Intermountain Therapy Animals (ITA) is a human service organization, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. ITA volunteers (people and their own companion animals) have been serving their communities since 1993. They visit those who are physically or developmentally disabled, emotionally or psychologically impaired, lonely or suffering from depression, in settings ranging from hospitals, counseling centers, nursing, extended care and memory care centers, detention homes, schools and libraries in Utah and Montana.
Research has shown that animals can have a significant positive impact for people with a whole range of diagnoses and situations. ITA animals can induce immediate physiological improvements, including lower blood pressure, slower breathing, greater calm and relaxation. They go on to enhance therapeutic goals that include:
Empathy ? Physical Contact ? Outward Focus ? Nurturing ? Mental Stimulation ? Rapport ? Acceptance of Self and Situation ? Patient Compliance ? Socialization
ITA is the home of the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program. R.E.A.D. improves children?s reading and communication skills by employing a powerful method: reading to an animal. But not just any animal. R.E.A.D. companions are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their owner/handlers as a team, going to schools, libraries and many other settings as reading companions for children.
R.E.A.D., launched in 1999, is the first and foremost program that utilizes therapy animals to help kids improve their reading and communication skills and also teaches them to love books and reading. It?s been growing around the world since November of 1999 when ITA launched it here in Salt Lake City. More than 7,300 therapy teams have trained and registered with the program and are going strong!
Today, thousands of registered R.E.A.D. teams work throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Finland, France, Sweden, South Africa, Slovenia, Spain, and beyond. R.E.A.D. is one of those ideas that, in the words of Bill Moyers, ?pierces the mundane to arrive at the marvelous.?
