Physical Activity As a Therapy For Autistic Children

While parents and educators of autistic children often realize the benefits of education and routine, quite often the benefits of physical activity and sports are overlooked. Some parents might think that their child is simply not capable for participating in a sports program. Or they might just feel too busy and overwhelmed with the daily routine of taking care of an autistic child, and think the time spent on sport is not as valuable as other programs. However, physical exercise has been shown to greatly improve the lives of autistic children and to improve their behaviour as well.

Autistic children, like all children with a disability are more prone to avoid sports and thus run the risk of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. Perhaps the greatest risk however, is simply not having the opportunity to reap the benefits that regular physical exercise can provide, such as improved endurance, a chance to develop fine and gross motor skills and a self-confidence boost. A right exercise program can also introduce the autistic child to a social environment and a chance to interact with his peers. Physical exercise is a proven way to help autistic children (and even non-autistic ones) to burn off excess energy and be able to focus better on their school work or other learning opportunities.

Many autistic children might not be able to participate in a team sport, due to limited social ability or the fear of physical contact with others. Individual sports might be more suitable to them. Parents have found their autistic children to love and excel in swimming, tennis, golf, skating or bike riding. You know your child best and what physical activities would be best suited to his/her individual temperament and interests. Exercise also allows the autistic child who has problems with self-control to have the opportunity to yell and get out any built up energy.

Autistic children often have trouble with sensory input. Sports naturally help to unite the senses, by provided many natural opportunities to run, climb, balance and touch. To encourage your child to begin enjoying his body and exploring his senses a good idea is to create simple obstacles and sensory items right in your home. Things like crawl-through tunnels, ball pits and ceiling-mounted swings are relatively inexpensive and provide a much-needed release for the autistic child. If you are looking to create a “sensory room” for your autistic child to enjoy physical exercise right in your home, there are many products available for that purpose. Things like monkey bars, indoor therapy gyms, rock climbing walls or simple gym rings all provide many opportunities for exercise right at home. The physically active autistic child is better focused, more self-controlled and better able to deal with sensory stimulation.

As busy as parents with autistic children are, the importance of regular physical exercise and sports should not be overlooked. Rather, think of it as yet another form of therapy, make it fun and participate right along with your child to improve the health of the whole family!

Autism Intervention

Autism Intervention Category # 1 - Reducing the Toxic Stress!

In this example stress is considered to be the various toxins, i.e. foods, chemicals, heavy metals, chemical toxins, and infections that may be affecting your child’s body. From my experience, the reason we are seeing an epidemic in autism-spectrum disorders is because genetically these children have a greater susceptibility to having problems eliminating the increasing number of toxins from their bodies compared to neuro-typical children. We are all exposed to many of the toxins in our environment, but some individuals develop problems much more rapidly and severely than others. When considering the issue of reducing toxic stress the first and easiest place to start is in your own home. From chemical cleaners, pesticides, perfumes and colognes, air fresheners and laundry detergent to the food in your kitchen cupboard there are many agents that can affect your child’s health. This process can take some time to learn and will require your time and effort to investigate, but often changing a few products you purchase such as natural laundry detergent in place of commercial brands with perfumes such as Tide, or fresh squeezed juices instead of soda pop can make a nice difference in overall health for a sensitive child. I always recommend exploring your local health food store or specialty markets for more natural product alternatives.

Here are a few suggestions you can take to lessen the toxic burdens:

* Buy organic fruits and vegetables.
* Buy organic juices
* Store left-over food in glass containers, instead of plastics
* Do not cook in the microwave, especially with plastic containers
* Eliminate soda pop - regular and de-caffeinated.
* No caffeine drinks
* Purchase a home water filtration unit for the entire house.
* If you own a pool replace the chlorinator with a salt water system.
* If not able to swim in chlorine free pools, then bathe in Epsom salt baths afterwards - usually 1 to 2 cups in bath water is good.
* No more fast food. Avoid the McDonalds and Burger Kings of the world. You child will truly be healthier for it.
* Avoid wearing cologne and perfumes around your child.
* No smoking

* Start shopping at health food markets, or your local farmers market for the majority of your food and produce. Make sure that the majority of produce you purchase is organic.

Autism Intervention Category # 2 - Reducing Allergy and Inflammation

Toxins in your child’s body will increase the potential for allergy, and allergy generates inflammation. Inflammation is very damaging to your child’s body, especially their fragile brain, and especially if the inflammation is chronic. Neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis are all worsened by inflammation. Neurological inflammation is nothing new to autism research as various studies show a strong correlation between the various cellular mechanism of inflammation and autism. An example is the activation of cells in the brain called microglia. Activation of these cells from a virus infection or adverse vaccine reaction can trigger inflammation in the brain. Toxins of many forms such as foods, viruses, bacteria, chemicals, heavy metals, etc. can all generate inflammation. Various biomedical autism treatment approaches are designed to help reduce these various forms of toxins to alleviate neurological inflammation.

Don’t let ANYONE tell you there is nothing you can do to help your child. Autism really is treatable! Start your child down the road to recovery from autism. Biomedical Autism treatments and therapies have resulted in many, many children improving - even losing their autism-spectrum disorder diagnosis. For more information and a free ebook on biomedical autism treatment go to http://www.AutismActionPlan.org

Dr. Kurt Woeller is an autism biomedical specialist, with a private practice in Southern California for over 10 years. He has helped children recover from autism, ADD, ADHD, and other disorders, and has the information you need to help your child. Get his ebook, “7 Facts You Need To Know About Autism (But Probably Weren’t Told).” You can download it right now for free at http://www.AutismActionPlan.org

Autism Therapy Options For Your Child

There is no definite cure for autism; but a lot of children with the disorder can develop and learn with the proper education and treatment. Early intervention can definitely minimize the problems connected with the disorder, decrease disturbing behavior, and give the patient some measure of independence.

There are numerous options out there, although treatment is dependent on the patient’s individual needs. Generally, making use of a combination of treatment methods yields successful results. Autism normally requires lifelong therapy.

One of the options available is occupational or physical therapy. Occupational therapy aids the person in developing independent function and educates as to how to go about enhancing basic skills such as brushing your teeth or bathing. Physical Therapy entails exercises or other physical measures such as massage to help patients in controlling the way they move their bodies.

Behavior Modification

To equip autistic patients with the skills necessary to function in their environment, there are a lot of methods of behavior modification available. This type of therapy stems from the theory that good behavior or conduct that is rewarded will have more chances of being repeated than the conduct that is ignored. We call this theory applied behavior analysis (ABA), and this entails structured skill-oriented activities basing on the patient’s wellbeing and specific needs. Typically, this entails concentrated, one-on-one sessions with a therapist.

Sensory integration therapy

This form of therapy centers on helping autistic patients survive by the use of sensory stimulation. Treatment involves allowing patients to hold objects with various textures, or listen to a range of sounds. Play therapy is one form of behavior modification that can enhance emotional growth, which results to better social skills. Social stories are also used to enhance social skills. Here, stories created to aid the patients in understanding ideas, opinions, and feelings of other people, or to make suggestions as to how one can address a situation differently. This can also help patients comprehend their own feelings.

Communication therapy

This type of therapy is utilized to instigate language development in children with the disorder, and to provide treatment to those who are experiencing difficulties in verbal interaction.

Picture exchange communication systems (PECS) makes it possible for autistic patients to interact with the use of pictures or visuals that signifies items, ideas, or activities. With this, the patient is able to communicate his requests, needs and ideas to others by giving them a picture.

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