A recent study published by the prestigious Mayo Clinic suggests that the # 1 preventative factor against Alzheimer’s is physical activity. These findings are specific to Americans, whose current levels of physical activity, in general, are far lower than necessary to maintain health.

A healthy lifestyle is a proative approach to health rather than reactive. Reactive means that something has already gone wrong. For families, schools, and other establishemnts, now is certainly the time to establish physical activity as a cornerstone of  programming and daily life.

Go outside and move,  after reviewing this post about Autism Fitness activities, of course. I wanted to share one of my favorite Autism Fitness activities captured on video.

Autism Fitness Activities should include Animal-Based movements

For the best possible experience and outcome, fitness activities for young people with autism should be movement-based and focus on a variety of different activities that incorporate similar movement patterns. For example, doing both bodyweight squats and scoop throws to build hip flexibility and lower body strength. Autism Fitness activities can boost physical ability far beyond current levels.

In what is widely considered the “Golden Era” of Physical Culture in the U.S. (1950-60′s), many fitness gurus looked towards the animal kingdom for inspiration. Many of my favorite Autism Fitness activities are based on the way different creatures jump, crawl, walk, and run.

Autism Fitness Activities for Warm-ups and Mobility

Some of the best activities for warm-ups and mobility (the limbs going through full, healthy range of motion) are animal-based. They include bear walks, frog hops, donkey kicks, and can really be subject to your own or your athlete’s creative input. Some of our best Autism Fitness activities have been those improvised during a fitness session.

Autism Fitness Activities: Video Footage! The Inch Worm Walk

The inch worm walk is one of the great beginner Autism Fitness activities because it can be easily regressed (made simpler) or progressed (made more challenging) based on the abilities of the athlete.  Check out the video below.

Untitled from Eric Chessen on Vimeo.

Autism Fitness activities such as the inch worm walk are great for promoting fitness in the home or classroom .

Live Inspired,

-EC
www.AutismFitness.comwww.PACProfile.com
www.EricChessen.com

As a big portion of the ASD community grows out of childhood, the challenge of creating healthy living habits for teenagers with autism arises. I have to say that teenagers with autism are my favorite age group with which to do fitness activites.

Teenagers with Autism NEED Fitness Programs

And not just any fitness programs. The majority of my teenage athletes with autism missed the widespread introduction of early invervention (PT/OT, education, and behavior therapy).  Many teens with autism have tremendous difficulty communicating and limited social interaction with peers. Fitness programs for teens with ASD can not only provide a social opportunity, but can focus on improving areas of physical deficit.

Teenagers with autism often have limited strength, stability, speed, power, and coordination. This not only affects daily life skills and physical health, but self-esteem and the way indivduals “carry” themselves in public.

Fitness Programs for teenagers with autism should be general (non sports-specific) and focus on the Big 5 movement patterns; Pushing, Pulling, Bending/Squatting, Rotation, and Locomotion. Below are a few of my current favorite exercises for teenagers on the autism spectrum.

Top 6 Exercises for Teenagers with Autism

1) Sandbell Squats

Teenagers with autism MUST squat. Squatting correctly both prevents low back pain and strengthens the legs, trunk, and back. In our Autism Fitness programs we do a varitety of different squats with the Sandbells. I like switching from holding the Bell at the chest to behind the neck for different weight distribution and to correct form.

2) Double Rope Swings

Rope swings are fantastic for developing upper body power as well as strength 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.

3) Overhead Press (with Sandbells, Med balls, Dumbbells, or Thick Rope)

The Overhead press is important for shoulder strength and stability, and carries over (generalizes) to a great many other skills in daily life. 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.

4) Medicine Ball Scoop Throws

Scoop throws incorporate squatting, upper body power, coordination, reaction, and social interaction/partnering. Many of my teenage athletes with autism learn to squat better doing this throw.

5) Sandbell slams

I haven’t worked with a teenager on the spectrum yet who hasn’t loved slamming the Sandbells (available through www.AutismFitness.com) repeatedly on the floor. This activity promotes, flexibility, power, and can be used in some great partner activities.

Young people with ASD  need exercise as much as any other group. Try the 5 exercises above with an individual or group of teenagers with autism.

Live Inspired,

-EC

I honestly do not remember writing the piece, but one of my articles on physical fitness for the autism population has shown up on the Autism Speaks Autism and Healthy Living page.

