Class Action: Developing Fitness Programs for Groups of ASD Students

As an unofficial translator of fitness for the autism population/autism for the fitness population, I have the challenge of developing exercise programs for various environments. With fitness professionals, there is usually an emphasis on 1-to-1 training, wherein the fitness specialist is working with a single individual and implementing the exercise program in a facility or home setting. Forward-thinking parents who integrate fitness and wellness lifestyle programs in the home also tend to work within the 1-to-1 paradigm. For these two groups, developing highly individualized exercise programs with data collection protocols and close monitoring of progress is relatively easy. By contrast, teachers or physical educators working with a group of ASD individuals present a greater host of challenges and adaptive measures necessary for success.

All classrooms exhibit variability in the skills, talents, and learning styles of the students. Heading over to the gym or out on the field often deepens the chasm between those who excel, those who exhibit greater deficits, those who are reluctant, and those who are reluctant to excel. When Physical Education (PE) began focusing on sports tracking rather than general fitness tracking, a curious, though predictable pattern emerged; those students who developed an aptitude for athletics participated more in gym class, and those students who had difficulty with or no interest in baseball, basketball, or soccer began to wane from the big, florescent-lit rooms. Basing a PE curriculum on sports is similar to basing a science curriculum on particle physics. It is too specialized, too compartmentalized, and excludes just about everybody. Additionally, sports movements are pertinent only to sports. They have little carryover to life situations, or any situations, beyond the athletic purpose they serve. If a foundation of fitness is not developed, sports will not fill the void.

So you have a group of 5^th graders, all on the spectrum, all of different cognitive, emotional, and physical developmental levels. Creating and implementing a fitness program seems a challenging task, but it is certainly attainable and can yield great success for each student. The class situation will be different from 1-to-1 sessions in several ways:

Exercise program must focus on general goals for all students while keeping in mind those of high and low skill levels

Exercises and activities chosen cannot be too difficult for the least-skilled athlete in the room

Highly detailed data collection is difficult during the course of the session/period

Individual progress on specific goals may be slower than 1-to-1 sessions

Despite the potential obstacles, the group setting does pose some rather desirable attributes. The socialization aspect is quite evident, as athletes playing alongside their peers have the opportunity to engage and interact with each other. Exercise provides a unique medium for establishing friendships and camaraderie through teamwork. Using partner exercises, such as wheelbarrow walks, team scooter races, or simply throwing and catching a light medicine ball requires that the students acknowledge and help one another in succeeding throughout the activity. Of course my high school athletes tend to find the jeering and ridiculing portion of social interaction to be more desirable, but given the age-appropriate nature of their vocalizations, and the generally benevolent nature of their interactions, they are afforded a bit more leniency. Few environments allow for these lively exchanges. The fitness environment is a haven of controlled chaos, in which shouting, laughing, and non-stereotypical jumping up and down are completely acceptable and, in fact, encouraged. I frequently question the rational of agreeing that teenage boys with ASD have no outlet for their energy, then seating them in classrooms for six hours.

The group exercise session should focus on developing big gross motor movements through a variety of exercises and activities. I typically begin my younger classes with simple warm-up movements including bending knees and arms up. From there, we may work on a hopping activity using differently shaped or colored spot markers on the floor. When the students are not kicking them across the room and stimulus control is in place, spot marker hopping provides a multitude of benefits to skill sets including attending, visual and auditory processing, reactive speed, hip mobility, force generation and deceleration, and stability. This is just the warm-up.  This type of initial activity is also helpful for the instructor, who is able to observe each athlete individually and pick up on major deficits in physical ability. As assessment is more difficult with groups than in 1-to-1 scenarios, Warm-ups that focus on individual movement can prove valuable for developing the daily or longer-term program.

Mobility work is absolutely essential for all young populations. Mobility refers to having flow and proper mechanics through various movement patterns. Knees turning in while squatting, arching the back while kicking, and turning the entire shoulder girdle instead of just the neck and head when orienting are all signs that movement is inhibited and deficits/imbalances are present. All of my athletes, regardless of age, perform bear walks and crab walks regularly. My second week of class I had at least 3 students look up at me as soon as we approached the mat and ask, knowingly, “Bear walks?” I answered in the affirmative. Animal-based movements are perhaps the best mobility enhancers for young and older athletes. Bear walks/crawls, crab walks, spider crawls, frog jumps, and kangaroo hops all entail usage of the large muscle groups, stabilizers, and kinesthetic awareness. We’ll do bear walks ‘till the cows come home..to find bears in the field.

Developing fitness programs for school or group settings can be a more demanding task than creating an exercise protocol for an individual. Still, it is imperative that group exercise be a major focus of special needs schools and programs, as it is highly unlikely, and not completely desirable, that each young person on the autism spectrum receive 1-to-1 physical education (unless parents really step it up with the family wellness lifestyles). The major movement for inclusive fitness will take place in educational settings. In addition to providing each student with the opportunity to become healthier, more, active, and discover a joy of movement, physical education provides socialization, self-esteem, and a more attentive student.  I do hope this whole “gateway towards optimized living” thing I talk about is beginning to make sense. Remember, exercise is something we do. Fitness is something we live.