Week 3- Midweek Update and Picture Time!

Hi everyone!

What? Swati is updating her blog before the end of the week? Is the world coming to an end?? No, the world is not coming to an end (hopefully not anytime soon, at least), and yes, I am updating my blog earlier than usual! This is only because I am SO excited to share what's been going on with my SRP and I just couldn't contain myself.

Yesterday, I taught some med school students. Well, maybe I didn't exactly teach, but I did help! In order to get more data for the study, some med school students will be coding data from the video recordings of each session. They will essentially be doing what I do everyday in person, and their extra observations could help us find any trends in the data and gain more feedback on possible issues with the study. From what I have seen, there are pros and cons to this type of video observation. This could be really beneficial because the coders will be able to pause and rewind as necessary to obtain all the data they need. In my experience, this is helpful because it's easy to miss small details while coding in person. However, on the downside, the quality of the videos so far has not been optimal. Last week, we were using two cameras that were set up in two corners of the room. Because we couldn't move the cameras around, it was difficult to observe facial expressions and other such necessary parts of each session. This week, we are trying to fix this issue by attaching a GoPro to me. It looks really odd in person, but we're hoping that this will help since my job is to maneuver around the room and get a good view of the child's behaviors. For you to get a better idea of the setup, here's what I now look like while coding data everyday:

Yes, that's me with a GoPro on my chest.

So far, this week has been going really well. The kids seem to be enjoying their sessions, and it doesn't look like they are completely bored with the activities yet. I have also been gaining a deeper understanding of what the autism spectrum looks like, and I've noticed that it really doesn't impact every child in the same way. Every child has a different grasp of language and communication, and different types of repetitive behaviors. I've even seen these different aspects of the spectrum through the activities that the children take part in, too. For example, in one of the activities, each child is told to draw either the proxy or the dog on some plexiglass. Here are some of the results that I've seen:

In my experience, the kids that seem to have more severe autism have a more difficult time following directions. Although this is not an all-encompassing rule by any means, I noticed this trend with the drawing activity especially. I thought these drawings were really interesting, and I hope you find them intriguing as well. That's all for this week! Thanks for reading!

Swati :)

Week 2- The Study Begins!

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful week! This week marked the first week of the study, and I have had so much fun watching the kids interact with either a dog or a proxy everyday. The kids seem to be enjoying all of the activities so far, and each session has been running quite smoothly. As I have become acquainted with these kids, I think the biggest thing I have realized is that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is, indeed, a spectrum disorder. This may sound redundant, but even after reading about ASD, I had never truly anticipated just how broad this spectrum could be. For example, on the first day of the experiment, I met a child who was remarkably high-functioning. He is one of the smartest young boys I have ever met, and didn't seem to have too much trouble in social situations. On the other hand, later in the week, I met a little girl who had difficulties initiating any type of social interaction. She was prone to repetitive behaviors and sometimes had difficulties following directions. These are only a couple examples of the kids I met this week, but each child I have met has exposed me to a different aspect of ASD. Every child has demonstrated different symptoms, and this has helped me understand the "spectrum" aspect of ASD.

Through my independent research, I have gained a basic understanding of studies similar to the one we are currently conducting. According to one of the articles I read, experiments that evaluate the effects of Animal Assisted Interventions (AAIs) are too few and variable to make any solid conclusions about the effectiveness of AAI. The article stated that there is some evidence that suggests that AAI is beneficial to children with many different disorders, but there is no empirical data that really supports this claim. In addition, there are so many variables to account for that it is difficult to conduct studies that research AAI. [1] Even in my experience, during this past week I have witnessed how difficult it is to conduct studies like this. Several variables and possible problems have come up, and here are just a few that I have observed:

1. Sometimes, kids get bored: This study will last 8 weeks, and every week each kid will do the same activities, either with a dog or with a proxy. However, even though it is only the first week of the study, some of the kids already showed signs of boredom with some of the activities. We anticipated that each activity would last approximately 5 minutes, but some activities have lasted only a couple minutes. In addition, the kids may learn how to do the activities better throughout the next few weeks, which could lead to the activities taking less time and skewed data. We are currently brainstorming ways to prevent boredom, so hopefully we'll come up with a way to solve this issue.
2. Every dog is different: Some of the dogs we have worked with are very engaged and friendly, whereas others are easily distracted and less engaged. Because of this, the dogs' ability to participate in each activity could impact the kids' responses. As I mentioned in my previous post, the dogs' behaviors are variables that we cannot entirely account for.
3. Pets at home?: The presence of pets at the kids' homes could impact their behaviors with these therapeutic dogs. Some kids might be more comfortable with dogs than others, and this could affect their behaviors throughout the study.
4. Parents in the room: The children's parent(s) are usually in the room during each session, and this could either positively or negatively impact each child's behavior. Some kids might behave and respond better because they know their parents are watching, while others may act out for the same reason. 

