Inspired by those with added challenges
Furthermore there is that capacity in people to be truly inspired
(sources: Walgreens: Same Standards, Same Pay for People With Disabilities | inclusionparadox.com ; Human Resource Executive Online - Aspies in the Workplace ; Veterans champion: Co-founder of AmpSurf widening his impact | The Tribune & SanLuisObispo.com )
Furthermore skills of others can be enhanced by interacting with people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders…
…Another thing I’ve learned about people who don’t know someone with autism; assumptions are automatically made about their abilities. In fact, when I told another friend about the tours with Erik’s Minnesota Adventures, he was astonished that the experience guides are able to conduct the tour. This lack of awareness about autism is a huge barrier and even more reason for people to get to know individuals with autism. These tours are designed to do just that. They are at the heart of our purpose; bidirectional integration (a term we coined). Or in simple language, this kind of exposure helps those with autism gain socialization, communication skills and self-confidence as experts in an area. It helps those without autism expand their socialization, communication skills and self-confidence in interacting with different capabilities. Seems like a win-win to me…
…“Employers are recognizing the benefits of hiring an employee on the autism spectrum,” [Erin Onacki, the employment service program coordinator of the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC)] said. "They’re seeing there’s a huge benefit to their organization. It has diversified their work environment, changed the dynamic for their employees and used us as a resource for their friends and family."…
(sources: Job Opportunities: Taking the Road Less Traveled | Erik's Ranch & Retreats ; http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2012/05/01/20120501phoenix-center-links-autistic-adults-jobs.html )
This thread has been about how people with Autism Spectrum Disorders can do quite well in a rural work setting, for example on farms. Part of that success, no doubt, comes from the regular forced long hours of exercise that farmwork requires of people.
Eric Chessen is an Exercise Physiologist who is the Founder of Autism Fitness (formerly known as Theraplay-ny and Beyond Boundaries Fitness). Chessen has implemented Autism-specific exercise programs into homes and educational programs across the United States.
…1) Sandbell Squats
Double Rope Swingsstrength endurance (more important for teenagers with autism than cardiovascular endurance) . I love rope swings and even incorporated them into the PAC Profile as an assessment of, among other things, coordination.
Overhead Press (with Sandbells, Med balls, Dumbbells, or Thick Rope)Teenagers with autism often exhibit poor posture with shoulders that ‘roll’ forward. You cannot simply fix this by ‘standing up straight.’
Including overhead presses in fitness programs for teenagers with Autism is a must.
Medicine Ball Scoop Throws
Sandbell slams
(source: The Top 5 Exercises for Teenagers with Autism | )
People with Autism Spectrum Disorders also have distinctive ways of walking…
…Dr Rinehart, a clinical psychologist, has more interest in that process than most. For several years she has been studying the distinctive way of walking apparent in children with autism and Asperger’s disorder. The research aims to help clinicians make earlier diagnosis of these two afflictions.
How do they walk? With a click of the computer mouse Dr Rinehart brings up an animated skeleton on screen, the digitally duplicated movements of a real-life patient. ‘‘This is a child with autism,’’ she says. ‘‘They have a much more variable bouncy gait.’’ The skeletal figure moves awkwardly with the right arm swinging across the body, rather than back and forward, and the pelvis shifting oddly from side to side.
There are other walking skeletons on her files … and now a young sufferer of Asperger’s. Each shows the effect of the particular brain malfunction on the body’s motor movements.
‘‘You can see the difference in the upper body posture,’’ she says of the Asperger’s boy. ''In some ways we feel we are looking for a needle in a haystack because it is a very subtle disturbance in gait. This is one kid out of a large sample. They don’t necessarily all look the same…
Here is a video by Eric Chessen, founder of Autism Fitness, on the common gait disturbances he sees in his Autistic clients and how certain exercises can help resolve them: EC Blog shuffling Steps June 30 09 on Vimeo Could gait unlock the keys to autism and Asperger’s? )
What Eric Chessen (as well as other Autism Exercise experts I will write about in future posts) promotes is a change to the stereotype of a person on the Autism Spectrum. In the video on the professional surfer Clay Marzo (Just Add Water ), there are comments like he breaks down stereotypes - as an ultrafit professional athlete, doing something for his career that few can imagine someone on the Autism Spectrum could do. It is refreshing and opens minds up about people’s capabilities.
At the moment, and in the past, when people talk about Autism, they might think of Temple Grandin, or a socially-impaired computer nerd (if they think of someone with Asperger’s Syndrome), or Rain Man . Rain Man was a 1988 film starring Dustin Hoffman as an Autistic Savant, a character largely inspired by the real life Kim Peek…
…The film won four Oscars…
…Mr. Peek was not autistic – not all savants are autistic and not all autistics are savants – but he was born with severe brain abnormalities that impaired his physical coordination and made ordinary reasoning difficult. He could not dress himself or brush his teeth without help. He found metaphoric language incomprehensible and conceptualization baffling.
