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Where I Am: Home | Interventions | List | Dolphin Therapy

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Dolphin Therapy

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Ranking :

Type : Other

Other Names :

• DAT
• Dolphin Assisted Therapy
• Dolphin Human Therapy
• Swim with the dolphin programme
• Swimming with dolphins
• SWTD

Introduction

There are many different kinds of dolphin therapy. The simplest involve the child swimming with, touching or ‘looking after’ dolphins.

The more complex therapies, such as Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT), are based on structured programmes which are supposedly designed to meet the needs of the individual child.

In DAT the child is encouraged to complete one or more pre-determined tasks, such as placing a ring on a peg or saying a word. If the child completes the task to a satisfactory standard, he or she is rewarded by being allowed to interact with a dolphin.

This interaction may include touching or kissing the dolphin, or getting into the water and taking a ride holding onto the dolphin’s dorsal fin.

Opinion

There is currently limited scientifically valid or reliable evidence to support the use of dolphin therapy for people with autism spectrum disorders.

Dolphin therapy presents a number of ethical issues, and some physical threats, to both people and dolphins, which may be difficult to overcome. Of particular concern are the potential for aggressive behaviour by dolphins towards swimmers and the potential for disease transmission.

Alternatives to dolphin therapy are available, at a much lower financial cost and without the potential harm to the people and the dolphins involved.

More information

Please see the Trials page for details of the research studies we used to rank this intervention and the Ranking page for details of how we ranked those studies.

Disclaimer

Please read our Disclaimer about this intervention.

Audience

This intervention is designed for a wide range of people with disabilities, including people with autism spectrum disorders.

Applicable Age Ranges

Aims

Different practitioners have different aims for their particular kind of dolphin therapy. For example, Lukina states that dolphin-assisted therapy is designed to correct the ‘human psychoemotional state’. (Lukina, 1999).

Nathanson, on the other hand, states that children with disabilities will increase their attention to relevant stimuli in the environment as a result of their desire to interact with dolphins. According to Nathanson, the general purpose of the program is to encourage children to engage in desired responses in accordance with the child’s individualized therapy program. The dolphin- assisted therapy sessions are designed to “jump start” the child and to complement or reinforce other, more traditional, therapeutic procedures (Nathanson, 1998).

Different practitioners have different theories as to how human/dolphin interactions might work.

These include

• the effect of ultrasound on human tissue and cell-structure
• the effect of altering brain wave patterns in humans
• the fact that dolphin therapy generates intense emotions of “love and connection to nature”

Claims

There have been various claims made for dolphin assisted therapy. For example

• Lukina (1999) and Servais (1999) claim that DAT can effectively improve language, behavior, cognitive processing, attention, motivation to learn, and certain medical conditions.

• Nathanson et al (1997) claim that Dolphin Human Therapy (DHT) can significantly increase motivation, attention, gross and fine motor skills, speech and language. In addition, they suggest that two weeks of DHT can achieve the same – or better – results as six months of conventional physical or speech therapy.

• The Antalya Soulscience School claims that

‘A six-year-old autistic child went through the dolphin therapy and received special tutoring and therapies for a year; he got rid of all autistic symptoms and when he came back for the dolphin therapy the following year, no autistic traits were observed’.

Detail

There are many different kinds of dolphin therapies. The simplest involve the child just swimming with, touching or ‘looking after’ dolphins.

The more complex therapies, such as dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT), are based on structured programmes which are supposedly designed to meet the needs of the individual child.

According to Humphries

‘DAT consists of defining a treatment goal for the individual child, such as completing a gross or fine motor task (e.g., placing a ring on a peg) or producing a language behavior (e.g., independently saying a word). Materials used as adjuncts to therapy are typically present during a DAT session, including rubber balls or rings for eliciting motor responses, or flash cards depicting objects for language responses.

