Guinea Pigs Help Autistic Children Interact Socially

Maggie O'Haire, a doctoral candidate in psychology at the University of Queensland, introduced two guinea pigs into 15 different classrooms with her colleagues and looked at how the presence of the animals affected the interactions of autistic children with adults and non-autistic kids. It turns out autistic children were more talkative and cheerful around the furry creatures than in the presence of toys.