred industry terms.
The term ‘pet therapy’ should be avoided because it is inaccurate and misleading. The term was widely used several decades ago to refer to animal training programs. By contrast, the currently preferred terms imply that the animal is acting as a motivating force to enhance the treatment provided by a well-trained person.
Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (AACR)
Animal-assisted crisis response is a form of animal-assisted activities which provides comfort to those who have been affected by natural, human-caused, or technological disasters. AACR is effective because the safety, familiarity, novelty, and interest in the animal have been found to be impactful when building rapport with a person affected by crisis.
Animal-Assisted Workplace Well-being (AAWW)
When therapy animal teams make workplace well-being visits, they boost employee morale and satisfaction, and increase productivity. Numerous studies have shown that when people take just a few moments to pet an animal, their stress is reduced. Research also shows that animals in the workplace often lead to more productive coworker interaction, increased trust levels between colleagues, and more effective collaboration.
Animal-Related Engagement (ARE)
Animal-related engagement is any engagement opportunity that allows participants the benefits of the human-animal bond by encouraging the remembrance of feelings that are commonly associated with interaction with an animal.
Therapy Animal
Therapy animals can provide physical, psychological, and emotional benefits to those they interact with, typically in facility settings such as healthcare, assisted living, and schools. While most frequently dogs, therapy animals can include other domesticated species such as cats, equines, and rabbits, to name a few. These pets are evaluated on their ability to safely interact with a wide range of populations, and their handlers are trained in best practices to ensure effective interactions that support animal welfare. Therapy animal handlers may volunteer their time to visit with their animals in the community, or they may be practitioners who utilize the power of the human-animal bond in professional settings.
A therapy animal has no special rights of access, except in those facilities where they are welcomed. They may not enter businesses with “no pets” policies or accompany their handler in the cabin of an airplane regardless of their therapy animal designation.
Assistance Animal (also commonly called Service Animal)
Assistance animals are defined as dogs and in some cases miniature horses that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples include guide dogs for people who are blind, hearing dogs for people who are deaf, or dogs trained to provide mobility assistance or communicate medical alerts.
Assistance dogs are considered working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Guide, hearing, and assistance dogs are permitted, in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act in Australia, to
accompany a person with a disability almost anywhere the general public is allowed. This includes restaurants, businesses, and on airplanes.
Emotional Support Animal
An emotional support animal, sometimes also referred to as a comfort animal, is a pet that provides therapeutic support to a person with a mental illness. To be designated as an emotional support animal, the pet must be prescribed by a licensed mental health professional for a person with a mental illness. The prescription must state that the individual has an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, and that the presence of the animal is necessary for the individual’s mental health.
Individuals with emotional support animals do not have the same rights to public access as individuals with a service dog. Emotional support animals may only accompany their owners in public areas with the express permission of each individual venue and/or facility management. Emotional support animals usually live with their owners. Although most frequently dogs, other species may be prescribed as emotional support animals.
Facility Animal
A facility animal is an animal who is regularly present in a residential or clinical setting. These animals may be a variety of species from dogs and cats to birds or fish. They might live with a handler who is an employee of the facility and come to work each day, or they might live at the facility full-time under the care of a primary staff person. Facility animals should be specially trained for extended interactions with clients or residents of the facility, which may include AAA, AAE, or AAT. These animals do not have special rights of access in public unless they are accompanying and directly supporting a client with a disability.