People perform different types of movements each day, some more complex than others. These movements are required for people to be independent. These movements that we don’t even give a thought to performing are essential for us. But, these movements to not come as easily to everyone. This is often the case for individual’s with autism spectrum disorder. Although there is no specific physical disability noted in this diagnosis, many individuals on the spectrum struggle with fine and gross motor skills. It is common to see delays in motor development, which can affect their independence. At Adaptive Exercise we follow the philosophy of functional movement training in relation to our autism exercise services. Functional movement training focuses on total body strengthening, and teaching your body’s muscles to work together so you can move more efficiently. There are five categories of movements in this model, pushing movements, pulling movements, rotational movements, single-leg movements, and bend and lift movements. Let’s turn our focus to pushing movements, why they are important? What do pushing movements look like? How do we teach them? And what are some strategies we can use to help support individuals with special needs to learn pushing movements?
We all perform pushing movements to get through our activities of daily living. We push to open doors and close, we push our arms overhead to reach for things, we push the trash can down the driveway, were even pushing when we spread peanut butter on a slice of bread. These are merely a few examples of how this movement pattern is utilized to complete simple tasks, that we don’t associate with exercise. While many of us don’t need exercise to be able to complete these types of tasks, people with autism and other special needs may need more support. By not addressing these needs, individuals may avoid tasks, be less independent and further accentuate their motor impairments. Pushing movements promote core, shoulder, back and chest strength and stability. Neglecting this type of movement can lead to muscle imbalance and poor posture. Physical and occupational therapists are often called upon in these situations, but many individuals with autism do not qualify for these types of services or only receive a limited service. Autism exercise specialist are needed to fill this void and offer an appropriate means for people with autism to better themselves and become more independent through exercise.
Now that we know a few real-life applications to pushing movements and how they affect our body, let’s break down what pushing exercises are. A push exercise is when a resistance is moved away from the body during the concentric phase of the movement. This means as a muscle in contracting the resistance or object is being pushed away. In the example of a push-up the body is being pushed away from the floor as the chest is contracting. Another well-known push exercise is the bench press, or lying chest press. In this exercise the barbell is pushed upward, away from the body as the chest muscles contract. In these two examples the chest muscles are the primary movers, but other muscles are still being activated. Your back, shoulders, core and neck are some of the other muscles at play, but they are not acting or should not be acting as the primary muscles in the movement. There are many other pushing exercises that are more simplistic and more complex than the two examples provided. As an autism exercise specialist, when working with clients our first concerns are safety, and accuracy then performance. So, we are likely to focus on simple pushing movements first, then once these movements are mastered then we can turn our attention to adding resistance, reps, sets or introducing more challenging and complex pushing exercises.
The most base level pushing exercise we teach is the standing chest press. This is when the person is standing upright with their hands in front of the chest, with their palms out and fingers pointed up. Slowly the hands are pushed straight outward with the elbows pointed outward. Once the arms are fully extended, bend arms at the elbows bringing them back to the starting position. Note that this complex use of language used to explain this simple exercise, may be very difficult for some people with autism to follow. This is why autism exercise specialist should use modified language when instructing. Modified language is explaining an exercise using only the most essential language in utterances of 5 words or less. This mode of verbal instruction should be paired with the trainer physically modeling the movement. An example of modified language, as applied to this example of the standing chest press would be, “stand”, “push out”, “back in”. These verbal mands paired with the movement being physically modeled, provide a clear expectation to the client of what is expected. Now when the individual goes to perform the exercise, these modified language cues can be used as they are attempting the exercise. If the individual cannot perform the movement safely, the trainer should intervene and either physically prompt or discontinue the exercise.
A few different types of supports can be used to aid an individual in learning a pushing movement such as standing chest press. Kinesthetic cues are when an object is used to provide the client with tactile feedback through the movement. There are many ways we can use this strategy to support someone learning a standing chest press. The trainer may hold their hands at the point they want their client to push their palms to, or they may have the client push to the wall. This strategy can also be used to cue against poor form techniques, such as shoulders slumping or elbows dropping down. Physical prompting is another way to support individuals through this exercise. The trainer may intervene and physically guide the client through the exercise. This can be done at different levels of intrusiveness, to allow for more independence. Another way we can support clients in learning this exercise is through visual supports. This may be spot, arrow and hand markers, physical modeling or even mirror or video.
There are many ways we can support our clients in learning push exercises. As autism exercise specialist we must focus on exercising safely first and mastering movements. Than progressing through and focusing more on performance. These autism exercise supportive strategies can be used on more complex pushing movements as well.