Supporting Animal-Mediated Interventions at Home: The Role of Animals and Technology to Facilitate Daily Activities

Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) has demonstrated to provide numerous benefits, such as alleviating stress, improving patients’ wellbeing or being a motivational source that could foster and facilitate psychosocial activities in people with functional diversity. In-person AAT is limited to specific times per week, is sometimes not feasible due to safety limitations, and has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper proposes the definition and design of a technological intervention that would use the human-animal bond as a motivator to improve daily activities at home for children with functional diversity that participate regularly in AAT. We present the participatory design process of the system, potential case studies as well as future lines of research and evaluation of this on-going work. This manuscript aims to demonstrate the potential of the proposed solution in scenarios where the animal could not be physically present, helping to extend the benefits of AAT beyond in-person interactions.

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