Using a therapy dog to support language intervention for listening comprehension, syntax and discourse: a single case study

Canine-assisted therapy has been widely utilised in various therapeutic settings, yet its application in speech-language intervention remains under-explored. This study investigated the impact of incorporating a therapy dog into language treatment sessions for a 5-year-old boy (TCF) diagnosed with language disorder. Utilising a single-subject alternating treatment design, TCF participated in six 60-minute sessions, alternating between conditions with and without a therapy dog. The targeted tasks included following instructions, story comprehension, relative clause production and procedural narrative. Results showed incremental progress across all tasks, regardless of the presence of the therapy dog, suggesting that the core therapeutic elements were effective on their own. Notably, the study highlighted that therapy dogs might serve as an engaging co-therapist, providing multisensory stimulation and positive reinforcement. However, the comparable improvement in both conditions indicates that the intervention’s inherent structure and the expertise of the therapist played crucial roles in the observed progress. The findings indicate that the inclusion of a therapy dog did not result in differential performance outcomes within the scope of this study. Future research with larger sample sizes and long-term studies, including qualitative data is recommended to further understand the potential benefits of canine-assisted therapy in speech-language settings.