‘Children receive on-dock orientation to the dolphins, with the child and the child’s therapist typically sitting at the edge of a padded floating dock about 2-3 inches above the water, while a dolphin trainer controls the movements of a dolphin in the water. During orientation, children are able to touch or play with the dolphin from the dock or to give hand signals to the dolphin to elicit specific dolphin behaviors.

‘Following the orientation period, children engage in a series of therapeutic sessions during which they may interact with the dolphin from the dock or in the water after giving a correct motor, cognitive, or language response. Interactions with the dolphins may include touching, kissing, taking a short ride holding onto the dolphin’s dorsal fin, or dancing in a circular motion with the dolphin.

Following each episode of reinforcement, the child and therapist return to the therapeutic task, often with an increasing frequency and complexity of correct responses required for the child to interact with the dolphin.’ (Humphries, 2003)

Time

The length and frequency of treatment varies enormously from one organisation to another. Some providers of dolphin therapy run week or month-long programmes. Others provide single sessions that last a couple of hours.

Involvement

The amount of parental or professional time required will depend to a large extent on the length and frequency of treatment. However participating in a DAT programme can take a considerable amount of time, since it includes the time taken to travel to and from the venue, as well as the time taken to undertake the therapy.

Costs

According to Brakes and Williamson

‘The cost for two weeks of DAT varies a great deal and a variety of packages are available. Figures given by Humphries (2003) quote a typical price of around $2,600 (approximately £1,370) for five 40 minute sessions (Humphries 2003), but it can cost a participant and one parent more than £3,300 for two weeks, including flights and accommodation . At the more expensive end of the market is the ‘Dolphin Human Therapy’, which, during 2006, cost US$7,850 for two weeks, or US$ 11,800 for three weeks. These quoted prices are for the therapy only (five sessions per week) and do not include flights and accommodation. ‘

‘There are other hidden costs such as surcharges for health care, which should be taken into consideration. Families are generally encouraged to bring children for a minimum of two weeks of DAT. When flights, accommodation and loss of earnings are taken into account, such excursions can cost up to ₤10,000. ‘

(Brakes and Williamson, 2007.)

Credentials

Dolphin therapy is a wholly unaccredited and unregulated industry.

Availability

Dolphin therapies are available in many different locations around the world including Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the USA, the Caribbean and South America.

Hazards

Dolphin therapy poses many potential hazards to the human participants including

• Aggressive behaviour by dolphins, which can lead to injury
• Transmission of diseases from dolphins

If the therapy takes place in the open sea there may be additional hazards including adverse sea conditions, boat traffic and harmful sea creatures

Dolphin therapy also poses many potential hazards to the dolphins including

• Stress in captive dolphins
• Transmission of diseases from humans
• Pressure on wild dolphin populations

‘There is abundant evidence for injuries sustained by participants in DAT programs (Frohoff and Packard 1995; Samuels and Spradlin 1995; Webster, Neil and Madden 1998). Moreover, interactions between dolphins and humans carry a significant risk of infections and parasitism for both humans and dolphins (Geraci and Ridgway1991).’ (Marino and Lilienfeld, 2007)

Contraindications

We have been unable to identify any groups for whom dolphin therapy might be contraindicated.

History

In the 1960s Dr. John Lilly, a physician and psychoanalyst, studied dolphin-human communication. He was one of the first people to suggest that dolphins could help humans learn to communicate better with one another.

In the 1970s Dr. Betsy Smith, an educational anthropologist noticed the therapeutic effects of dolphins on her disabled brother. She and other researchers began to study the effects that interacting with dolphins appeared to have on children with neurological impairments.

In the 1980s Dr. David Nathanson of the Dolphin Human Therapy centre in Florida developed dolphin human therapy, a form of dolphin-assisted therapy.

Accounts

We have identified two anecdotal reports of the use of dolphin therapy with children with developmental delays.

Emily Chicken

The following anecdotal report is taken from a story about Emily Chicken, a child with Rett syndrome, which appeared on the BBC News website.

‘Sara says Emily’s reaction to the therapy was initially impressive.

“When she got back to school, they couldn’t get over the difference – she just seemed so bright.”

