Los beneficios de la terapia asistida por animales como alternativaterapeutica para los profesionales de la salud al ofrecer servicios a envejecientes de 45 años en adelante con diagnóstico de discapacidad intelectual. Lugo Rios, Eric R. Universidad del Turabo (Puerto Rico), ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2013. 3630912.
ABSTRACT
As time passes technological advances support the increased life expectancy in humans. Aging is part of the life cycle of the human being, which significantly affects people with Intellectual Disability (ID). This has caused a social situation as a result of increased life expectancy that was not anticipated in previous years largely because of the lack of support required to achieve a better quality of life. So this doctoral project aims to develop training for health professionals led by psychotherapeutic interventions based on the Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in elderly diagnosed with ID in order to improve their quality of life and provide resources to support this population. Several investigations have shown the benefits of the AAT in different populations and the necessity of developing new therapeutic ways of approaching this group after the increase of elderly people. This work provide a different method to help elders diagnosed with ID, other than the traditional medical approach, expecting to encouraged health professional to apply it in their daily practice.