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Hello:
You are invited to participate in our survey to provide us with feedback for our Paws for a Cause Program proposal.
Our idea is to create a program that is designed for kids with any scope of Autism, with a targeted age group of 5-15. The notion is that the children and parents would interact with dogs from local humane societies. Since the benefits of service animals have been thoroughly proven, we want to create a program for kids who are unable to have a permanent pet, to be able to access these benefits too. Integration with animals has aided children in finding a sense of identity, and further teaches loyalty, trust, love and affection. Fostering these skills will help build the grounds to establish new friendships and encourage independence. Caring for an animal also creates a sense of responsibility, and encourages patience and self-control. The animals will essentially be used as a therapeutic outlet.
The families will meet twice a week for 8 weeks at their local humane society, and each session will last 30 minutes. Signup times are between 4 and 8 PM, with up to 3 children per time slot. The benefits of a structured schedule like ours have proven to be an asset when managing autism. As well, our program will promote friendship skills by returning to the same group of families each week, enabling a time and place to make friends. The parents and children will fill out a brief checklist about what they like in a dog, (ex. small, brown, fluffy) and the dogs will be paired accordingly. Each week, the families will return to the same dog, further promoting consistency, devotion, and relationship skills.
“Paws for a Cause” dogs are preapproved for the program based on their age, breed and the shelters specified grading system (“green” or friendly dogs only). The shelter will be responsible for ensuring that the dog is healthy has a good temperament with children.
Preliminary Outline of a 30 minute Paws for a Cause (PFC) Session
1. The family will retrieve their dog, harness it and take it to the socialization room for PFC (~5 minutes)
2. Child will spend some time petting and cuddling the dog to get acquainted, and groom the dog with the child friendly glove brushes provided by PFC. (~5 minutes) (promotes bonding)
3. Pick 2 activities from the PFC check list (activities like throwing a ball, doing tricks with the dog, free choice play with the dog, etc) (~15 minutes)
4. Allow child to say good-bye to their dog. Return your dog to his kennel, and ensure he has lots of fresh water, and a clean blanket. (~ 5 minutes)
5. Check activities off on both the child and the dogs “report cards”. At the end of an 8-week session, both the dog and the child will receive a certificate for participating successfully.
Please answer the following 9 questions, and be as honest as possible! The last question is for general comments and suggestions; we appreciate both positive and critical feedback!
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. There are no foreseeable risks associated with this project. However, if you feel uncomfortable answering any questions, you can withdraw from the survey at any point or leave them blank. It is very important for us to learn your opinions.
Thank you very much for your time and support. Please start with the survey now by clicking on the Continue button below.
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| After reading our proposal, what possible benefits do you see the program having on autistic children? | | |
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| What area of development in the children have you seen the most improvement in after they have had a service dog placed with them? | | |
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| Which area of the autistic spectrum do you most commonly see the most success from a child-dog pairing? | | |
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| Should we be adding anything else to our program to facilitate further benefits? | | |
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| What issues do you possibly see arising with our program? What should we be cautious of? | | |
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| Do you feel that our program is a good option for parents on the wait list or parents who may be unsure if they are ready for the commitment of the dog? Why or why not? | | |
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| In your opinion, what do you think the number one benefit of any dog- child relationship is? Would our program foster this? Why or why not? | | |
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| How long have you been working in this industry for? | | |
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