Thursday, March 28, 2024

Exercise Programs For Autistic Adults

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Autism Self Advocacy Network:

Autism in Children: Starting an Exercise Program

Nobody knows the experience of something better than the person who is experiencing it.

Keeping this phrase in mind, a platform for like-minded people was established. This platform is a nonprofit advocacy network that is run .

ASAN has the goal to ensure equal rights, access, and opportunities for people within the autism spectrum.

To ensure that autistic individuals receive the treatments, programs, and resources they deserve, ASN carries out the following activities:

  • Public policy advocacy
  • Development of autistic cultural activities
  • Leadership training for autistic self-advocates

Engaging in this network can achieve a lot where their voices can be heard in the halls of policymakers and proper systematic changes will be made to ensure their rights are met.

The Power Of Exercise For The Autism Community

Discover how to adapt your best practices to help this underserved population find success.

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Between the pandemic and the smart home gym revolution, personal trainers have seen many of their clients virtually disappear. While the market for personal training has clearly shrunk, there is a community that was never considered part of the market in the first place: those with autism.

Autism spectrum disorder is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the world, with recent data reporting one in 44 children diagnosed in the United States . To successfully exercise, people on the spectrum benefit from one-to-one instruction, motivation and a customized exercise routine. Personal training is a perfect fit for the way this community learns.

Research shows that for the autism community, exercise goes beyond the health-related benefits and can improve focus, on-task behavior and language development, as well as reduce maladaptive or stereotypical behaviors .

Fitness professionals have an opportunity to rise to the occasion and use their passion of teaching exercise to make a life-changing difference for those with autism.

Artistic Spectrum Digital Communications

ASDC is a New Jersey-based digital art lesson program for children and adults with autism. Their unique platform offers fun online resources for subscribers to learn new art techniques, and in-home tutoring and community center programs are accessible for local NJ clients.

Artistic Spectrum Digital Communications is an animation and visual effects studio for children and adults on the autism spectrum. Based in Northern New Jersey, we serve exceptional minds with untapped potential. Our core programs include animation, drawing and painting training.

Artistic Spectrum Digital Communications art lessons are narrated by Asher Rottenstrich. The first of three boys, Asher was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome as a child. After observing his unwavering fascination with art, his father made a concerted effort to expose Asher to this activity as much as possible.

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What Programs Are There For Adults With Autism

There are several programs for autistic adults that are available to help them in their employment, businesses, and family life. These adult programs are specifically designed to teach individuals with autism with important life skills that will help them in thriving in this competitive world throughout their adult life and become an effective part of the community.

As children with autism have special needs, as they step into their adult life they encounter several challenges and barriers in their day-to-day lives. These programs are meant to provide adult services, helping young adults in finding a job, residential support for independent living skills, financial assistance, day programs, recreational and community programs, and therapies.

Many families also receive government money for adult foster care services for the families of the individuals with ASD, which is intended to be as permanent as it is possible.

The Autism support centers also offer workshops, activities, training to help in connecting the families, creating an autism society that helps them to enable the children and adults with autism to become valuable members of the community.

What Resources Are There For Adults With Autism

sheSTRENGTH Adaptive: Autism and Exercise

There are a lot of resources and services provided by the institutions that are available for adults with autism. The Autism Programs for Adults are meant to provide them and their families with a transition plan that can help them to become independent individuals to teach them some important life skills and provide training for personal care.

These programs help individuals with autism with proper support and skills which provide them with independent living skills while they provide support services to them throughout their lifetime.

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Recent Research On Autism Exercise Programs

Researchers recently conducted a student to investigate how autism exercise programs can help reduce stereotypic behaviors since these types of behaviors have the potential to effect social skills. Also, stereotypical behaviors mayeffect the ability to learn new information, interfere with healthy play skills, or may indicate later self-injurious behaviors.

The recent study completed three meta-analyses on ten studies on the effects of physical exercise on stereotypic behaviors in individuals with an autism spectrum disorder. Examples of exercises were running, dancing, stationaary bike, trampoline, exercise ball exercises, and martial arts.

Concluding Remarks On Autism Programs For Adults

While autism is considered a neurotypical disorder, it can have a beautiful side of it where the helpful resources can be utilized for your benefit. Ensure to benefit from the resources by getting as much information as you can about the Autism Programs for Adults available in your area. Conduct your research and attend the events and conferences that are organized by the resources listed above. You can also ask your friends or peers who have used these resources already, as it can help you a lot and can save your time.

