{"id":997,"date":"2012-08-26T20:25:29","date_gmt":"2012-08-26T20:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.net\/blog\/?p=997"},"modified":"2012-08-26T20:25:29","modified_gmt":"2012-08-26T20:25:29","slug":"boy-to-receive-costa-ricas-first-therapy-dog-for-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2012\/08\/boy-to-receive-costa-ricas-first-therapy-dog-for-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy to receive Costa Rica’s first therapy dog for autism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In an effort to help people with disabilities better integrate into the community, Spain’s Association of Dog-Assisted Therapies provided and trained the first therapy dog for a child with autism in Costa Rica. “The project is very much a novelty in Costa Rica because up to now, no assistance dog of this kind has been trained for that country or delivered there,” said Miguel Angel Signes, who helped train the dog.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

From FOX News Latino<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Xena, a 4-month-old Labrador, will be the first assistance dog in Costa Rica\u00a0 to help a 7-year-old autistic boy named Aaron adapt better to his surroundings,\u00a0 thanks to a solidarity project undertaken by Spain’s Association of Dog-Assisted\u00a0 Therapies, or AIAP.<\/p>\n

Miguel Angel Signes is one of the instructors in charge of training the\u00a0 canine, and since early this year he has been in Costa Rica with AIAP President\u00a0 Nuria Luengo promoting this kind of treatment to aid the integration of people\u00a0 with disabilities or special needs into society.<\/p>\n

Such therapies can help with the education and general treatment of children\u00a0 suffering some disability like cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism and more,\u00a0 Signes told Efe.<\/p>\n

Aaron is suffering an autistic disorder and thanks to Xena will be able to\u00a0 lower his stress and anxiety levels, since “the simple act of hugging, brushing\u00a0 or walking the dog is enough to reduce both symptoms,” Signes said.<\/p>\n

“The dog will also teach him to walk down the street correctly and will\u00a0 direct his steps in the right areas, as far away from the edge of the sidewalk\u00a0 as possible,” Signes said.<\/p>\n

The animals are used in such cases as motivational agents to reduce attention\u00a0 disorder, boost self-esteem, memory, concentration and even improve emotional\u00a0 relationships.<\/p>\n

“The boy’s disruptive behavior will be calmed down by the dog’s presence,\u00a0 since he’ll be bound to it at all times,” Signes said.<\/p>\n

Training an assistance dog can cost as much as 16,500 euros ($20,300), but in\u00a0 this case Xena’s training will be free thanks to an agreement between AIAP and\u00a0 Aaron’s parents.<\/p>\n

“The project is very much a novelty in Costa Rica because up to now no\u00a0 assistance dog of this kind has been trained for that country or delivered\u00a0 there. But best of all, the boy is already having therapy sessions with Xena,\u00a0 which later on will help his adaptation,” Signes said.<\/p>\n

Therapies with animals are based on sound science. According to Signes, it\u00a0 has been proved that sessions with dogs and other animals are effective in\u00a0 working on the patient’s behavior, communication and sociability.<\/p>\n

Read more: https:\/\/latino.foxnews.com\/latino\/lifestyle\/2012\/08\/20\/spanish-group-trains-dog-to-help-autistic-boy-in-costa-rica\/#ixzz24gZzwG7B<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an effort to help people with disabilities better integrate into the community, Spain’s Association of Dog-Assisted Therapies provided and trained the first therapy dog for a child with autism in Costa Rica. “The project is very much a novelty in Costa Rica because up to now, no assistance dog of this kind has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-service-animals"],"yoast_head":"\nBoy to receive Costa Rica's first therapy dog for autism | The Animal Health Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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