Go Outdoors

But they keep coming back! RT @huffpostcanada BLOG: Want healthier kids? Get them out in nature says @davidsuzukifdn huff.to/Z220Xt
— Brynn Beardsley (@brynnbeard) March 13, 2013

My goal when working with clients is to be outside at all opportunities.  Exercise for kids has to be a green revolution.

Biophilia must  be psychologically genetic condition.  Our brains and bodies function better in the outdoors, especially when exercising outside!

"Love of living systems
The term "biophilia" literally means "love of life or living systems." It was first used by Erich Fromm to describe a psychological orientation of being attracted to all that is alive and vital.[3] Wilson uses the term in the same sense when he suggests that biophilia describes "the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life.” He proposed the possibility that the deep affiliations humans have with nature are rooted in our biology."

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis

Exercise and Stress

GREAT to RT! @balmeras Exercise May Help Protect #Children From #Stress nyti.ms/WQOOlv#play #playoutdoors
— Deborah McNelis (@braininsights) March 11, 2013

Picked up on Twitter today!

"Physically active children generally report happier moods and fewer symptoms of depression than children who are less active. Now researchers may have found a reason: by one measure, exercise seems to help children cope with stress."

READ MORE:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/exercise-may-help-protect-children-from-stress/?smid=tw-share

Is exercise the new ritalin? How exercise affects brain power in kids

A fantastic article shared by one of my clients:
Is exercise the new ritalin? How exercise affects brain power in kids

The message continues to say that what is good for neorotypical kids is ESPECIALLY important for people along the ASD spectrum, FASD, ADHD.

Short Bouts of Exercise

From Zeenews.india.com

 "A new study has found that short bouts of exercise help improve higher brain functions, such as memory, concentration, planning, and decision-making.

The result suggests that exercise might be a useful treatment for conditions characterised by impaired higher brain functions, such as attention hyperactivity deficit disorder (ADHD) and autism, and may help delay the ravages of dementia, according to researchers."

Read the short article here:  http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/fitness/short-bouts-of-exercise-could-improve-self-control_20935.html

There is no information on the article about who did the research.

Not Enough Evidence?

From the BMC Research Notes

"Without doubt, physical activity interventions for children with autism consistently show positive outcomes but the evidence is limited, which makes it hard to draw conclusions. In a recent review of physical activity interventions, a total of 18 studies were found, collectively only 64 participants received a physical activity intervention (across all 18 studies) [9]. The combination of limited descriptive and intervention-based studies in physical activity, along with an astounding rate of obesity in children with autism clearly displays a gap in the literature and a need to address such critical deficits."

MacDonald, M., Esposito, P.,Ulrich, D. (2011). BMC Research Notes 2011, 4:422. Taken from http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1756-0500-4-422.pdf


There is plenty of research that shows that exercise is beneficial for people in general.  Perhaps that is the reason why not much specific research related to autism is documented.  It would seem logical, however, that an exercise program for children with autism that relates directly to Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and a person's Behaviour Plan may warrant some research.

Vigorous activity utilises the energy stores of the body.  This can be advantageous to setting establishing operations (EOs) for introducing non-preferred foods (an exercised body is a hungry body).

www.malcolmchrystal.com