But with an astonishing skill that allowed him to read facing pages of a book at once – one with each eye – he read as many as 12,000 volumes. Even more remarkable, he could remember what he had read.
[Peek] had perhaps the world’s most capacious memory for facts.
…In ‘Rain Man,’ the autistic character, Raymond Babbitt, has been institutionalized since he was very young but is reunited with a cynical younger brother, Charlie (played by Tom Cruise), who had forgotten about his brother’s existence. (The title comes from Raymond’s recollection of the infant Charlie’s name for him.) The two men take a cross-country trip, and fraternal reconciliation ensues.
The movie, a critical and box office success, was not based on Mr. Peek’s life, but in preparing for the role, Mr. Hoffman visited with Mr. Peek and incorporated many of his characteristics – a shambling gait, peculiar hand movements and occasional blunt utterances – into the character of Raymond.
…In the wake of ‘Rain Man,’ Mr. Peek became something of a celebrity, emerging from his shell to travel around the country giving demonstrations of his talent and advocating tolerance for the disabled…
(source: Kim Peek, Inspiration for ‘Rain Man,’ Dies at 58 - The New York Times )
Eric Chessen, the Founder of Autism Fitness, is someone whose mission is to bring the benefits of exercise to Autistics.
Interestingly, like Specialisterne’s pre-testing of employment candidates using Lego technology , Chessen stresses the importance of assessment of the abilities of an individual. The PAC Profile assesses Physical, Adaptive, and Cognitive (with relation to movement activity) abilities of the individual…
…The PAC Profile is used to assess the three most important areas of functioning specific to developing and implementing a successful fitness program for individuals with [Autism Spectrum Disorders]. The Profile measures Physical, Adaptive, and Cognitive abilities … allowing the user to determine at what level the athlete is currently performing. Each of the three areas of functioning has three possible levels of ability: High, Intermediate, and Low.
Physical Functioning Criteria
Adaptive Functioning Criteria
*BSP stands for Behavior-Specific Praise which is a technique derived from Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). So the instructor provides positive feedback immediately following the individual’s action. For example, rather than saying “Great job!,” a more effective response would be “Great job bending knees and jumping!” This tells the individual, in exact terms, what they did well.http://pacprofile.com/PAC-Profile-exerpt.pdf )
Eric Chessen, founder of Autism Fitness, is someone whose mission is to bring the benefits of exercise to Autistic children especially.
Chessen believes in following exercise strategies that are likely to improve fitness in Autistic children, and does not believe in focusing on sports. He prefers compound movements - which are activities that require several muscle groups to perform. These are big movements that have great generalization to other life skills, which would make them useful in everyday life for children (and adults) with special needs…
…What I have to demystify the most is: Sports do not equal fitness. People look at sports as the top of the pyramid. That’s the ultimate in physical fitness. What sports are, actually, is a branch on a tree. The roots and trunk of that tree are general movement and fitness. The easiest way to injure a child is to have them do one activity or one sport over and over and over. It’s the same movement patterns.
…Plus, if we’re looking from a long-term developmental standpoint, how many people really stick with [sports they played as kids?].
…The point is, sports are not bad. It’s just that we’re looking at an activity that is, number one, very, very specific and doesn’t really generalize to daily life skills. People say: “Well, they play baseball. How come they have balance problems?” Because if you look at a baseball game, you’re standing and then you get up at bat once or twice, you take a couple swings, and then you’re standing again. And then you’re sitting in the dugout.
That’s fine. Again, I have nothing against sports. But, number one, team sports are very difficult for a number of kids on the spectrum. Number two, everybody who’s listening right now, if you take nothing else away from this conversation, sports are not the be all-end all of physical fitness. If your child does not play sports, it’s not a big deal. Now, people marketing the sports programs will tell you it’s a big deal and that they can instill confidence and self-esteem and socialization. Yes, if the child already wants to play that sport and becomes adept at it. But it’s not going to enhance all those other general motor skills. Again, it’s not against sports. It’s the reality of sports versus general fitness.
