Dolphin-Assisted Therapy for Autism is Cruel and Dangerous

"Swimming with dolphins" has become something of a running joke among the special-needs moms I know. We started using it as a synonym for all ineffective and potentially dangerous autism treatments after one mom was shunned by her family for refusing to pay nearly $300 a week for hourly "dolphin therapy" for her nonverbal five-year-old son. It sounds wonderful in theory, of course. Who isn't mystified by the idea of such beautiful, sentient animals unlocking emotions and expression in special children? From "Flipper" to "Dolphin Tale," we've been culturally tuned to believe that it's possible, and beautiful, for children to develop deep connections with dolphins.

The problem is that both children and dolphins suffer when parents resort to swimming with dolphins as a therapy for autism. Experts on both dolphins and autism are sounding the alarm and urgently warning parents to avoid this unproven and deadly "treatment." In "Dolphin-Assisted Therapy for Autism and Other Developmental Disorders: A Dangerous Fad," published by the American Psychological Association, two leading Emory University experts discuss the facts about swimming with dolphins, and their findings are grave.

After examining all available research about swimming with dolphins for autism, dolphin expert Lori Marino and leading psychologist Scott Lilienfeld concluded, "Despite dolphin-assisted therapy's extensive promotion to the general public, the evidence that it produces enduring improvements in the core symptoms of any psychological disorder is nil." The researchers found that all studies on swimming with dolphins for autism found little to no benefit, and the benefits that were found were simply "novelty" and "placebo." In other words, plenty of autistic children might find it enjoyable to swim with dolphins, but that doesn't mean that it's a clinically valid therapy or that it's worth the expense-- and the very serious possible drawbacks.

Marino and Lillenfield caution that swimming with dolphins isn't harmless to try, because it's dangerous to both dolphins and the autistic children who supposedly benefit from swimming with them. They found several cases of children being injured while swimming with dolphins, either because of accidents related directly to swimming or because of injuries actually inflicted (intentionally or accidentally) by the dolphins themselves. Just as seriously, they noted that dolphin-assisted therapy is very expensive and that it exploits romantic hopes for a magic cure, financially draining parents and encouraging them to forgo more effective treatments.

The greatest victims of dolphin-assisted therapy for autism, by far, are the dolphins themselves. The World Society for the Protection of Animals notes that dolphins in captivity are extremely unhappy, stressed, and physically ill. These highly intelligent animals are streamlined for life in the open ocean, where they have opportunities to hunt, socialize, and exercise in healthy ways, but, in captivity, they are confined to tiny spaces where they are deprived of food in order to train them to perform unhealthy and unnatural "tricks."

For example, dolphins in captivity are starved into beaching themselves as one "trick," which allows people who are swimming with dolphins to pet and kiss them. In reality, this is an excruciatingly painful trick to perform because the weight of the dolphin's body is not made to be supported outside the water. Due to the tiny size of their enclosures, the animals are also unable to use their complex language of clicks and whistles to communicate with one another. It's like being trapped in a bathroom with five other people, with your mouths all duct-taped shut so you can't speak. Dolphins in captivity "look happy" because their jaws are naturally shaped in a way that gives them a natural "smile," but they are miserable.

As friendly and pleasant as dolphins seem, and as peacefully as many of them endure their lives of misery, these unhealthy environments can bring out dangerous behavior. We can't ignore the fact that captive dolphins are 400-pound, wild predators. Parents wouldn't put their special-needs children into cages with "tame" lions in hopes of a magical experience, so why should it we leave our children at the mercy of captive dolphins? It's unwise, and arguably abusive to both the child and the dolphin, to assume that a large, stressed, sick predator will not lash out unpredictably in a way that could harm your child.

My six-year-old autistic daughter is receiving dolphin therapy in another way-- a way that doesn't threaten her safety or the well-being of wild animals. She knows that we do not visit zoos or aquariums that keep dolphins in captivity, and she learns about them in other ways that are far more soothing and therapeutic than a rollick in a pool with some stressed-out animals. Instead, we watch documentaries, read books, and sponsor wild dolphins. It's a "therapy" that has encouraged my daughter to express deep empathy and passion for the needs of wild marine mammals. I'll gladly take that instead of an expensive one-on-one session with an abused animal.