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 In our Animal Assisted Counseling(AAC) program, Comfort Dog teams are trained to handle the clinical and emotional situations that may arise in a school atmosphere as well as during group and individual intervention sessions. The integration of AAI in our counseling and remedial support services not only improves student motivation, but it also creates a noticeable decrease in anxiety as well as improvement in communication, anger management, and peer relations. Social Emotional Learning is also woven into our AAI program. Students are supported as they develop empathy, not only for the dog, but classroom peers and family members. Our dogs assist students in developing skills for making independent and appropriate decisions, developing positive social behaviors, peer relationships and healthy life choices. Progress monitoring through the DESSA, social emotional screener, and student surveys.
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Animal Assisted Activities (AAA) help contribute to the student's daily life, each morning our Dog and Handler Team greet the students for check-in and then see them off at the end of the day. The dogs become fixtures at the school and participate in many activities throughout the school year. Our animal assisted intervention program gives students the support they need to feel safe, secure, and empowered. We have seen major breakthroughs in student motivation, acceptance, attendance and participation. Progress is monitored through OORS, attendance, teacher feedback and observations.
Our Animal Assisted Education (AAE) model is a structured intervention where our dogs, handlers, and related service professionals collaborate on individualized goals for their students. We currently integrate AAE at the Max with reading, writing and mathematical remediation. The dogs and handlers work to help students improve skills such as decoding and fluency. Students gain confidence reading aloud to the dogs as they improve vocabulary, comprehension, and memory skills. Dogs are integrated into math lessons through acting out real life word problems with their canine companions. Activities are developed to allow the dog to participate in lessons acting as one of their peers. Progress is monitored through formative assessments such as MAP Growth assessment, Acadience Learning Data and student ambassador feedback through school created surveys.
