Having a pet appears to have a powerful positive effect on children with autism, helping them to develop social skills and better relationships with others, French researchers have found.
Autism specialists at the Hospital Research Center of Brest in France who tracked the experiences of a group of children with the complex disorder, often characterized by profound anti-social behavior, found placing a pet in the home led to significant improvements in “pro-social” skills.
Participants in the study, published in the Public Library of Science journal Plos ONE, scored higher in two categories of social skills – "offering to share" and "offering comfort" – a few years after a pet arrived in their homes than they did before having a pet.
Lead researcher Marine Grandgeorge said the findings suggest that individuals with autism can develop these types of behaviors in the appropriate context.
About 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.