Stroke Rehab Dogs Program
The Stroke and PAT scheme is a collaborative partnership between Ruth Winston Centre and the national charity Pets As Therapy.
It offers stroke survivors the opportunity to incorporate a companion animal into their stroke rehabilitation treatment programme. Pets As Therapy works in partnership with the lead professional Sallie Bollans of Stroke Rehab Dogs, to provide suitable volunteer PAT dog teams.
The Value of
Animal Assisted Therapy in Stroke Rehabilitation
Key points:
to
facilitate improvements in the five functional domains; physical health,
emotional health, psychosocial health, cognitive function and communication
skills.
AAT can therefore be successfully implemented by all
members of the multi-disciplinary team, (Occupational Therapists, Speech and
Language Therapists, Physiotherapists and Psychologists), to work towards
achieving client-centred goals with appropriate people.
AAT can provide a unique opportunity to relearn
everyday skills without realising the full extent of the effort being
exercised.
Research has suggested that "a dog may act as a
unique catalyst to motivate the client to talk and provide an atmosphere of
unconditional acceptance for the disordered speech that is
produced" (Macauley B. L. 2006).
For patients
with communication difficulties (fluent and non-fluent aphasia), interaction
with the dog offers opportunities for the production of spontaneous vocal
output, together with an opportunity to repeat practised "drill type"
activities with an outcome. Due to the non-confrontational nature of the
interaction, anxiety levels decrease and the patient can feel encouraged to be
creative and spontaneous.
AAT can provide an opportunity for the stroke survivor
to express assertiveness and to take control of a situation as opposed to
playing a passive role. It allows the patient to be the “carer” - looking after
and caring for the needs of the dog.
Source: www.strokerehabdogs.co.uk/Pages/The-value-of-Animal-Assisted-Therapy-in-stroke-rehabilitation.aspx
It o ffers stroke survivors the opportunity to incorporate a companion animal into their stroke rehabilitation treatment program. stroke rehabilitation program
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