自闭症儿童和动物
自闭症协会称将近150万美国人患有不同形式的自闭症。
Understanding how animals help kids with autism requires more study, says James Griffin, researcher at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
尤尼斯.肯尼迪.施来福美国国立儿童健康与人类发展研究所的研究员詹姆斯.格瑞芬说，要想了解动物们是怎样帮助自闭症儿童的，需要更多的研究来调查。
"Most of what we hear about are these anecdotal examples of dogs turning kids' lives around," says Griffin, whose research is financed by Mars, maker of Pedigree dog food.
作为研究员，格瑞芬的经费由玛氏集团赞助，他说“我们听到更多的逸闻趣事是关于狗和孩子的。”
Griffin is a co-author of Animals in Our Lives: Human-Animal Interaction in Family, Community & Therapeutic Settings. A chapter by Temple Grandin, autism advocate and animal scientist, addresses how animals can help people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
格瑞芬在与友人合著了一本书叫做《我们生命中的动物：人类与动物的相互影响存在于家庭、社区和治疗情境中》，其中一章的作者天.葛兰汀——自闭症的拥护者和动物科学家，强调了动物是怎样帮助自闭症患者的。
A 2004 study showed assistance dogs could help autistic children learn about living beings, feelings and needs, Griffin says. And he cites a 2010 study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology that shows how service dogs have a physiological effect on autistic kids.
格瑞芬指出2004年的一份调查显示助人犬可以帮助自闭症儿童学会自立、感知和需要。同时2010年的一份调查也发表了一篇神经心理内分泌学文章，阐述了助人犬是怎样影响自闭症儿童心理的。
The study measured the salivary levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in 42 children with autism at three different times: before and during the introduction of a service dog to their family, and after a short period during which the dog was removed from their family.
在对42个自闭症儿童进行的一项研究中，分三次测试了他们的唾液皮质醇（一种压力荷尔蒙）含量：使用服务犬前、和服务犬相处时，和这只犬被送走的一段时间后。实验显示这三次含量均不同。
The researchers worked with the MIRA Foundation, which provides free service dogs to people with special needs. The researchers concluded "that the introduction of service dogs translated into reducing cortisol levels ... and the number of disruptive behavioral incidents in children with ASD."
米拉基金会的研究人员们提供了一个信息，免费提供服务的助人犬对人类有特殊帮助：引进助人犬可以降低人体内皮质醇含量，并减少自闭症儿童破坏性行为的发生。