Fun at the farm: The benefits of animal therapy
Many of us have animals in our lives who are dear to our hearts. This can be a family pet, an assistance animal, a fashionable dog on your social feed or even the horse you drive past on the way to work.
Alice taking a well-earned break after a day of wreaking havoc.
For me, my special animal is my pet rabbit, Alice. She’s a beautiful white dwarf lop with a cute grey nose and buckets of attitude. (I adopted her from her previous owner after she sent the other resident bunny to the emergency vet for stitches.) The bond I have with her is hard to describe to other people, because to me, Alice is my child. I understand it sounds ridiculous to people who have human children! Still, it’s the best way to express just how important this little ball of fluff is to me.
Autistic people and animals
Me (age 5) with my beloved “Tessa-dog”.
Ever since I was a very small child, I’ve felt an incredible connection to animals of all shapes and sizes. I read non-fiction books about animals cover to cover. On Grade 3 camp, I won the award for biggest animal lover. My favourite birthday gift was an encyclopedia of the world’s most dangerous animals. My first word was the name of my grandmother’s pet dog at the time, Tessa. (While I absolutely loved my grandma, whenever we arrived at her house after the 4-hour road trip, my first stop would be a cuddle with sweet old Tess.)
I always thought this was a strange quirk of my personality. However, after I was diagnosed with autism, I found out that many autistic people feel the same way. Many of my peers have special interests revolving around animals - you’ve heard the jokes about horse girls - and feel deep empathy for them. I’m the type of person who can watch movies with gruesome violence towards people without flinching, but I have to close my eyes if I think an animal is about to be harmed (even though I understand it isn’t real). It’s not that I care about animals more than people necessarily. My autistic sense of justice drives me to stand up for those who need it, and animals are the least able to advocate for themselves, so that’s where much of my empathy is directed.
I know for me personally, I often prefer the company of animals to people. I’m the girl who rocks up to a party and immediately wanders off to find the host’s pets. We autistic people often find it easier to communicate with animals than people. I mean, animals use obvious body language, and there’s never any mysterious social cues or confusing, neurotypical subtext. Communication from animals is free of societal conventions, and involves less eye contact than speaking to humans (Malcolm et al., 2018). Animals are clear in what they want, whether that’s food, cuddles or play time, and don’t approach situations with ulterior motives. They provide unconditional love and are entirely nonjudgmental (HABRI, 2020).
Sure, these things are important to all pet owners - love from an animal is a special thing. However, people on the autism spectrum can have difficulty socialising and thus experience higher levels of loneliness than neurotypical people. A companion animal can provide valuable companionship and reduce a person’s feelings of isolation (HABRI, 2020).
Now for a quick disclaimer: this is not universally true for all autistic people. Some autistic people are entirely ambivalent to animals, or, like my brother, actively avoid them. Animals can be unpredictable and don’t respect boundaries. Some smell, make loud noises, or enjoy licking, which can be a sensory nightmare. If this describes your feelings, animal therapy is not for you, and that’s okay!
But anyway - back to the animals! For those of us who love them, spending time around animals is an absolute joy. I love nothing more than meeting new animals, getting to know their personalities, and if I’m really lucky, giving or receiving some cuddles and pats!
A visit to Yeah Nah Worries Farm
When I found out that I’d be visiting the Yeah Nah Worries Farm, I nearly peed my pants with excitement. I love interacting with farm animals. LOVE. (I rented a mobile animal farm for my 21st birthday so I could spend my big day cuddling them.) And thus, my fiancé and I embarked on the epic drive out to Jumbuck in Victoria’s east.
“Hey babe,” I said, wearing my best pun-telling grin, “we’re in the middle of Jumbuck nowhere!”
As we pulled up the gravel drive and through the gate, my eyes were fixed on the paddock out the front. Chickens roamed the yard and larger domestic animals - pigs, goats, sheep, alpacas, you name it! - watched us from behind the fence. I was already vibrating with excitement when two gorgeous Border Collies raced to meet us. I missed the introductions inside the house because I was too busy cuddling my new best friends. However, once I got inside, I had the pleasure of meeting the crew:
Daisy checking out my pink work boots. (Visitors can’t pat the wombats, but if you’re lucky they might come give you a sniff!)
Michelle, the amazing farm caretaker. I have mad respect for a woman who scoops up wombats like babies and gives pigs a back rub with the sole of her boot. She has a great sense of humour and is so, so generous with her time and knowledge.
One of our lovely Bond & Wild support workers visiting with a client for the day.
The wombats! Michelle is currently caring for three joeys. The oldest is Daisy, who is about one year old and full of personality. We arrived at feeding time and had the pleasure of seeing all three little ones enjoying some milk from a baby bottle. Daisy is a curious creature who was really into my shoelaces!
The dogs! Violet is an adorable Border Collie puppy with beautiful smoky markings, and Calvin (short for Calvin Klein) is a remarkably handsome honey Border Collie. Doug the pug is a friendly little guy with the appearance of a black potato. Betsy the English Bulldog is more wombat than dog and built like a loving but slobbery tank. All four were friendly and accepted all the cuddles I could give.
Jerry, the resident galah. He’s a permanent resident due to a physical disability. He loves a dance and a scratch on the head, and is apparently prone to yelling out random phrases.
Bradley the python, who was having an afternoon nap. Hopefully next time we’ll get to meet him out of his enclosure!
