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Abstract - Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) occurs as a result of alcohol consumption by a woman during pregnancy. Infants with FASD may have lifelong cognitive, behavioral, physical, or learning disabilities as a result. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a type of goal-oriented therapy for improving social, emotional, cognitive, and physical functioning. The use of animal-assisted therapy has been found effective in the treatment of some disabilities; however there is a paucity of literature addressing this therapy for individuals with FASD. This article provides rehabilitation counselors with an overview of FASD, followed by a review of AAT, and then an application of AAT to developmental disabilities and more specifically to FASD.
Keywords: Fetal alcohol syndrome, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, animal assisted therapy, developmental disabilities
In the United States, one in eight pregnant women drink alcohol, while one in fifty women binge drink during pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2005a). Alcohol can have negative effects on unborn babies. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) describes the various disabilities that are caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol (Nulman, Ickowicz, Koren, KnittelKeren, 2007). This exposure can cause behavioral, cognitive, physical, or learning disabilities (Nulman et al., 2007), which have lasting developmental effects. Although there is no cure for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, treatment options are available to aid in child development. This paper proposes the use of animal-assisted therapy for treatment of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in children and adolescents in rehabilitation counseling contexts. However, a lack of research exists on this treatment modality in relation to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Due to this fact, this article will examine the benefits of animal-assisted therapy with developmental disorders that exhibit common symptoms of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. This information will then be utilized to suggest the benefits of animal-assisted therapy as a treatment for individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Prenatal alcohol exposure can have a variety of negative consequences on a developing baby. The term fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) refers to the range of learning, behavioral, physical, and cognitive impairments that a child can be bom with due to prenatal exposure to alcohol (CDC, 2005a; Chudley et al., 2005; Nulman et al., 2007). It can be classified into four categories: fetal...