When dogs become therapists
When dogs become therapists
A growing army of trained animals is helping people — from autistic children to the elderly — enjoy more fulfilling lives
By Zhou Huiying
Starting in 2022, at the beginning of each school semester, some autistic children at Huimin School in Shanghai's Fengxian district have participated in special classes. In one of those, the children had therapy dog partners and played games, guided by Wu Qi and some volunteers, who worked with the teachers to complete certain functional improvements training.
For example, the children learned to introduce themselves to the dogs, after which they introduced the dogs to other classmates, thereby enhancing their language and communication abilities and gradually integrating into the group.
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