Study Status: RECRUITING
Recruit Status: RECRUITING
Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
Official Title: Assessing an Animal-Assisted Treatment Program for Adults With Aphasia: The Persons With Aphasia Training Dogs Program
Brief Summary: The lives of more than 2 million Americans are affected by aphasia, an acquired language impairment most commonly resulting from stroke that affects the ability to remember and express words.
The well-being of these individuals is affected not just by the loss of words that is aphasia, but also the loss of friendships and opportunities for community engagement in which the loss of words can result.
This study evaluates an animal-assisted treatment, The Persons with Aphasia Training Dogs (PATD) Program, designed to target the psychosocial consequences of aphasia by training participants in positive reinforcement dog training techniques that harness new skill learning and the advantages of interaction with family- or shelter-dwelling dogs to increase confidence and social engagement to support participants in living well with aphasia.