When I began teaching group exercise to children with autism, I anticipated that children would improve their gross motor movements, strength and fitness levels over time. My intention was to help a population that does not readily have access to fitness programs. Sure, there are sensory gyms in some communities, but swings and slides don’t offer much fitness value. I quickly noticed, that children were benefiting not only in the realm of fitness, but they were improving their social skills as well. I had created a social skills group unintentionally.
Throughout my experience, I have seen students having conversations about the exercises, which ones they like, which ones they dislike and the new types of equipment they were using. Children spontaneously commenting throughout classes to announce how strong they are or ask questions about what is coming up next. I have seen turn taking, kindness and support, while peers wait for one another to complete an activity. Skills that as a Speech Language Pathologist Assistant, I have worked on in structed class settings countless times. Within the framework of a group exercise class, it appeared to happen more naturally and often without being facilitated by teachers. The children were using and improving their social skills while participating in a shared activity. This new form of social skills group was not only a fun way to help these children get more active, but they were working on many of the same skills as a social skills group.
A new approach to social skills groups
Parents of children with autism are searching for new ways to help and support their children improve their social skills and communication. As a licensed Speech Language Pathologist Assistant, I am aware that social skill deficits are a significant characteristic of ASD, and few children receive adequate social skills programming (Hume, Bellini, & Pratt, 2005).
Social skills groups are gaining popularity as a therapeutic approach to addressing these needs. These groups focus on behavior, conversation and relationship building skills. Social skills groups can be very effective and provide a great outlet for children to create friendships and improve their communicative abilities. A new approach to improving social skills is through adaptive group exercise classes. Adaptive group exercise classes can target many of these same skills, while also improving physical and mental health. While social interaction was not the focus when we held our first exercise group, it has certainly transformed into a new form of social skills groups.
The structure of an adaptive group exercise class
Adaptive group exercise presents children with a shared activity, a conversation topic, that they are all active participants in. Children are required to stand (or sit) on spot markers, arranged in a semi-circle so that everyone can see and make eye contact with one another. Every athlete wears a name tag so that no one is a stranger. This structure promotes joint attention and makes it easier for athletes to communicate with one another. The shared activity of the class, provides them with a common topic that they talk about. New exercises can be difficult for anyone and children will often express when they when they experience this struggle or when they find it easy.
In order to create a successful adaptive group exercise program for children with autism, each participant should wear a name tag and be prompted to introduce themselves prior to beginning the class. The class should be structured to promote social interaction by organizing participants into a semi or full circle. Classes should be divided into two phases to address different skills, a group movement phase (addressing following group instruction) and a turn taking phase (addressing turn taking and waiting).
The group movement phase
The group movement phase consists of the instructor using simple language (phrases of 3 words or less) to teach each movement paired with physical modeling. During this phase the instructor should verbally reinforce instances of peer interaction and slow down the pace of exercise so that opportunities present themselves. The adaptations to the exercise programming allow athletes to see exercises and process the verbal instructions easier, so they can follow along and interact with one another. The trainer can call on students to initiate social interaction as well. Some examples of prompts are “Who is doing great exercise?”, “Tell a friend they are doing a great job” and “Give a friend a high five”. These prompts promote peer interaction and conversational exchanges.
The turn taking phase
The turn taking phase is when athletes are called upon to individually perform an exercise. The trainer can call on an athlete by asking participants to raise their hands or by prompting an athlete to call on a friend to go next. While one student is performing the movement, staff can prompt the rest of the class to motivate them by saying things like “great job”, “way to go” or “you’re doing awesome!” These prompted phrases promote commenting and conversational exchanges between peers.
There are many other ways to promote social skills through adaptive group exercise classes, but these strategies have been effective in my programming. Social skills groups have been documented to be effective in improving social communication amongst children with ASD (Chung et al, 2007). The main difference in adaptive group exercise, is that instead of playing games or with toys, children are working together on exercise programming. Exercise has been shown to benefit the development of social skills in children with autism. Adaptive group exercise offers specialized instruction to support these individuals in learning how to exercise and support them in this social atmosphere.
Chung, K., Reavis, S., Mosconi, M., Drewry, J., Matthews, T., & Tassé, M. J. (2007). Peer-mediated social skills training program for young children with high-functioning autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 28(4), 423-436. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2006.05.002
Hume, K., Bellini, S. & Pratt, C. (2005). The usage and perceived outcomes of early intervention and early childhood programs for young children with autism spectrum disorder. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 25 (4), 195-207.