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Pets could help improve social skills of autistic kids

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New York: Keeping a dog or any other animal at home could help improve the social skills of children with autism and make them more assertive, new research has found.

“Kids with autism do not always readily engage with others, but if there is a pet in the home that the child bonds with and a visitor starts asking about the pet, the child may be more likely to respond,” said Gretchen Carlisle, research fellow at the University of Missouri in the US.

Pets often serve as “social lubricants”, Carlisle said.

Dogs and other pets play an important role in individuals’ social lives, and they can act as catalysts for social interaction.

For the study, the researcher surveyed 70 families who had children with autism between the ages of 8 and 18.

“When I compared the social skills of children with autism who lived with dogs to those who did not, the children with dogs appeared to have greater social skills,” Carlisle added.

“More significantly, the data revealed that children with any kind of pet in the home reported being more likely to engage in behaviour such as introducing themselves, asking for information or responding to other people’s questions,” said Carlisle.

When pets are present in social settings or a classroom, children talk and engage more with one another.

This effect also seems to apply to children with autism and could account for their increased assertiveness when pets are around.

The findings appeared in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Corona

Covid toll in Karnataka is a worrying sign for state government

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Even though Karnataka recorded the lowest number of Covid deaths in April since the virus struck first in 2020, the state is recording a rise in the positivity rate (1.50 per cent). Five people died from the Covid infections in April as per the statistics released by the state health department. In March, the positivity rate stood around 0.53 per cent. In the first week of April it came down to 0.38 per cent, second week registered 0.56 per cent, third week it rose to 0.79 per cent and by end of April the Covid positivity rate touched 1.19 per cent.

on an average 500 persons used to succumb everyday in the peak of Covid infection, as per the data. Health experts said that the mutated Coronavirus is losing its fierce characteristics as vaccination, better treatment facilities and awareness among the people have contributed to the lesser number of Covid deaths.

During the 4th and 6th of April two deaths were reported in Bengaluru, one in Gadag district on April 8, two deaths were reported from Belagavi and Vijayapura on April 30. The first Covid case was reported in the state in March 2020 and three Covid deaths were recorded in the month. In the following month 21 people became victims to the deadly virus, and May 2020 recorded 22 deaths. The death toll recorded everyday after May crossed three digits. However, the third wave, which started in January 2

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