An occupational therapy evaluation aims to identify the client's needs and wants, what they have been able to do in the past, in addition to identifying supports and barriers to health, well-being, and participation. In addition to collecting detailed information about the client, it is important to analyze their current abilities to participate in various occupations. Once the evaluation of information is completed, an occupational therapy intervention plan is developed. The practitioner will identify and assess whether the client is an appropriate candidate for implementation of animal assisted therapy with dogs. 

Medical Contraindications 

A medical contraindication is defined as a symptom or medical condition that makes a particular treatment or procedure inadvisable because a person is likely to have a bad reaction (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/medgen/226988). Examples of medical contraindications include:

• allergies to animals or products common in treats and toys (wheat, peanut butter, latex, etc.)

• asthma

• respiratory disorders

• immunodeficiency

• blood disorders 

• undergoing chemotherapy or radiation

• use of topical creams and topical medications

• compromised skin integrity (thin skin, open wounds, burns)

• zoonosis: infectious disease that has jumped from a non-human animal to humans.

  •  Zoonotic pathogens may be bacterial, viral or parasitic and can spread to humans through direct contact or through food, water or the environment. 

  •  (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/zoonoses). 

Following a review of screening tools (Boat, B.W., n.d.; Burr, M., n.d.), interviews, research papers, and books, a screening tool was developed. This screening tool can be used during the evaluation process to help identify whether a child is appropriate for AAT implementation. Items on this tool are a compilation of other tools and resources and was created to fill the need for current providers who are utilizing AAT with dogs. This tool aims to initiate a conversation when considering introducing a dog into session. Similar to other screening tools, there is no standardized cut-off based on answers provided by the parents. This tool is meant to create a conversation and dig deeper into a child's history before introducing AAT with dogs. 

References

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 74(Suppl. 2), 7412410010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001

Boat, B.W. (n.d.) CTSARE: The Childhood Trust Survey on Animal-Related Experiences 10 Screening Questions for Children, Adolescents and Adults. Cincinnati Children's Hospital. https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/search?q=childhood%20trust%20survey

Burr, M. (n.d.) Screening Children for Involvement in Animal Assisted Therapy. Association of Animal Assisted Intervention Professionals. https://aaaip.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/AAAIP_Child%20AAT%20Screening.pdf