However, the results did not last. “It did seem to last a while” says Sara, “but after about three months I saw her going backwards.”

Dr David Nathanson, the President of Dolphin Human Therapy in Florida, says this is to be expected. “Our programme is a rehabilitation programme – it needs continual reinforcement.” ‘

(Source: BBC News Website, posted on 23 February 2003).

Ivan McGaw

Wendy McGaw has posted a diary of how she thinks dolphin therapy, which included other interventions such as PECS, has assisted her son Ivan.

‘Since the first trip, Ivan has just been amazing us by picking things up so quickly. He seems more interested in people and does not want to do things by himself anymore. He’s more interested in what his little brother is doing now where before he would just ignore him. We find he’s more aware of his surroundings and what’s happening around him. He’s definitely a lot more confident and vocal. His concentration span has increased also and is now willing to sit down with you and either look at a book or draw or play with a toy. His appetite has increased and the variety of food he will eat has got better. He now is aware of all parts of his body and is able to point to them when you ask him where they are, before the therapy he could only tell you where his head was. ‘

(Source Ivan’s Dolphin Dream website, retrieved on 9 November 2007.)

Research

We have identified four scientific studies of dolphin therapy used for people with autistic spectrum disorders published in peer-reviewed journals. We have been unable to identify exactly how many children with autism spectrum disorders were included in these studies because most of them included a wide range of disabled children, not all of them with autism.

All of the studies reported some positive benefits to some of the participants. For example Nathanson (1998) reported that ‘children maintained or improved skills acquired in therapy about 50% of the time even after 12 months away’

However it is clear that all of the studies examined had significant methodological flaws which undermine the credibility of their conclusions. For example, Servais (1999) reported that the positive results were due to the emotional interaction between the experimenters and children and that better-designed studies might “make the ‘animal effect’ disappear”. A more detailed list of flaws is listed in the Status section.

Status

There have been a number of literature reviews published in peer review journals on the subject of dolphin therapy, each of which identified significant flaws in the existing research studies on dolphin therapy.

Humphries (2003)

Humphries (2003) reviewed a number of studies which purported to have found positive benefits to people from DAT and found that all the research examined “failed to adequately control for a number of possible threats to validity or alternative explanations”.

She notes: “The studies included in this synthesis are so plagued with methodological flaws that claims that the reported outcomes are due to dolphin assisted therapy may be erroneous” and that: “the results of the synthesis do not support the notion that using interactions with dolphins is any more effective than other reinforcers for improving child-learning or social-emotional development”.

She also states: “Claims of the effectiveness of using dolphins as a procedure for improving the behaviours of young children with disabilities are therefore not supported by available research evidence”.

Marino and Lilienfeld (2007)

Marino and Lilienfeld (2007 conducted a review of studies published between 1999 and 2005, and found that “all five studies were methodologically flawed and plagued by several threats to both internal and construct validity”.

They found a consistent problem throughout the studies reviewed was a failure to control for other factors of the treatment which might influence results (for example: being in the water; swimming outdoors; interacting with therapists; experimental expectancy effects).

They concluded that: “the abundance of serious threats to validity in the five studies we examined renders each of their conclusions questionable at best, and entirely unwarranted at worst”.

Trials

• Lukina L.(1999). Influence of dolphin-assisted therapy sessions on the functional state of children with psychoneurological symptoms of diseases. Human Physiology. 25, Read Abstract (New Window)
• Nathanson D. et al. (1997). Effectiveness of short-term dolphin-assisted therapy for children with severe disabilities. Anthrozoos. 10(2/3), pp. 90-100.
• Nathanson D.(1998). Long-term effectiveness of dolphin assisted therapy for children with severe disabilities. Anthrozoos. 11(1), pp. 22-32.
• Servais V.(1999). Some comments on context embodiment in zootherapy: the case of the Autodolfijn project. Anthrozoos. 12(1), pp. 5-15.

Future

The existing research studies into dolphin therapy all demonstrate significant methodological flaws.

