Social Skills in Schizencephaly Through Animal-Assisted Psychological Therapy

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate the acquisition and/or strengthening of social skills in people through Animal-Assisted Psychological Therapies (AAPT), offered at the Fundación Las Golondrinas in Medellín. Specifically, the case of a five-year-old child diagnosed with schizencephaly was studied — a neurological disorder that, according to Carrizosa, Cornejo, Mejía, and Gómez (2007), consists of a neuronal migration disorder characterized by clefts in the cerebral cortex, where nerve cells fail to migrate from their point of origin to their destination, causing alterations such as brain malformations associated with intellectual disability and epilepsy. The research followed a qualitative approach using a case-study method; data collection instruments included semi-structured interviews and a focus group. The sample consisted of the psychologist, the physiotherapist, and the child's mother, as the primary witnesses to the child's entire process. It was concluded that, through animal-assisted psychological therapies, the child achieved the development of some social skills and the strengthening of others; likewise, the use of the therapy dog helped not only to improve but also to make certain psychological, physical, and social conditions more manageable.