Yoga for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Yoga Beneficial for Children with Autism | Autism Key

Yoga Beneficial for Children with Autism | Autism Key

The ancient art of yoga is proving to have great benefits for children on the autism spectrum. Yoga comprehensively addresses their heightened anxiety, poor motor coordination and weak self-regulation, something that otherwise is very difficult to do.

Yoga is particularly instrumental in helping kids with autism learn self-regulation. By becoming aware of their bodies and aware of their breathing, yoga provides them with the ability to cope when they start to feel anxious or upset.

Yoga For Students With Autism: American School for the Deaf Offers Yoga Program For Students With Autism

Yoga For Students With Autism: American School for the Deaf Offers Yoga Program For Students With Autism - Courant.com

The four students at the American School for the Deaf, sitting on mats in the cafeteria, take direction from yoga instructor Aaron West, while interpreter Vicki Watson translates into sign language.

The poses are fairly typical for a class of first-timers, but before the class began, the school's staff members weren't sure how the students would take to it. Age 15 to 17, most of the students were not just deaf, but also autistic. This is the first time the school has offered a yoga program for its autistic students.

The idea for the program came from Bonnie Nicol, who is the PACES Clinical Program Coordinator at the school. She has a son who is handicapped and took advantage of a similar program. Administrative assistant Peg Higgins coordinated the program. An avid yoga buff, Higgins said the program sounded perfect for the small group of autistic students at the school. (The American School for the Deaf has six students with autism, although others fall within the autism spectrum.)

Yoga for Autism

Yoga: flexible fun for autistic children

By For The Times

PLAINSBORO - Nicole Calvano, smiling serenely and exuding limitless patience, sat the small gathering of children and parents in a circle.

Calvano, 28, of East Brunswick, yoga instructor and passionate advocate for children suffering autism in its seemingly infinite manifestations, waved her hand around the circle and invited everyone to imagine a garden.

The children, each afflicted with some behavioral challenge, and their parents closed their eyes. The class was midway through a six-week program Calvano is teaching at the Center for Relaxation and Healing of Plainsboro.

Mary Iuvone / For The TimesYoga instructor Nicole Calvano photographed at her home in East Brunswick.

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Athletics 4 Autism: Yoga, Cheerleading, Taekwondo and Wrestling

Yoga, Cheerleading, Taekwondo and Wrestling. I am not so sure I want to teach my kid the last two. I have visions of being pinned to the ground in Walmart after a meltdown.

Athletics big boost for kids with autism

At a track meet the other day, 13-year-old Mason Quinn looked like any other competitor.

"He's as coachable as any kid we've ever had," said coach and teacher Tom Thompson of Lakota Plains Junior School, where Mason is in seventh grade. "Great attitude. Makes you smile every day.

"We don't treat him any different, and he doesn't expect us to."

But Mason is different. At age 5, he was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder.

Parents Mark and Lisa Quinn of West Chester Township say Mason has benefited from sports in a variety of ways, from easing his acceptance by peers to teaching that success comes from hard work. They hope that by telling their story, other children with autism and their parents might be encouraged to explore athletics.

That's also the goal of Heath and Fitness for Autism Weekend, a first-of-its-kind event sponsored by Families with ASD, a local non-profit organization for families affected by autism. Nine free clinics Saturday and Sunday in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will offer young people an introduction to activities such as yoga, cheerleading, taekwondo and wrestling.

About 1 in 110 children are diagnosed with autism, a developmental disability that affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. It's considered a "spectrum disorder" because it affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. Asperger's is a mild form of autism.

"It's always bothered me that kids with autism were not more involved in sports," said Doug Blecher, board president of Families with ASD and organizer of the weekend clinics.

He's a therapist trained in applied behavior analysis, one of a number of therapies used to improve the lives of children with autism. He believes athletic activities complement those therapies, and he's not alone.

Geraldine Dawson and Michael Rosanoff are the chief science officer and assistant director of research and public health, respectively, for Autism Speaks, a national advocacy group. On the organization's Web site, they write:

"Besides improving fitness, motor function, and behavior in individuals with autism, among the most important advantages of physical activity are the social implications of participating in sports and exercise."

More than half of children with autism are either overweight or at risk of it, Dawson and Rosanoff say.

But participation in physical activities can be especially challenging for such children for reasons that include limited motor function, lack of motivation, and the potential for sensory overload.

"People look at people with autism and see the deficits," said Blecher. "They don't really see what they're capable of."

Mason has shown what he's capable of, even though he, too, struggles with social and communication skills.

FULL STORY HERE

Autism Yoga Therapy

Butterfly Stretch: Autistic Boy Finds Comfort in the Calm of Yoga

Andrew Benisek is proof that the ancient practice of yoga touches all souls.

This 9-year-old autistic boy from DeKalb, Ill., literally stumbled upon yoga one day while rooting through his mother’s collection of yoga VHS tapes.

He pushed play on Patricia Walden’s original bestseller, Yoga for Beginners, and was hooked. Today Andrew, officially diagnosed with pervasive developmental delay on the autism spectrum, owns dozens of yoga and meditation DVDs. Another perennial favorite is Rodney Yee’s AM/PM Yoga.

“The yogis speak very slowly and calmly and he likes that,” says Andrew’s mother, Nuala. “He doesn’t lay down in savasana, but he watches [the DVD] or is doing something else and has it on in the background.”

Andrew does participate more actively when he feels like it. “I do sitting poses and meditation,” he says. His favorite move? Proud warrior pose. Quite remarkably, Andrew even defines the word meditation as “mind, body and spirit.”

Experts suggest that yoga’s soothing nature may appeal to autistic and other developmentally disabled children whose sensory systems are in effect “overloaded.” The practice’s peaceful atmosphere — dim lights, quiet music and slow movements — can provide a welcome respite.

Inverted movements such as child’s pose, downward dog and triangle work the vestibular system, which helps with balance and special orientation — areas that are especially important for autistic children, says Britt Collins, a Salem, Oregon-based occupational therapist. Collins partnered with famed Survivor winner and yoga instructor Aras Baskauskas on the Yoga for Children with Special Needs DVD.

[FULL ARTICLE]



Related:

• Yoga for Beginners DVD by Patricia Walden
• Yoga for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents and Caregivers