Strategies for Autism
Mar 28, 2023
Parents of autistic kids are very skilled at making adaptive function the top priority with their autistic children. The first step is to assess and encourage motivation. As we all know, motivation ensures success over time and autistic kids have unique needs in our schools, classrooms and homes, to master exercises and activities.
According to the Autism Society, its most prominent symptoms include the following:
- Gross motor skills deficits,
- Difficulty initiating and maintaining social interactions,
- Repetitive fixation on behaviors, topics and movements,
- Anxiety in social situations or public places,
- Literal thinking, and difficulty understanding abstract or representational thought.
Autism appears to result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors that disrupt normal development and often cause regression in emerging social and communicative skills in children aged one and half years to three years old. Many people are standing strong that there is no causal relationship to vaccinations and autism but I have to disagree. Call it anecdotal, but many of my patients with autistic children can clearly describe the vaccination symptoms and declining changes in their autistic kids. Now I’m not saying vaccines are a direct cause nor the only cause, however I do believe more research must be done.
Parents with autistic children are recommended to address the gross motor issues connected with autism which can include low muscle tone, poor stability, low strength endurance, compensatory movement patterning and poor gait. These issues seem to occur prevalently in the Autism Spectrum Disorder population as a result of several factors, including:
- Neural firing deficits when performing movement,
- Lack of exploratory play during infancy and the toddler years,
- Lack of vigorous physical play in childhood and adolescence,
- Poor access to appropriate and ongoing physical fitness programs.
Autism Facts:
- Children diagnosed on the autism spectrum continue to rise in numbers.
- Autism is a neurobiological disorder with several suspected environmental and genetic causes.
- Behavioral, cognitive and gross motor deficits are common among those with autism.
- Individuals with ASD have limited access to appropriate fitness programs.
- Parents don’t know that chiropractic can assist the child’s nerve system.
Areas of Ability:
- Physical, adaptive and cognitive abilities must be accounted for.
- Understanding these variables will guide goal-setting instructional style and behavior support.
- Exercises and activities should be broken down or regressed to simpler versions.
Strategies:
- Physical: Figure out which movements or exercises your autistic child can and cannot do. Focus on program development and fitness goal setting.
- Adaptive: Assess the child’s motivation to perform fitness activities and specific movements. Develop a plan for behavior support and reinforcement.
- Cognitive: Focus on learning style (Visual or Kinesthetic) and develop an appropriate teaching method.
- Support: Seek support by finding a local fitness instructor, personal trainer or stay-at-home mom that wants to start a boot-camp for kids.
