Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in preschool children’s language samples when they were collected in the presence of a therapy dog compared to when they were not in the presence of a therapy dog. Specifically under investigation were the following measures: MLU, NDW, NTW, and mean turn length. The children involved in the study participated in two separate language samples, one in the presence of a therapy dog with a toy set, and the other one not in the presence of a therapy dog with a different toy set. The researcher also assessed the differences across language status between children with typically developing language and children with language impairments. Although this study revealed overall that there is no significant difference in children’s language samples when they are gathered in the presence of a therapy dog, important implications were found.
Keywords: language samples, mean length of utterance (MLU), therapy dog, preschool children
Advisor
Furey, Joan
Department
Communication Studies
Recommended Citation
Moore, Savannah, "How the Presence of a Therapy Dog Affects the Language Samples of Preschool Children With and Without Language Impairments" (2016). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 7115.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/7115
Publication Date
2016
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2016 Savannah Moore