Dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) is a form of animal-assisted interventions meant to increase therapeutic gains in children with autism spectrum disorder. Its application is supported by research evidence that is commonly dismissed for methodological weaknesses. Hernández-Espeso et al. (2021) sought to address the challenge by conducting an RCT. They applied random assignment and included a control group in the RCT, which is uncommon in experimental studies testing the effectiveness of interventions to treat ASD. They recruited autistic children aged 4-5 years with clear impairments in communication. They compared DAT to therapy administered without dolphins (TWD), both comprising 18 45-minute sessions. The DAT group experienced greater improvements in the gestures and frequency of vocalizations (η2 = 0.11, p < 0.05) domains of language and communication (Hernández-Espeso et al., 2021).

The study by Hernández-Espeso et al. (2021) is a well-designed RCT since it addressed a clearly focused question, applied random assignments of participants into intervention arms, and accounted for dropouts that occurred during the research (CASP, 2020). Although the authors have not indicated so, it is evident that they conducted an intention-to-treat analysis. However, the methodological soundness of the study is limited by the fact that blinding, power calculation, reporting of confidence intervals, and identification of potential sources of bias were not done. Therefore, the study does not comprehensively meet the criteria for RCTs to generate high-level evidence that can support practice change (CASP 2020). Nevertheless, it contains useful information considering the scarcity of optimally designed RCTs addressing the topic.

Although dolphin-assisted therapy showed significant benefits, weaknesses in the methodological soundness of the study call for more pragmatic RCTs before the intervention can be recommended to be integrated into clinical practice.

References

Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). (2020). CASP (Randomised Controlled Trial) Checklist. [online] Available at: https://casp-uk.net/images/checklist/documents/CASP-Randomised-Controlled-Trial-Checklist/CASP-RCT-Checklist-PDF-Fillable-Form.pdf. Accessed: 1/14/2023.

Hernández-Espeso, N., Martínez, E. R., Sevilla, D. G., & Mas, L. A. (2021). Effects of dolphin-assisted therapy on the social and communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorder. Anthrozoös, 34(2), 251-266. https://roderic.uv.es/bitstream/handle/10550/82331/145834.pdf?sequence=1