Palabras clave
Ansiedad
Interacción Social
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Resumen
Objetivo: Investigar la eficacia de la Terapia Asistida con Animales en la reducción de la ansiedad y la promoción de la interacción social en niños con Trastorno del Espectro Autista. Métodos: Se realizó una revisión integrativa de la literatura en las bases PubMed, BVS y Cochrane, utilizando descriptores DeCS y MeSH, filtrando estudios publicados entre 2020 y 2025 en inglés, portugués o español, con niños con TEA que evaluaran la reducción de la ansiedad y la promoción de la interacción social. Se excluyeron artículos sin texto completo, sin enfoque en población infantil o carentes de rigor metodológico. Tras la lectura de 17 textos completos, se incluyeron 14 estudios. Resultados: Los estudios revisados evidenciaron que las intervenciones con animales reducen significativamente los síntomas de ansiedad y mejoran la comunicación y la interacción social. Los informes destacan que la presencia de los animales actúa como mediadora emocional, facilitando la expresión afectiva y la participación social de los niños. Consideraciones Finales: La Terapia Asistida con Animales se muestra como una estrategia prometedora para el manejo de los síntomas del TEA, aunque los resultados se ven limitados por la heterogeneidad metodológica.
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