饲养宠物犬有益自闭症儿童康复

Dogs can help kids with autism

      SUNDAY, July 31, 2016-（摘要）新的研究表明家庭养宠物犬能减轻闭症儿童生活中的压力，可给父母带来帮助。
      两年多以来，英国的研究人员跟踪了患有自闭症的儿童并养了狗的家庭。林肯大学的兽医行为医学教授说：“我们发现一个显着的，有益的养育孩子和他们的宠物犬之间的关系”，“这就是饲养者和宠物犬之间的相互债券关系”。
      Daniel Mills 教授说：“随着时间的推移饲养宠物犬的自闭症儿童的压力会持续减少，但在没有饲养犬的家庭没有发现这样的情况”。
      这项长期研究结果表明饲养宠物犬对改善家庭生活和患自闭症孩子具有潜在好处。
      这研究结果发表在最近的兽医行为杂志上。

SUNDAY, July 31, 2016 -- Raising a child with autism can be fraught with stressful days, but new research suggests the family pooch might bring parents some relief.
For more than two years, British researchers followed families of children with autism that got a dog.
"We found a significant, positive relationship between parenting stress of the child's main caregiver and their attachment to the family dog," said study leader Daniel Mills, a professor of veterinary behavioral medicine at the University of Lincoln. "This highlights the importance of the bond between the caregiver and their dog in the benefits they gain.
"Stress associated with parenting a child with autism continued to decrease among dog owners over time, but we did not see the same reductions in families without a dog," Mills added in a university news release.
"This long-term follow-up study highlights the potential benefits of pet ownership in bringing long-term improvements to the lives of families living with a child with autism," he said.
Steven Feldman, executive director of the U.S.-based Human Animal Bond Research Initiative Foundation, said, "Parents of children with autism can experience increased anxiety and stress, and now we have strong scientific evidence to show that pets can have positive effects on these quality-of-life issues."
He suggested that families dealing with autism consider pet ownership "as a way to improve family harmony."
The foundation funded the study, which was published recently in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior.