Exercise autism therapy can be beneficial for physical and mental health, but surprisingly it can be a contributing factor to improving social skills as well. This is the case with one-on-one exercise training as well as group exercise. While the focus is of our training is on improving movement patterns, building strength, and stability, many of the strategies used indirectly may benefit social skills as well. People develop refine their social skills throughout life through their interactions with others and experiences. Many children, adolescence, and adults on the autism spectrum require additional practice to refine and learn the skills. Because our exercise personal training, is meant to be autism therapy our trainers should be reinforcing all positive behaviors.
Early on in the training process, the number one goal for our personal trainers is to establish strong rapport. We want to create a positive relationship with the client so the exercise or the trainers presence does not become a aversive. One of the strategies used to establish this rapport, is through conversation. When you schedule your initial consultation, the personal trainer will conduct an interview to learn more about the client. Within this interview the trainer should be learning some known reinforcers, as well as the client’s interests. So when this first personal training session begins the trainer can engage the client in conversation and show shared interest. This can help make the client feel more comfortable and ease any anxiety about beginning an exercise program. It also presents an opportunity for that child to work on conversation skills. A child who is interested in sports or videogames can converse with the trainer on these topics throughout the session. So the trainer maybe focusing on exercise autism therapy, but through casual conversation the child is getting extra practice conversing on a shared topic. The child is also practicing shifting topics, because the trainer will also be discussing the exercises, as well as the child’s performance. Through positive reinforcement and behavior specific praise the trainer can reinforce these appropriate skills.
Turn taking is another aspect of our exercise autism therapy. This skill is not only practice through conversation skills, but it is mimicked in some of our exercises. Often times the trainer will serve as a physical model to show a child how to do an exercise prior to them having an opportunity to do the exercise themselves. In other cases the trainer and client maybe turn taking to perform an exercise. This is the case when working on medicine ball throws. The trainer can do a push or overhead throw to the client with medicine ball, and then the client needs to follow the same movement throw the ball back to trainer. This back-and-forth volley similar to the back-and-forth of language in a conversation. Throwing the ball back before the other person is ready can cause the other person to feel uncomfortable (by getting hit by the soft medicine ball). By waiting until the other person is ready to throw the medicine ball the other person feels comfortable and is ready to reciprocate. This is very similar to what happens in conversations. Speaking over your conversation partner can make them feel uncomfortable.
Eye contact is a large component of appropriate social skills. This I contact maybe constant or shifting depending on the style conversation and setting. Within the context of an exercise personal training session, the client maybe looking at the trainer when discussing exercise then shift to looking at the piece of equipment they will be using. This skill comes natural to many, but can be a real challenge for some individuals with autism. By not displaying appropriate eye contact skills, the conversation partner may feel uncomfortable. If you’re talking to someone and they’re not looking at you throughout the conversation, they may appear uninterested in what you have to say. Our trainers reinforce appropriate social skills throughout the session. Talking with our body and hands is another aspect a social skills. When the trainer is presenting and you exercise, they maybe pairing a physical model of the movement with their verbal instruction. The client may do the same when asking questions about how to do a certain exercise movement.
Social skills are further addressed in the context of Adaptive Group Exercise session. These sessions may have as many as 15 athletes with autism. The class is highly structured, so that children can work on following group instruction, turn taking, waiting appropriately interacting socially. This unique form of autism therapy, creates and natural environment for children to interact and build friendships. Similar to a social skills group the children are working on a shared task. This provides them with the topic a conversation. The classes are broken into several phases. During the group instruction phase eye contact must be established to follow instructions appropriately. One of the strategies are trainers used to establish this eye contact is through gross motor imitation task. The trainer may say “if you’re listening clap hands, pat knees and arms overhead.” The trainer can clearly see was falling instruction and establishing eye contact. The trainer can reinforce the skill by saying great job following directions or nasi contact. During the pullout phase, one athlete is working on a more complex exercise movement, while the rest of the group is waiting for their turn. This is a great opportunity for peers to cheer on interact with one another. Trainer can reinforce the skills by saying “nice job cheering on your friends”. During the turn taking phase, the trainer engages each individual in a turn taking style exercise. A great turn taking exercise our push or overhead throws with a soft medicine ball. Similar to a one-on-one exercise autism therapy session each athlete has an opportunity to practice turn taking skills. Many participants find this to be one of the most fun phases of the exercise class. Because children are getting excited about the activity table often interact with the trainer as well as one another. Both group exercise and one-on-one personal training offer many opportunities to work on social skills.