Exercise Routines
Exercise Routines: Physical Activities, Coordination,
Neurobehavioral Disorders, Autistic Spectrum
By and large, the most common areas of weakness that we see in
children on the autistic spectrum is their abilities in physical
activities and coordination. Many times, these children have
trouble mastering basic skills, such as skipping, jumping or running in a coordinated fashion.
One of things we have discovered in our research is that,
even though the diagnosis is behavioral, symptoms in children
with neurobehavioral disorders are actually global in nature;
they tend to physically affect the entire body.
Contrary to popular opinion, many researchers have stated that
"Autism is a body problem that affects the brain."
Autistic spectrum children are often very uncoordinated, sometimes with an odd posture or gait, with weak muscles in the midline. The number one deficit that we see in
children across the spectrum is their inability to catch a ball.
Our exercise regimens are geared towards physical education,
with ground-based exercises designed to increase para-spinal strength, core muscle tone and coordination.
We employ running/skipping exercises, and use bilateral coordination
techniques to help them acquire these basic skills.
We may have them skip, catch a ball, walk backwards on a treadmill, use a balance beam, work on the monkey bars, do pushups or sit-ups,
create ball bridges using the Swiss Ball, and other therapies
that can positively affect and improve core musculature. |