Its no secret that
exercise & movement is good for improving physical
health, releasing stress and for
improving speed and agility, but did you know that it
can improve sensory integration & brain functioning
for children with autism and other learning challenges?
Yoga in particular has a naturally therapeutic &
integrative quality. It can be a fun activity for
families
that will not only build physical health, but if applied
daily, can also help bridge the gap between academic
learning in the classroom, traditional therapies and
time spent at home. It is becoming widely accepted as
an activity that can greatly enhance learning readiness
and build social skills in a fun, non-threatening
manner. Yoga is an ancient
exercise science designed to calm and connect the whole
person, Body, Mind and
Spirit. The word “yoga” means “to bring together”. We
know that when adults practice, it can improve
focus, strength, flexibility and overall health. I have
observed the same effects, and others, in myself as well
as children and teens on the spectrum. I began to study yoga
in the early 1990's after a car accident left me with
nerve damage in my shoulder
& spine. I would have tried anything at that time to not
have to have surgery. I was a single mother and
didn’t want to be unable to take care of my 2 young
sons. I heard of this ‘alternative’ therapy called yoga
&
tried it. Most of the people I knew at the time thought
I had lost my mind, including my doctor, but I felt
and saw the physical & relaxation benefits almost
immediately and through the years have been lucky
enough to find a way to apply this ancient science in a
variety of modern ways for the benefit of the
children I work with. Movement in the form of
dance, Yoga & other S.I activities are so important to a
child’s development
and learning because they train the brain to properly
digest & use the countless bits of information being
received every moment so that an appropriate response or
behavior can be formed. As a 1:1 paraprofessional,
I learned how & when to incorporate stories, movement,
art, games, imagery and music to
assist in this process. At first, I would use
the animal poses and sounds as part of the ABA drills-to
make them more fun,
engaging, to move the children around and as an
unexpected approach-an attention getter- Something fun
and therapeutic that was not actually therapy. The more
I did this, the more I noticed an increase in the
duration of attention to the therapy and a decrease in
the undesired behaviors, specifically screaming, biting
and hitting. I also noticed that the
kids would ask for the animals of choice or for a “yoga
break” so the movement
games became a great motivational tool as well. They
would suddenly remember their breath and take a
“calm” breath or an “energy” breath as needed and they
would also hum or sing the silly songs we would
make up. I began adding more structure to this approach
& this finally evolved into the S.M.Art Kids
Adaptive Yoga program.
Sensory Integration (or “S.I”) is a dynamic part of
being human. It is a continual process of the brain &
body interacting with the environment, receiving and
processing information & creating an appropriate
response. Children with autism, ADD, PDD and other
processing disorders have difficulty in filtering,
sorting out and responding to this information as it
comes in through the senses, especially during periods
of high stress, discomfort, transitions or chaotic or
extremely stimulating environments. Sensory Integration
therapy involves a structured & simultaneous stimulation
of several senses for the purpose of completing
the same activity. Yoga can be creatively adapted and
structured similarly for children of all abilities to
support and enhance the effects of traditional
Occupational & SI Therapy. Generalization of the
newly acquired skills is also a vital element of this
learning process and a
necessary step for cultivating self-esteem and
willingness to keep trying new activities. As a movement
activity, such as dance or a creatively adapted yoga
class, becomes more familiar, it becomes centrally
programmed in the nervous system & more automatic. It
then becomes cell memory or sensory motor
memory. The more it is practiced the stronger the
integration becomes. This is the science and logic of
the
body & true with all people & all children.
Yoga itself addresses both of these functions & is a
natural form of sensory integration. It can be
adapted to a variety of ages, learning styles and
environments. Yoga will assist in facilitating many of
the
same skills as conventional S.I. as all of the senses
are stimulated & integrated during a 30-45 min. yoga
session:
Tactile/Touch- bare feet feeling floor or
mat, hands touching various parts of body for
support, instructor's physical prompts, “raindrop”
warm-up with fingers on arms & legs Proprioception-(muscles, joints, body
awareness) balancing & weight bearing postures,
changing body
positions, repetitive flow of postures
Vestibular-( posture & balance, muscle tone,
motor control & language skills) transitions between
postures, directional changes, stop/start motions &
flexion/extension movements. Visual -(actions of eyes muscles & the
ability to copy what the eye sees, visual
discrimination
memory/sequencing.) Imitation of postures,
sequencing postures, PECS & visual art Auditory - (Processing heard information,
sound recognition & reproduction, discriminating
between
sounds) Story telling, repetitive singing/rhymes
paired with vestibular activities, imitating sounds
&
listening for the breath.
There are many shared benefits between yoga and SI
therapy, including body awareness, concentration,
improved social skills and better adjustments to changes,
but the biggest benefit is that the children have
fun doing it. They get to play, create & learn at the same
time. Yoga provides a chance for them to
succeed, to be included, to be independent and to make new
friends. This in turn continues to encourage &
nurture health, cognitive learning, strength, character &
confidence. What more could we want for our
children?