Some Helpful Online Resources for Information:

  • What its really like to have autism | Ethan Lisi
  • What Being Autistic Taught Me About Being Human | Daniel Wendler
  • The Housing Needs of Adults with Autism | Autism Speaks
  • What its like to live as an adult with autism | Your Morning

Concluding, there are a lot of Autism Programs for Adults that are available for their service, which must be utilized and used for combat with autism, as no disorder must stop you from living the life you deserve!

If you like this article about Autism Programs for Adults and would like to know more, please comment below.

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The Positive Effects Of Exercise For Autistic People

Posted March 9, 2014

Picture via Mike Baird

Ive spent years now trying to deconstruct why certain experiences and environments growing up affected me the way they did, pro and con. Physical activity has come up again and again in those analyses, but I could never pinpoint exactly why. Then, I read a post on the subject by Shannon Des Roches Rosa.

Shannon wrote: Autistic adults cite exercise as critical for self-regulation and helping to process their environment, exercise can provide social opportunities with less emphasis on verbal interactions, exercise can help moderate some medication side effects, and exercise can help moderate autistic kids’ greater and earlier tendency towards obesity.” It was the first time I heard someone speak so specifically about the regulatory benefits of exercise, but yet it resonated very strongly with my experience.

I dont know if the people around me when I was growing up made this connection so explicitly, but it would seem that they understood it at some level. When I think about my early years, activity is one constant and when I think of the environments where meltdowns were kept at a minimum, they were environments where opportunities for appropriate exercise were prevalent. What do I mean by appropriate exercise? Well, Im sure that varies a bit based on the individual.

Picture via Edenpictures

How Often Should I Exercise

Fitness program for special needs adults created

If it’s important to exercise regularly, what does “regularly” mean? Different resources have different answers to that question. How much you should exercise will also be different depending on whether you have any exercise goals, for example, if you are trying to lose weight or trying to train for a sports competition. In general, it’s good to exercise three to five times per week. You should also take at least one day or two days a week off from heavy exercise.

Livestrong.com has an article on how much exercise to get if you’re trying to lose weight.

The Health Magazine has tips on how to know if you are getting too much exercise.

Zenhabits has tips for how to make exercise a daily habit.

The US government has recommendations for exercise in the be active section of fitness.gov

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How Do These Programs Benefit Caregivers

Caregivers and loved ones involved in the persons life can benefit from Autism Programs for Adults in many ways. Some of these benefits include:

  • The program can provide a wide range of services, including life skills classes, vocational training, social skills classes, and more.
  • The program can help the adult with ASD learn how to live more independently and improve their overall quality of life.
  • The program can be tailored to the individuals interests and abilities.
  • The program can help caregivers and loved ones understand the autism better.
  • The program can provide support to caregivers and loved ones.

Autism Exercise Programs Require A Different Approach

Having fitness centers welcome this community is the first step, as many are turning away those with autism because they dont understand how to work with them. Just as you educate and prepare yourself to lead a HIIT, yoga or spin class, it is even more critical when working with persons with autism. The reality is, developing an exercise plan for this community that is 90% correct will most likely result in 100% failure for them and you.

The right program will not just result in exercise success, but life-changing results for them, their families and probably you. So, it begins by building the relationship and understanding how this community learns best. This is an opportunity to find clients who want and need your services, replacing the Pelaton groupies. Theyre waiting, so lets get moving.

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Finding The Best Exercise To Fight Obesity With Autism

By Alescia Ford-Lanza, MS, OTR/L, ATP

According to the Centers for Disease Control , about 1 in 5 children aged 6-19 years old is obese¹. This means that they have excess body fat, putting their body mass index scores above the 95th percentile. While there are a number of factors that may contribute to these statistics, the reality is that children struggling with being overweight or obese are prone to physical, social-emotional, and future health problems.

Research has found that children with autism are at or above the same risk of becoming overweight or obese. Variables specific to autism spectrum disorder include disordered sleep patterns, motor planning difficulties, possible genetic variations, medication side effects, dietary restrictions , and commonly used food as a reinforcer for some programming.

Health Fitness And Art Programs For Adults With Autism

Occupational Therapy

All of us benefit when we focus on our health and well-being through physical activity and creative expression. The key to success is often finding the right programs or classes to match our needs and interests. With that in mind, wed like to begin sharing opportunities for adults on the autism spectrum to explore health, fitness and the arts.

Fitness resources will be important to many readers for the purpose of improving muscle tone, coordination, balance, energy, social skills, behavior or to promote independence. Other readers may be athletes looking for autism-friendly opportunities to maintain their fitness while pursuing sports or fitness activities they enjoy.

Art activities can serve as a fun pastime where participants can interact in a positive, creative social environment. Some people may benefit from more structured art therapy programs to promote expression of ideas and emotions, lower stress, or learn new behaviors and skills. Others will discover that art is an amazing platform for sharing who they are and/or will produce beautiful works that can lead to public recognition or an art career.

