Yoga for Children with Autism
Yoga for Children with Autism by ShareLove.Fund’s Rainbow Women Social Enterprise endeavor and sponsored by your generous donations.
Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD results in developmental and behavioral problems that can last a lifetime such as hyperactivity, motor skills that are delayed, issues with social interaction and communication, sensitivity to light, noise or both, repetitive behavior, difficulty adapting to change, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, low muscle tone, language delays, and problems with coordination. In addition, these difficulties fuel low confidence and self-esteem.
This is where yoga comes in. With its increasing popularity worldwide, yoga is being considered as a supplemental support and intervention for children who have ASD. The subject has just started being researched but so far the data has shown significant benefits to children with ASD. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Better Social Communication Skills –Yoga teaches children with ASD to better their imitation skills. Studies have shown that yoga helps not only with imitation skills but also with social behaviors and cognitive skills. When children practice yoga poses, they do so by imitating the behaviors and actions of the person guiding the class. Imitation is key in developing social skills. Also, the repetition of mantras, the guided imagery and the visualization help to develop vocabulary and language.
Better Awareness of Emotions and Their Expression –As stated earlier, one of the issues that children with ASD experience is difficulties in communication. This results in an inability to express their emotions and feelings in a way that is appropriate. Yoga teaches children breathing strategies that they can then use to deal with and release difficult feelings such as anger, anxiety and frustration. It gives them the outlet they need to express their emotions in a constructive manner and communicates to them that it is alright to feel such emotions.
Lowered Anxiety –High levels of anxiety are common among children with ASD. This has a trickle-down effect on their behavior, mood, sleep and, therefore, health. Other symptoms such as difficulty in communication can result in heightened anxiety that is basically the fight-or-flight mode. Once children get there, their anxiety increases more as their ability to communicate declines. Yoga can help in such situations with specific breathing techniques that calm down children and soothe their nervous systems. The guided imagery, mindful breathing and poses that are part of the practice make it easier for children with ASD to develop better responses to stress, self-regulation skills and coping skills.
Improvements in Behavior -Because of the issues they face with communication skills, emotional regulation, sensory issues and more, children with ASD can often display behaviors that are quite challenging for their caregivers to handle. Studies have shown that yoga can have a vital impact on how children with ASD display behaviors. As discussed in points 2 and 3, yoga teaches children to recognize their emotions or disruptive influences such as sensory inputs, self-regulate and cope. This, in turn, means a much less aggressive and impulsive child.
It’s not difficult at all to incorporate yoga into a child’s life. If caregivers and the children practice yoga together, both can reap the benefits of feeling calmer, more in control and relaxed while bonding more.