Autism and Healthy Living

Emerging as an important topic, families are beginning to realize that healthy living is critical to success in other areas of development. Fitness is not just about “sports,” in fact that is a small part of what it means to be physically active.  Years ago when I presented at seminars, the first thing I got was “My kid doesn’t like sports…” which was a reflection of a greater problem; we need to redefine the term “athlete” and to provide more play-based activities.

Because information Autism and Healthy Living should be better

One of my fitness heroes, Dan John, wrote an article about how each of his great mentors had 3 rules to live/train by. Below are my 3 rules for Autism and Healthy Living:

1) Teach movement activities that can be used in a large variety of situations

2) Always incorporate behavior-specific encouragement and feedback

3) Be sure what you say you do and what you actually do are the same thing

Autism and healthy living rule # 1 focuses on creating physical fitness programs that make sense for individuals and groups of young people with autism. Swinging a baseball bat or kicking a soccer ball are activities that most of us are familair with, but they do not have much in the way of benefit (physical, adaptive, or cognitive) when compared to more “open-ended,” general, and play-based activities. Autism and healthy living rule # 1 is about selecting the right activities and programming.

Autism and healthy living rule # 2 focuses on inspiration and motivation. Nobody (on the autism spectrum or otherwise) wants to be reminded of what they are bad at. Furthermore, being told that you are doing something “incorrectly” (“Not that way!”) actually increases the liklihood that the learner will fail again.

Autism and healthy living rule # 3 is based on what I see in many programs. Having some bases out, a few balls on the floor and a class of individuals with ASD wandering around does not satisfy the note home that each student “played baseball.”  If you added up the actual time each student spent moving beyond wandering, it would equal somewhere around 30-45 seconds per half hour (yes, I’ve timed this on multiple occasions).  Autism and healthy living needs to be a bit more dense and dedicated than that.

The Future of Autism and Healthy Living

It is great to see Autism Speaks focusing on this initiative, and this Fall Autism Fitness will release the Autism Fitness Level I Certified Practitioner Program for educators, therapists, and fitness professionals who want to bring autism and healthy living to a whole new level.

Live Inspired,

EC

Cardiovascular fitness and autism is definitely an area of health that needs some investigation. A few years back I walked into relatively new autism school. Their school was inviting, without clutter and plenty of sunlight beaming in through each of the many windows. This was back in my “Beyond Boundaries Fitness” days prior to the creation of Autism Fitness. 

Eventually we got to the basement where they had their modest gym. In the corner were a trampoline, a large stability ball, and two treadmills. “Look at our treadmills!,” the administrator gushed. I tried to explain it gently. Meet Eric Chessen, M.S., Autism Fitness Founder, Party Ruiner.

Cardiovascular Fitness and Autism are a Misunderstood Pair

Long ago in a book on health and fitness, one Dr. Cooper wrote a bland paragraph about how running a little bit (perhaps up to a mile) would be beneficial for people. The idea, in the sort of anomoly that Malcolm Gladwell writes about, took off in a huge way. Enter the running and aerobic craze of the 70′s…and it persists today. And now much has to be undone in  the way we come to cardovascular fitness and autism.

Most of the kids, teens, and young adults with autism that I have worked with have low tone or poor strength in the lower body.  In addition to being monumentally boring, running on a treadmill (or on concrete, no matter how many of your neighbors are doing it) is a poor exercise choice compared to other options. Cardiovascular fitness and autism need to be explored and explained.

Kid on a treadmill. Not my athlete and not on my time.

Cardiovascular Fitness and Autism Programming

Strength-based movements are not only heart-healthy, but can improve lagging areas of physical ability. Putting a few exercises in a row, one after another in a “circuit” can increase heart rate while building strength, stability, and coordination without sacrificing ability. Some of my favorite Autism Fitness circuit activities include choosing 3 or 4 of the following exercises and having an individual or group of athletes perform them for 30-45 seconds each:

- Bear Walks

- Short hops on spot markers

- Rope swings

- Sandbell Slams

- Med ball Scoop toss/High toss

- Wall climb (where applicable)

- Overhead carries

Take-home notes on cardiovascular fitness and autism

- Individuals with autism do not need to log miles on a treadmill or on a track to develop good heart health

- More “open-ended” activities are not only more appropriate, but better for building strength, stability, and general physical ability

- The equipment needed to create a superb fitness program for individuals with autism is substantially less expensive than large machines that have limited use

- “Circuits” or Fitness obstacle courses can be developed for any individual or group of any ability level

Live Inspired,

-EC