As funções executivas em crianças com transtorno fonológico que participaram da terapia assistida por animais

Abstract

Animal Assisted Therapy is a type of alternative or complementary therapy that includes animals in the treatment of various pathologies. Therapy (TAA) mediated by the dog (kinotherapy) in the development of Executive Functions (FE). FE is the set of skills that act in the ontent nd regulation of other behavioral processes, including cognition and emotion. Phonological disorder is characterized by abnormal production of sounds, inappropriate use of phonological rules of language, the cause of which is not yet defined, and its etiology is widely discussed. From a previous survey, six children with phonological disorders were selected, aged between 4 years old and 7 years and 11 months old, who were in agreement with the ICF and other terms of acceptance and participation in the study. The subjects comprised two groups that were compared regarding FE, one of them was submitted to Animal Assisted Therapy (TAA). The participants were evaluated in two moments, pre-therapy and post-therapy, after a period of 7 (seven) sessions, with the following instruments: Attention Test for Cancellation, Trail Test for preschoolers; Repetition Test of Words and Pseudowords and Child Naming Test. The subjects received therapy involving activities to stimulate school skills according to their age. Both groups went through the same activities and the same assessment tools regarding the FE with the difference that one group was submitted to TAA. After the collection, the data were analyzed by the aspects of the FE that were benefited or not by the dog presence. Through ANOVA, it was possible to make the deltas of each test applied and the relationship with the time of the group therapy, where there was a significant difference in one of the tests, the TRPP, which evaluates working memory and short-term memory. In the face of the results presented, it reaffirms the benefits of animal-assisted therapy, mediated by dogs, can bring to individuals submitted to it, as well as the development and stimulation of FE, especially working and short-term memory, in children with phonological disorder.