The dynamic duo of cats, Old Mate (who is one year old) and Big Red (who is ten). They behave exactly like my brother and I did as kids… the feline posterchildren for sibling rivalry. They are both incredibly cute.
After meeting the indoor residents, Michelle escorted us outside to see the rest of the farm. On the way out to the paddock we met the yard chooks, who apparently have an intense rivalry with the paddock chooks. I didn’t want to get involved in the turf war. While I am disappointed to report that the chooks were not keen on being cuddled, it was fascinating to see the different varieties of chicken all together in the same place.
Through the gate and into the paddock we were immediately greeted by hordes of friendly animals. We met miniature goats who were very keen for cuddles (I was not permitted to bring Liesel back to my small house in the suburbs), sheep, alpacas, and the two pigs, Howard and Kevin Bacon. The animals have a huge space with a mixture of open space and shady areas with large trees to explore. The goats even have a climbing frame and a swing to play on! I could have stayed for hours, but after a long cuddle with three goats at once, my personal idea of heaven, it was off to meet one last resident.
Earlier I introduced you to my bunny, Alice. Well, Michelle introduced me to her bunny, also called Alice! Michelle’s Alice is a gorgeous grey and white English Angora, which means she is soft as a cloud and very fluffy. She is only 12 weeks old and already the same size as my Alice (Angoras tend to be quite large, and Alice is a dwarf). Funnily enough, neither Alice is named after the ubiquitous Alice in Wonderland. Mine is named for the small white flowers of the sweet Alice plant, also known as alyssum, and Michelle’s is Alice as in Alice Cooper. Pretty hardcore!
Michelle was also kind enough to show us an exciting new development at Yeah Nah Worries Farm. An on-site cabin is currently undergoing renovations and in a few weeks’ time will be ready to accommodate guests! Visitors will be able to stay overnight at the farm in a thoughtfully designed space specifically catering to those with sensory needs. Guests will be able to relax in the giant therapy pod, play with a large selection of fidget toys and Lego, or enjoy walking through the bush at the back of the large property and spotting the local wildlife. Our team at Bond & Wild are so excited to be working with Yeah Nah Worries Farm to provide an awesome respite stay experience for clients. Nature, fresh air, excellent people and a huge dose of animal therapy! (Seriously though, if you’re interested in visiting, get in touch with us so we can make it happen for you!)
Why animal therapy?
Enjoying a cuddle with the very tolerant Alice (Cooper).
Animal therapy, known in more formal settings as animal-assisted intervention (AAI), simply refers to therapeutic activities that involve the presence of a live animal (O’Haire, 2013). It can have physiological benefits, such as reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol (HABRI, 2020; Sissons et al., 2022) and lowered heart rate and blood pressure (O’Haire, 2013). While these are all great for your health, for neurodivergent people, particularly those on the autism spectrum, the most visible benefits of animal therapy are actually social.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that interacting with animals improves the social functioning of autistic people (Sissons et al., 2022). Having animals around is a great conversation starter - “what’s his name?”, “how old is she?”, “what breed are they?” - and also gives people a reason to chat to each other. Part of the struggle of socialising as an autistic person is finding a way to enter a conversation appropriately, but a nearby pet can remove that uncertainty. While I was at the Yeah Nah Worries Farm, my mouth was motoring. I normally find it hard to talk to new acquaintances, but having the animals nearby to discuss and interact with created a social situation where I felt totally comfortable to be my enthusiastic self.
Animals themselves make for excellent friends, too. As discussed above, autistic people also tend to find animals easier to communicate with than other people, so spending time with animals can provide a sense of companionship and connection that we can’t always find from our neurotypical peers.
If you ask me, though, the logic behind animal therapy is pretty simple. I love animals, and spending time with them makes me happy. Going to a place where everyone feels the same way and we can all appreciate animals together is even better. When I’m giving a goat a scratch behind the horns, dancing with a galah or snuggling a bunny, I’m the truest and happiest version of myself. I don’t have to put on a mask or worry about social niceties.
If you’ve read this far, first of all, thank you, and second of all, you must be an animal lover too. (Or my mother. Hi Mum!) So to you, my fellow animal adorers, I say: cuddle and chat to your pet. Go for a walk in your neighbourhood and pat any dogs that walk by. Book a trip to a farm like Yeah Nah Worries Farm or a wildlife sanctuary. It’s good for you!
Alice assisting with the proof-reading process… and making sure I got her best angle!
References
Malcolm, R., Ecks, S., Pickersgill, M. (2018). ‘It just opens up their world’: autism, empathy, and the therapeutic effects of equine interactions. Anthropology & Medicine, 25(10), 1-15. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317005614
HABRI. (2020, April 13). The Human-Animal Bond for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Human Animal Bond Research Institute. https://habri.org/blog/the-human-animal-bond-for-autism-spectrum-disorder/
O’Haire, M. E. (2013). Animal-assisted intervention for autism spectrum disorder: a systematic literature review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(7), 1606-1622. https://www.zaakoppoten.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Maggie-OHaire-autism.pdf
Sissons, J. H., Blakemore, E., Shafi, H., Skotny, N., & Lloyd, D. M. (2022). Calm with horses? A systematic review of animal-assisted interventions for improving social functioning in children with autism. Autism, 26(6), 1320-1340. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/13623613221085338