If more research into dolphin therapy is carried out, it should be better-designed and better-controlled.

However, given the high costs of the therapy, alongside the potential hazards to humans and dolphins, this intervention should not be considered as a priority for future research.

Summary

There is currently limited scientifically valid or reliable evidence to support the use of dolphin therapy for people with autism spectrum disorders.

There are a limited number of anecdotal reports about the use of dolphin therapy for people with autism spectrum disorders.

Reading

• Born Free Foundation. (2007) Factsheet: Swimming with dolphins. Horsham: BFF. Read Full item

• Brakes, P. and Williamson, C. (2007). Dolphin assisted therapy: can you put your faith in DAT? Chippenham: Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. Read Full item (PDF document).

• Brensing, K. (2005) Expert statement on “swim with the dolphin programs” and “Dolphin-assisted therapy”. Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic Area: Third Meeting of the Scientific Committee. Cairo, Egypt.

• Humphries, T.L. (2003). Effectiveness of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy as a Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Disabilities. Bridges: Practical-based Research Syntheses, Research and Training Centre of Early Childhood Development. Volume 1, Number 6. Read Full item

• Lukina, L. (200?). The dolphin assisted therapy results. Sevastopol: Dolpin Assisted Therapy. Read Full item

• Marino, L. and Lilienfeld, S. (1998). Dolphin-Assisted Therapy: Flawed Data, Flawed Conclusions. Anthrozoos, 11, pp.194-200. Read Full item

• Marino, L. and Lilienfeld, S.O. (2006). Dolphin-Assisted Therapy: A discussion paper. Read Full item

• Marino, L. and Lilienfeld, S.O. (2007). Dolphin Assisted Therapy: More Flawed Data and More Flawed Conclusions. Anthrozoos 20(3): 239-249. Read Abstract

• Nathanson, D.E. (1989). Using Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins to Increase Cognition of Mentally Retarded Children (Dolphin Research Centre, Grassy Key, Florida, USA). In: Lovibond, P. and Wilson, P. (editors), Clinical and Abnormal Psychology, Elsevier, North Holland: 223-242.

• Nathanson, D.E. & de Faria, S. (1993). Cognitive improvement of children in water with and without dolphins. Anthrozoos, 6 (1), pp. 17-29. Read Abstract

• Nathanson, D.E. (2007). Reinforcement effectiveness of animatronic and real dolphins. Anthrozoos 20(2), pp. 181-194. Read Abstract

• Pierce C. C. (2001). Swimming with the dolphins: dolphin-assisted therapy can help some individuals express emotions. Advocate, 34(3), pp. 30-32.

• Smith, B. A. (1983). Project Inreach: A program to explore the ability of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins to elicit communication responses from autistic children. In A. H. Katcher & A. M. Beck (Eds.), New perspectives on our lives with companion animals (pp. 460-466). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

• Smith, B. A. (1984). Using dolphins to elicit communication from an autistic child. In R. K. Anderson, B. L. Hart, & L. A. Hart (Eds.), The pet connection: Its influence on our health and quality of life. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Center to Study Human- Animal Relationships and Environments.

• Smith, Betsy A. (1996). Dolphin Assisted Therapy. Tokyo: Kodansha Publishers.

• Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. (2007). Call for a ban on Dolphin Assisted Therapy: [news release]. Chippenham: WDCS.Read Full item

• Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. (2007). Dolphin Assisted Therapy. Chippenham, WDCS. Read Full item (PDF document).

More Information

It is possible that dolphin therapy provides hidden benefits to the parents or carers of individuals with autism spectrum disorders i.e. the feeling of support generated when a community comes together to raise funds for this kind of one-off project.

However this applies to many of these types of intervention, such as sending someone to the shrine at Lourdes, and it probably has no direct relation to any long term benefit for the individual with ASD.

Issues

Links

Keywords

Animal Animals Assisted Cetacean DAT DHT Dolphin Dolphins Human Porpoise Porpoises Swim Swimming SWTD Whale Whales Therapy

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