A HUMAN-ANIMAL INTERVENTION TEAM-APPROACH TO ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY

A human-animal intervention (HAI) team approach to animal-assisted the rapy is described and assessed. The effectiveness of this modality is evaluated in two case studies of emotionally disturbed children. Two s chool age children (both males, 11 and 12 years of age) participated i n an average of 12 weekly sessions. Progress of individual goals was a ssessed through numerous sources: The ADD-M comprehensive Teacher Rati ng Scale (ACTeRS) observations during each session from school distric t researchers and professionals; video tapes of the therapy sessions; the participants' Individual Education Plans (IEP); and post-intervent ion interviews with the participants, their families, and the educatio nal professionals involved. Evaluation showed positive results for the majority of individual goals set.