The role of the special educator in animal assisted therapy El rol del educador especial en la terapia asistida con animales

Abstract

Alternative therapies are increasingly used in the complementary care of people with disabilities and become a new field of action for the special educator in his professional role, who seeks to strengthen an optimal quality of life for these people from a comprehensive perspective throughout the life cycle. The purpose of this research project is to support and analyze a reflective proposal about the role of the graduate in special education focused on animal assisted therapy. From a qualitative approach, a phenomenological-hermeneutical research was carried out based on the collection of information in the field that was obtained during the pedagogical practices and the documentary review developed during the process, in order to achieve a scientific product that provides a critical analysis. reflective on the role of the special educator in this field, and more specifically in a context where working with animals. In this sense, this document supports the way in which the special educator can reorient his role according to the context in which he is immersed and to the specific characteristics of the population with which he manages to work, prioritizing his intervention from the pedagogical field in assisted intervention. with animals. The results demonstrate that the special educator can strengthen in the therapeutic space the basic competences for learning, trust in the user or student and the bases for the autonomy that allows them to reach their potential, can also provide methodological adaptations for the design of strategies. didactics oriented to the best use of therapy within the interdisciplinary team. By using this line in his intervention, animal-assisted education becomes a possibility of contribution and learning within interdisciplinary work in institutions, and generates situations that facilitate comprehensive care.