Authors:
- Anita Berišić – University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Sales, Contracting and Billing Department, Zagreb, Croatia (student).
- Anamarija Gjuran Coha– University of Rijeka, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Social Sciences and Humanities in Medicine, Rijeka, Croatia.
- Gordana – Health Centre of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Department of Health Care for Preschool Children, Rijeka, Croatia.
Article type:
Original Scientific Paper
Abstract:
Introduction
Families of children with developmental disabilities who have a dog are involved in rehabilitation and early intervention programs. One of the rehabilitation programs includes the coexistence of an assistance/guide dog in the family of a child with developmental disabilities. The aim of this research was to examine and evaluate the benefits for children and families of children with developmental disabilities who have an assistance/guide dog.
Methods
Families of children with developmental disabilities who have an assistance/guide dog participated in the research. Data was collected through a survey questionnaire specially created for this research in electronic form using Google Forms, with the support of the Silver Rehabilitation Center, Zagreb, Croatia, 2023.
Results
The total number of participants was 44, out of which 32 (72.73%) were female and 12 (27.27%) male. The age of 17 (38.64%) participants was up to forty years, 23 participants (52.27%) were aged forty to fifty, and 4 (9.09%) participants were over fifty-one years of age. The level of well-being in emotional, social, and motor expression was not affected by whether the family had a pet before; it exists and is equal nonetheless. It was estimated that benefits would be more pronounced in families with children who have only one developmental disability.
Conclusion
Well-being in the child’s motor, social, and emotional expression, regardless of the number of difficulties, is associated with the presence of an assistance/guide dog in the household.
Keywords:
Connection, disabled children, environment, family,
service dogs, well-being