Fitness Builds Futures

I’ve had the opportunity to share my work and speak with many parents who have children with autism. From a steady combination of emails and interaction at seminars, I’ve noticed a particular trend that must be addressed in order to develop a greater awareness of fitness and health. The two biggest misconceptions held by parents, educators, and sports coaches are firstly, children “automatically” know how to move, and secondly, sports are conducive to general fitness. If we consider the daily life of the average neurotypical American child, it begins with sitting in a car or bus to school, then sitting at school, then little-to-no activity during recess, possibly a physical education class that focuses on sport-specific activities, and a trip home to sit in front of the TV. Sitting all day is in no way helpful in maintaining or advancing the motor problems we develop during the toddler and early childhood years. In fact, lack of movement over the course of these pivotal stages of development can create muscular imbalances, increase the possibility of injuries, and impose problems in general health and well-being.

Now consider the average day of a child on the autism spectrum. Bus. Classroom. Home. Possibly an after-school activity or specialist before dinner. The problem is that many children on the autism spectrum have impairments and deficits in gross motor patterning. Essentially, they experience difficulty moving with efficiency, ease and joy. While several therapeutic strategies (such as ABA) now exist to intervene and optimize behavioral, educational, and emotional development, physical fitness is still a large void. Physical fitness, because it is misunderstood as a concept, is relegated to the area of sports. For children with autism, sport-related objectives and rules, as well as social interaction, are typically areas that are challenged. What happens now is one of two possibilities; a higher functioning child engages in the sport and gets little to no benefit from participating, or, in the second common scenario, the child fails at the sport, and it is decided that physical fitness is not all that important.

We first have to establish that fitness is an important aspect of development and success in life. Fitness is our ability to perform the activities that are required throughout daily life, and meet new/novel challenges with the most efficient and able movement possible. Self-efficacy is a rather large consideration for most ASD individuals, and it would probably be important to consider their ability to navigate their way through the day when discussing goal-setting. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that regular exercise has beneficial effects on cognitive functioning and emotional regulation. If cognitive, emotional, and social abilities are such vital issues in autism, why have we eliminated, or at least ignored, one of the most proficient methods for instilling these qualities?

Sports demand highly specified movement patterns that have little crossover or generalization to daily life. General fitness, in the form of bending, pushing, pulling, rotating, and locomotion, have carryover to most life situations, and do not require a thorough understanding of game play, rules, and objectives for a child to succeed. General fitness, it so happens, is also required for ANY child to succeed at a sport. It is the bridge between gross motor development and all higher stages of movement, from sports to individual fitness programs. The key in developing fitness programs for young individuals on the autism spectrum is to simplify movement patterns and integrate each new movement in a way that allows the child to meet goals incrementally and successfully at each stage.

Related posts:

1. Bending Is Believing
2. Summer Camp – End The Stress!
3. Clinical Parenting Approach To Autism