In short, we know an active, well-rounded lifestyle can help in every phase of our lives. Its beneficial for everyone, whether on the spectrum or not, to engage our bodies in physical activity and our minds in creative pursuits.

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Autism Fitness Education & Certification

Autism Fitness® training programs and certifications teach fitness professionals, licensed therapists, educators and parents to support athletes with autism.

Autism Fitness® courses, tools, resources and community network empower support professionals worldwide to deliver adaptive fitness programming to anyone with developmental deficits to create powerful daily living outcomes that last a lifetime.

Every program, event and tool inside the Autism Fitness® framework is designed to enable effective, fun and meaningful fitness outcomes for every individual across the spectrum.

How Can I Make Sure I’m Safe When I’m Exercising

There are two big kinds of safety with exercise. One is keeping yourself from getting injured from the exercise. The other is being safe from others while exercising, particularly in public places like parks and gyms.

Harvard Medical School has 10 Tips for Exercising Safely. These tips were not written for people on the autism spectrum, so some might make bad assumptions like that “listen to your body” is helpful advice.

The University of Chicago has some tips for keeping safe while walking in the community.

MedlinePlus has a section on sports safety.

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Learn More About Our Visual Exercise System At Exercise Connection Today

If youre looking for a comprehensive exercise solution for autism, look no further than Exercise Connection. Our technology is backed by research and experts in the field, and our app makes it easy to get started with exercise at home or in the classroom. Visit us today to learn more! There are multiple benefits of exercise for autism, such as:

  • Improved social skills

Knowing How Autistic Individuals Benefit From Exercise

Autism Awareness Month: Pueblo father breaking barriers with exercise program for autistic kids
  • 1Realize that exercise helps autistic individuals maintain a healthy weight. Stomach issues are common with autistic people, who may have problems recognizing when they’re hungry. This can lead to overeating or undereating, and can put their health at risk.
  • 2Be aware of the social benefits of exercise. Sports and exercise provide autistic individuals with an opportunity to work on social skills. There are numerous sports that are based on teamwork, but focus on independent achievements as well. These types of sports and teams will open up social opportunities, while focusing on personal achievement.
  • There will be social interaction, without so much emphasis on verbal communication.
  • This is seen in track, swimming, etc.
  • A basketball team may be too much to begin with, because the autistic individual may not be prepared for that social of an environment.
  • Social environments can be stressful for autistic people, so don’t push them to do it if they don’t feel ready!
  • 3Recognize that exercise may moderate stimming. While there is nothing wrong with stimming, excessive stimming could present a problem . This will help autistic people feel balanced without stimming constantly.
  • For example, swimming incorporates repetitive behaviors which may decrease repetitive behaviors outside of the pool environment.
  • Never try to stop someone from stimming this is damaging.
  • This can have positive effects on their self-esteem.
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    Do I Need To Change Anything About My Diet If I Start Exercising

    Exercising causes sweat, which means you need more fluids to replace the ones you sweat out. If you have trouble remembering to drink fluids, you might want to make a rule that you have to drink at least eight ounces of water before you start exercising and again after you finish exercising.

    Some people may find exercise increases their appetite and they need a bit more food. However, moderate amounts of exercise should not require a big change in diet.

    If you are doing special physical training–for example, if you want to run marathons–you may need to make changes in your diet. That information is outside the scope of this introductory article.

    The 5 Best Types Of Exercises For Autistic People

    When you’re figuring out a workout routine, don’t get carried away with variety.

    “A limited number of exercises will have the greatest effect,” Chessen says. “Most people thrive with consistency.” A fitness professional can help you incorporate in new or different moves over time, so your routine stays varied and you can continue to progress toward your fitness goals.

    But in the meantime, these five types of exercise are a great place to start.

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    More Opportunities To Socialize:

    Its true that individuals on the autism spectrum struggle with socializing, but that doesnt mean they should be forced into awkward situations where they dont know how to act! It helps if youre mindful about the environment before taking part in any activities so you can prepare yourself for what may come your way. This way, it will be easier to make conversation or meet new people because youll feel like you have more confidence in knowing what to expect!

    The goal is for these types of experiences to become natural instead of something dreaded. Autism programs for adults are designed specifically to help boost social skills while providing an engaging environment at the same time.

    Autism Society Of America:

    Program Spotlight: Helping Hands Art &  Exercise

    The Autism Society of America was founded in 1965 in collaboration with the parents of children and adults with autism. Their main goal is to create connections and empower everyone within the Autism community with the resources that they need to live up to their full potential.

    This organization supports individuals with autism, their families, and the professionals who are working with them.

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