Relationships Between Young People with Autism and Their Pets. J.McNicholas & G.M. Collis. Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands, CV2 7AL, UK. (Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Human-Animal Interactions, Animals, Health and Quality of Life, September 6-9, 1995, Geneva, Switzerland).
Autism manifests itself most strikingly as impairments in communication and in the formation of social relationships. It is thus intriguing that there are a number of reports of children with autism forming what appear to be close relationships with pets. In spite of the frequent claim that pets are beneficial to people with autism, to date the evidence is largely anecdotal, and it could be thought surprising if it were found that people with autism were able to relate to animals in ways that they were unable to with humans. We considered that such reports may be due to the families’ desire to attribute some form of 'normal’ functioning to the child, or to the pet persisting in soliciting attention from the child. The results from detailed studies of three cases suggest that both these possible explanations are incorrect.
Three in-depth interviews were conducted with families where there was a young person with autism who was reported to have a close relationship with his pet. All subjects were male, one was aged 22, and two aged 12. The pets were two cats and one rabbit. All subjects had received firm diagnoses of autism. Our own assessments using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) shown one subject to be severely autistic, and two subjects to be moderately autistic. All subjects had histories of aggression towards family members.
The interviewee (in each case the mother) was asked to assess the subject’s behaviour across a number of relationship dimensions with herself, with one other important person in the subject’s life, and with the pet. These dimensions include greeting, proximity seeking, the giving and receiving of comfort, conflict, confiding, companionship, sensitivity to the needs of others, and play. The behaviour of the pet toward the subject was also investigated.
The interview data indicate that all subjects displayed behaviours toward their pet that they rarely, if ever, displayed toward human companions. Some of these behaviours are contrary to DSM-IHR diagnostic criteria for autism. In particular pets were sought out for companionship, comfort and confiding in ways never shown to family members. Greater sensitivity toward the needs and feelings of the animal was also apparent, together with a lack of anger and aggression. In spite of a strong dislike by all the subjects to be touched or hugged there was evident enjoyment in tactile comfort with the pets. These results suggest that people with autism may be able to demonstrate behaviours towards pets that they do not display to people, even family members, and which are akin to those associated with close relationships.