In conclusion, there are some variables that we may have to eventually account for. However, this is a pilot study, so we are hoping to fix these flaws in any future studies that are conducted. Thank you for reading!

Swati :)

[1] Esposito, L., McCune, S., Griffin, J. A., & Maholmes, V. "Directions in human-animal interaction research: Child development, health, and therapeutic interventions." Child Development Perspectives. 5.3 (2011): 205-211. Print

Week 1- An Introduction to Autism

Hello everyone!

If there is one thing I have learned through my research over this past week, it is this: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a highly variable disorder that can often be very difficult to diagnose. Nowadays, there is a general consensus that ASD is a neurodevelopmental, social disorder [1]. In other words, ASD is a developmental disorder that often affects an individual's ability to socialize, communicate, etc. However, because it is a spectrum disorder, individuals do show varying levels of ability. For instance, some may demonstrate severe language impairment, while others may be able to utilize language with ease. Similarly, some may have more significant intellectual disabilities, while others do not demonstrate such cognitive difficulties. Because of this, there is no definitive diagnosis of ASD. The DSM-5 outlines a general diagnostic, which lists the minimum level of social-communicative deficits and behavioral tendencies necessary to be diagnosed with ASD. However, in reality, people who fall under this broad spectrum show a variety of symptoms that will not always be consistent in every individual. [2]

In other news, this week at my internship was filled with planning and scheduling. On Thursday, many of the wonderful people involved in the study got together at the Tucson Medical Center (the main location of the study) for a dress rehearsal. We ran through the protocol once, and everybody got an idea of what their jobs would be during the study. To summarize the protocol, a facilitator will be assigned to engage in a variety of activities with the child. There will be two different situations: one in which the child can interact with a therapy dog, and another in which the child interacts with a proxy (a human stand-in for the dog) instead. The coder (that's me!) takes notes on the way the child behaves in both situations, while a supervisor oversees the study and assists whenever necessary.

Our first run-through of the protocol went pretty smoothly. However, we also got an idea of some of the possible shortcomings of the protocol, and brainstormed ways that could fix these issues. For instance, one unanticipated issue we faced was the unresponsive, distracted behavior of the dog that was present during the rehearsal. The dog often did not interact with the child altogether, which made us realize that the dog involved in each experimental session will be an unpredictable variable. We decided that it would be beneficial to include a short note in the observations that describes the behavior of each dog. However, the dog's behavior is one variable that we cannot entirely account for. Other issues are sure to come up throughout the course of the study, depending on each child and dog we encounter. Even so, I am sure we will be able to quickly resolve any other problems that come up during the coming weeks.

I am so excited to start the study this week! Thanks for reading!

Swati :)



[1] Klin, Ami. "Overview of Autism." Yale University. Yale University, New Haven, CT. n.d. Guest Lecture.
[2] Ganz, J.B. "Overview of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Complex Communication Needs." Aided Augmentative Communication for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. New York: Springer, 2014. 3-12. Print.

A Brief Introduction

Hello!

Before we begin, I believe a brief introduction is in order. My name is Swati Chandra, and I am a senior at BASIS Tucson North. Throughout the next few weeks, I will be working on my Senior Research Project, in which I will observe the effects of companion dogs on the symptoms of school age children, between the ages of 6 and 10, with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This blog will keep you updated on all aspects of my project, from my daily experiences at my internship to the independent research that I conduct. However, before I get into that, let me give you some background on my project.

I was first exposed to developmental and intellectual disabilities at Camp Civitan, a summer camp for individuals of all ages with special needs. As I befriended the campers at this camp, I realized that I found their disabilities intriguing for a variety of reasons. Their disabilities were not of the physical kind, so their disorders could be difficult to diagnose and treat. Moreover, even if two campers nominally had the same disorder, they were all so remarkably different in terms of their communication skills, learning abilities, and other such attributes. There were high-functioning campers who could carry conversations with ease, and low-functioning ones who had difficulties in any social situations. This was especially true of those diagnosed with ASD, as campers could fall anywhere along a relatively broad spectrum. I realized that I wanted to learn more about these disabilities, and especially the treatment options that were available for such disorders.

I am incredibly lucky to have found an internship that perfectly aligns with my interests. I will primarily be working with the Department of Developmental Pediatrics at the University of Arizona on a scientific study that assesses how companion dogs (also known as Animal Assisted Intervention) affect children with ASD. My main job is to aid in data collection, which means I will be writing down my observations about behaviors that I observe everyday throughout the course of the study. This experiment is a pilot study, so it could help open up pathways for future research on this topic.

I apologize for my not-so-brief introduction to my project, but I hope you found it as interesting as I do! I am so, so excited to see where this project takes me, and I would love to hear your comments on my project throughout these next few weeks. Even if you're just recommending a book (a bibliophile like me can never have too many books) or sharing a personal anecdote (even if it's about your grandma's crazy dog), I would love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks for reading!

Swati :)