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| Contributed photo Speech pathologist Jennifer Haley Bryce poses with her family dog Finn, who recently has begun helping during some of Bryce’s speech therapy sessions. Bryce is a speech therapist at the St. Andrews Campus of LincolnHealth in Boothbay Harbor. The facility recently built an expansion onto the facility, where Bryce and Finn work together in the newly established animal assisted therapy program. |
By Theron Larkins
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Caribou native and speech therapist Jennifer Haley Bryce has a new partner named Finn, who has recently began aiding Bryce during many of her therapy sessions. Unlike Bryce who after graduating from Caribou High School in 1991 went on to earn her master’s degree in communication disorders from the University of Maine, Finn doesn’t have a degree, or even a high school diploma for that matter. This is because Finn is a 7-month-old golden retriever.
Bryce and her family dog Finn are the first therapist and dog duo to engage in the newly established Animal Assisted Therapy program at St. Andrews Campus of LincolnHealth in Boothbay Harbor. Animal Assisted Therapy is one of several new services being offered at the St. Andrews Campus, and was made possible through a recent renovation project that nearly doubled the space available for therapy and education programs at St. Andrews.
Animals have been used in therapy dating back more than 200 years. Dogs are particularly beneficial with and currently being used to stimulate memory and speech in older adults with cognitive or speech deficits, such as stroke victims. Although Finn will be used for some adult patients, his primary role at St. Andrews Campus will be working with pediatric patients.
With Finn acting as the main focus of therapy, Bryce explained he has a calming effect on everyone involved in the therapy session.
“He does have a calming effect on both the patients and the staff,” said Bryce. “All of the staff at our hospital tell me that he makes their day.”
Despite Finn’s new career path, he is no different than any other good natured dog. Bryce explained that all dogs do have the potential to become therapy dogs, but there are some hoops the dogs must jump through before being ready for therapy sessions.
“All animals have the potential, but it all depends on the hospital or facility, as they all have their own policies and procedures,” said Bryce. “Finn passed his good canine citizen test when he was four months old. We have taken two obedience classes and have also done some private training. He will be tested in December in hopes of officially becoming a member of Therapy Dogs International. Overall, he’s very good natured and wants to please.”
Some people may be familiar with the use of animals in therapy, as animals such as horses have been used for years to help patients with things like post-traumatic stress disorder or substance abuse problems. Bryce did, however, point out that there is a difference between animal assisted therapy and animal assisted activities.
“Animal assisted therapy is a little different than animal assisted activities, such as visiting a nursing facility, hospital or school,” said Bryce. “He will do that as well, but with animal assisted therapy he will be involved directly in the meeting of specific goals. For example, he may help a child to learn how to properly pronounce the “s” sound by telling Finn to “sit” or “stay” or he can assist in teaching children things like how to take turns by throwing a toy.”
Bryce said animals like Finn allow the therapy sessions to become much less stressful and a lot more fun for the younger patients, as well as many of the older ones, and this is will often lead to faster progress. In many cases, younger patients can find it much more difficult to engage in traditional therapy, including those who are speech or language delayed, children with attention deficit disorder and those with autism. Bryce explained that animals used during therapy can help to improve both attention and social skills, as well as helping them to engage in play, which is an important aspect of a child’s early development.
“Early intervention and language development are both very important — specifically during the first three years of a child’s life,” said Bryce. “The research is telling us that these are the most critical years of a child’s development. A child’s ability to learn between the ages of 0-3 greatly impacts them later in life. These years are the building blocks for success in school and social development.”