(source: Interview with Eric Chessen, founder of Autism?Fitness Other People’s Words )
Eric Chessen, founder of Autism Fitness, also understands in the importance of strategies to ensure long-term exercise compliance of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders. As much as possible, he tries to figure out individualised ways to make exercise something that is fun for each of his clients, whom he calls athletes (broadening the traditional definition of ‘athlete’ to include anyone who moves on a regular basis)…
…I’m using some technical terms, but this is really all play. This is all fun. This is throwing around balls and jumping and skipping and crawling. This is all fun stuff. If it’s not fun, which is the case for a lot of my athletes on the autism spectrum–a lot of times, exercise and movement are not fun to start out with, which is why over time we pair it with reinforcement. We use a lot of praise. We pair it with other things that they like, whether it be music or favorite books. We make it work for that individual or for that group. For me, who believes and understands exercise at such a very minute and such a special level because of my personal experience and because of where my career’s taken me, there are some kids I’m just amazed at the turnaround within a couple weeks or a couple months, or even over several years. All the sudden this becomes part of their lifestyle. So it can work for every individual. We just have to make it adaptive. That’s really what adaptive fitness is and should be…
(source: Interview with Eric Chessen, founder of Autism?Fitness Other People’s Words )
Eric Chessen, founder of Autism Fitness, combines exercise with Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) in his work. Chessen breaks up whole movements down into smaller, easier to learn skills, which are taught in order, with an appropriate level of reinforcement. Gradually the ‘athlete’ (the label he puts on anyone engaged in vigorous activity) learns to complete the movement correctly and independently. For example:
…A progression for a push-up could look like this:
Step 1) Stand on two spot markers
Each time an individual step is completed successfully during a session, that action is reinforced immediately with verbal praise (ex: “Great job standing on the spot markers!”) and can be followed with a reinforcer…
(source: Movement Matters - Bringing Fitness into the Lives of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - FitCommerce.com )
Eric Chessen, founder of Autism Fitness, believes that fitness is a gateway to other positive life improvements for Autistic people, and not necessarily an end to itself. For example, Autistic people usually have poor endurance for many tasks (at least those that they are not obsessive about)…
…Building resilience or tolerance to new activities is a pivotal aspect of creating a successful exercise program. I often tell the parents that I work with to begin with short durations of exercise (maybe 2-3 movements or 3-5 minutes) or to build in many breaks or access to preferred items and activities in-between exercise targets. The goal, of course, is to build tolerance to longer durations of exercise. But in-between activities do not have to be sedentary.
Task adherence
Problem solving
Self-regulation under demand situations…
(source: Developing Resilience for Young Individuals with Autism | )
Indeed a recent book focuses on building resilience for kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The book is based upon principles of positive psychology which is an area of psychology focusing on what works in successful situations. Raising Resilient Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Goldstein and Brooks…
…Empowers children to problem-solve on their own and learn from mistakes rather than feel defeated by them
(source: McGraw-Hill Ryerson > Professional > Media > Miscellaneous > Raising Resilient Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders )
Eric Chessen, founder of Autism Fitness, likes to use simplified alternatives for Autistic children wherever possible. Alternatives that are fun for this group to do (so that they will keep doing them!):
…Pushing and pulling are fundamental areas of strength development. While I have used push-ups for assessment and implementation purposes, many children on the autism spectrum have difficulty performing the exercise correctly and, while certainly a teachable skill, they may be a more long-term goal. For immediate (and fun) use, I look to the band. Exercise bands come in a variety of resistance levels, are portable, extremely versatile, and inexpensive. Bands can be used for pushing, pulling, rotation, and adding a challenge to just about any movement.
Pulling a band strengthens the posterior chain and, when held, can be used for grip correction/strengthening, as well. Pushing the band aids in developing core stability and upper body strength. Bands can be pulled bilaterally or unilaterally, making single arm or single leg exercises possible without the inclusion of dumbbells or other objects that may not be the most desirable for use. In the world of autism, items are occasionally dropped or thrown during instances of maladaptive behavior. While tolerance of novel objects/equipment is developed, bands offer a safe and very effective alternative, as do soft medicine balls…
(source: Movement Matters - Bringing Fitness into the Lives of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Part II - FitCommerce.com )
A note on the previous post. Bands improve grip strength. A recent study by Kern et al., Autism severity and muscle strength: A correlation analysis , has shown that Autism severity is correlated with hand strength and this opens up the door for treatments that improve hand strength to be studied…
…3. Discussion
(source: Movement Matters - Bringing Fitness into the Lives of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Part II - FitCommerce.com )
Indeed, devices that improve hand/grip strength may also be beneficial in terms of calming often-racing Autistic minds. Here is a review on the Gripp Ball - Microwaveable Therma Gripp Arm & Hand Strengthener from a customer on Amazon.com :
(source: Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Gripp Ball - Microwaveable Therma Gripp Arm & Hand Strengthener )
Here are some more exercises that should help improve hand strength in Autistic children. This is very important, of course, for classroom activities…
