Four Paws and a Purpose: How Animal-Assisted Therapy Is Helping Autistic Children Thrive

If your child lights up around animals, science is starting to explain why. A 2025 PLOS ONE pilot study found that autistic children engaged meaningfully with a trained therapy dog — verbal kids through commands and play, nonverbal kids through closeness and touch — and parents reported real improvements in emotional regulation and social behavior outside of sessions. In this article, we look at the latest research on animal-assisted therapy and how families can think about it as a complement to ABA.