but eight- year-old memphis rose looks like an old pro feeding donkeyspu kin and jack with his licensed counselor, megan moran. >> they like hay. >> we know they like hay, we know they like food. so maybe we can motivate them. what do you think? >> yeah. >> okay. >> reporter: memphis started coming to cultivate care farms in bolton as part of a treatment plan for his autism. he says when he's here, he feels calm and happy. what is it that makes you happy being out here? >> the animals are covered in fur, and when you pet them, they feel soft. >> reporter: they're soft. they're cute and it turns out, donkeys, in particular, can help people with autism lrn how to read social cues. >> so now you can pet them cause they're close. >> reporter: while animals have long been used to help treat mental health issues, there is no hard science to back up why it works. still, there is no doubt that animals in some cases can help kids with their anxiety. >> their needs are pretty basicc and te. and so you can get a lf ciuse and effect, which is really helpful, esly when clients are then needing to figure out how to navigat