…Squeezing Exercises
Pinching Exercises
Manipulation Exercises
Awareness Exercises
(source: Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Gripp Ball - Microwaveable Therma Gripp Arm & Hand Strengthener )
One symptom commonly found in children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders is low muscle tone (Hypotonia). In a 2006 study at Arizona State University by Adams et al it was found that Autistic children with low muscle tone had very low levels of potassium. However, this does not necessarily mean that increasing Potassium in the diet will solve the issue, as it may just be an indicator of low activity levels…
…For the subgroup with low muscle tone, the finding of low potassium was large and statistically significant. Potassium is needed for muscle contractions and is released during periods of activity. Low potassium in the hair is an indication of low muscle activity. The low muscle activity could be the result of low potassium in the body overall, but hair measurements are inconclusive regarding this point…
(source: http://media.mercola.com/imageserver/images/thyroid/analysestoxicmetalsinhair.pdf )
One symptom commonly found in children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders is low muscle tone (Hypotonia). Carnitine supplementation may also be useful for improving muscle tone in Autistic children…
…The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Department of Enzymology has identified two patients with the “carbohydrate deficient glycoprotein syndrome” through alpha-1-antitrypsin phenotyping. The carbohydrate deficient glycoprotein in the serum of these patients produces a band on polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing that moves cathodally of the Z-band. In the area of carnitine deficiency, there is, for example, less than 5% of normal muscle carnitine concentration. After carnitine supplementation, patients unable to talk or walk, with hypotonic musculature and symptoms of autism, became able to walk with the help of a walker. They could stand alone for short periods, and they acquired an interest in their surroundings. The common findings of carnitine deficiency were an impaired ability to walk, muscular hypotonia, reduced muscle carnitine concentration, and an improvement in locomotion while on carnitine…
(source: Autism: An Overview and Theories on its Causes )
One symptom commonly found in children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders is low muscle tone (Hypotonia). Hypotonia affects various parts of the body and not necessarily just parts relating to exercise…
…that low tone means that muscles tend to remain loose and relaxed more than muscles that have ‘normal’ muscle tone. That relaxed tone of the musculature in and around the mouth can result in drooling. Sometimes the speech of children with low muscle tone is imprecise, as the muscles aren’t contracting completely enough or with the necessary speed to arrive at the contact target necessary to produce precisely articulated speech. Since the child you’re referring to is nonverbal, you won’t be able to consider his speech as evidence of low muscle tone, though you may notice sluggishness in some of his other oral movements. How does he do when he eats? Do you notice some sluggish movements of the lips and tongue, or Is he a messy eater? Though low muscle tone may not be readily apparent, there may be some overt signs…
(source: Pediatrics: excessive drooling, excess drooling in kids; causes of kids’ drooling, 8 yr. old drools excessively )
One symptom commonly found in children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders is low muscle tone (Hypotonia). Here is another article detailing the connection of low muscle tone with other problems that you might not expect to be related to the issue:
…Symptoms Associated with Low Tone
Reflux/Constipation - Poor or reduced trunk tone can cause stomach flaps to flop, thus impeding food movement. Poor sitting posture or ‘slumping’ can be a result of soft trunk muscles.
Weak chewing and poor/picky eating - Low tone in the mouth affects mastication, causing drooling when saliva pools in the open mouth.
Poor visual tracking - Weak eye muscles struggle to control and coordinate eye movements. for constipation. It can cause loose stools or stomach distress in some cases…
(source: http://devdelay.org/newsletter/articles/pdf/356-how-nutrition-impacts-muscle-tone.pdf )
One symptom commonly found in children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders is low muscle tone (Hypotonia). Aside from treating Hypotonia with supplements, one can also adapt the exercise environment to deal with this issue…
…Swimming assists with normalizing the muscle tone in children, according to Child’s Play Physiotherapy and Aquatics for Kids. When you are in the water you become weightless, which allows low muscle tone to become less of a hindrance. Additionally, swimming improves gross motor skills, which builds low muscle tone. Children with low muscle tone often lose their balance and fall; swimming assists with this problem. Children who swim build their coordination and maintain their equilibrium better…
Here is a video of a child with Hypotonia improving his symptoms while having an enjoyable swim: Water Fun - YouTube
(source: The Best Sports For Kids With Low Muscle Tone | LIVESTRONG.COM )
One symptom commonly found in children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders is low muscle tone (Hypotonia). Another fun way to improve Hypotonia, like Swimming and Therapeutic Horseback Riding , is via Rebound Therapy - the use of a trampoline for its therapeutic effects…
…The stimulatory pressure to the skin [caused by Rebound Therapy] may also increase low muscle tone: Rollings (2005) claims that tone is increased because of the stimulatory effect upon the sensory systems. The repetitive changes in pressure to the skin resulting from repetitive bouncing, may stimulate muscle spindles. The increased sensory stimulation heightens awareness in the brain and [Central Nervous System] which may result in more impulses to be innervated…
*Rollings (2005) refers to Rollings (2005) Course Notes, Rebound Therapy Handbook: Rebound Therapy for Special Education Needs. 2 day course. Newcastle.http://www.reboundtherapy.org/papers/rebound_therapy/dissertation.pdf )
by being around and working with people with disabilities…