NYT Article on Guinea Pigs Lowering Anxiety in Autistic Children

[Dryope]

I haven't seen this posted yet. It claims a (read: one) study claims that holding a guinea pig in class lowers "arousal" (I think basically anxiety) in autistic children, and that over time they feel they can communicate better with classmates:

well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/29/guinea-pigs-are-autistic-childs-best-friend/

I had a guinea pig when I was growing up, but it just bit me. Dogs definitely relax me, though.

I thought this section was particularly intriguing:

"Each time, the arousal levels of the children with autism became elevated. Being with the other two children, no matter the task, made them anxious.

"But when the guinea pigs — antically chirping, squeaking, purring — were introduced, these children’s arousal levels dropped. Dr. O’Haire and her colleagues suggest that the animals may function as “social buffers” for these children, for whom social engagement is bewildering and taxing."

Thoughts?

 

[Judge]

I find the presence of pets/animals of all kinds to be soothing.

Johnny Carson? Not as much. But he was sure a good sport about them.

 

[Beverly]

Animals are relaxing, any kind of animal that won't bite me or flee from me is for me. My ever present companions are three wolfdogs, though they choose to sleep in their half acre run outside, they spend my waking hours with me.

I find them fascinating companions, they are not like normal dogs. These are high content animals, meaning they are more wolf than dog and, they act like wolves with the exception of being able to see a human as a pack member and, the leader of that pack. They don't bark like dogs and, do not howl without reason but they do have a rich language of yodels, whines and other sounds they use in an effort to communicate with me. I assume they do it because they don't understand human non verbal cues any better than I do and so, are attempting to communicate verbally as best they can. I can't help but relax and smile when all three of them get "talking" at once.

They sound something like Malmutes when they talk.

 

[AsheSkyler]

Critters tend to be incredibly helpful to the emotional well-being of a lot of humans. I preferred the company of chickens when I was young, but also did well with cats, dogs, and goats.