STAYING FIT AND HEALTHY
So, what constitutes a “good” fitness program? How individualized does it need to be? Well, here’s the thing; while everyone is different and needs vary, the reality is that fitness programming is remarkably similar with slight changes based on individual abilities. In our Autism Fitness programming, all of our athletes perform basic, fundamental movement patterns that include hurdle steps, crawling patterns, squats, presses, heavy carries, and a variety of upper-body pulling exercises. The exercises remain constant. What changes are two variables that are absolutely necessary for successful programming.
Avoiding mistake one: objects vs. objectives By the time many families contact me, there is some variation of “We tried a treadmill/elliptical/some machine, and it didn’t go really well.” I applaud you for embarking on the fitness journey. The issue here is one we refer to as “objects vs. objectives.” Rather than work around a given piece of equipment (the treadmill), it is essential to consider what the individual needs in terms of exercise programming.
What are the needs? Overwhelmingly, the most common movement issues among the special needs population, in addition to individuals with related developmental disabilities, include three categories: strength, stability, and motor planning.
Strength, stability, and motor planning The strength and stability deficits are often diagnosed as “low tone,” which can inhibit everything from gait to carrying laundry or a garbage bag. Strength and stability deficits left alone may eventually lead to movement dysfunction and patterns that increase the likelihood of lower back pain and other issues in adulthood—situations it would obviously be best to avoid. Motor planning is the transition from one movement pattern to another as efficiently as possible. Individuals on the autism spectrum and other special needs may have difficulty with tasks that require switching from one physical sequence to another, whether predominantly gross motor or fine motor.
Fitness is a life skill and should be considered and accounted for as such Without a proper fitness program being implemented, individuals with developmental abilities are at the same, if not higher, as some research indicates, risk for medical complications that result from inactivity. These have direct consequences on quality of life and independence. If we begin focusing on these deficits and building skills now, we can greatly reduce persistent and chronic issues in the future.
Progressions and regressions Exercise progressions increase the challenge of a particular exercise. Regressions decrease the difficulty level. Given the common strength and motor deficits we see in the ASD population, knowing how to regress an exercise is a main ingredient for programming.
We start where we start How familiar are the terms “low functioning” and “high functioning”? Hear them often? So do I. How do they influence our fitness programming? Not much, or rather, not much until we ask more specific questions about them.
The PAC Profile Approach Successful fitness programming for the special needs population requires knowing each individual’s three areas of ability: physical, adaptive, and cognitive. 1. Physical: At what level of challenge (progression/regression) will the individual be successful with the exercise? 2. Adaptive: How motivated is the individual to perform a particular exercise? 3. Cognitive: What level of coaching support does the individual need to learn this exercise?
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