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Martial Arts and the Autism Spectrum


I have been involved in Taekwondo for more than a year now as a father and husband. Two of my boys and my wife are attending the Traditional Taekwondo Academy in Pretoria, South Africa. I watched from the sidelines and saw the changes in them. Changes in their attitude, motor skills, patience and fitness (and much more). You see, we are a family on the autism spectrum, therefore noise, randomness and change is not well received.



But they are growing and doing well, actually, Hanlie (my wife) is doing extremely well. She is putting in extra hours of practicing and at the SA Nationals 2014 she won her division and so far this year she has not lost a competition yet.

I started taking a closer look at Taekwondo, its moves and principles. I also compared that with the 'requirements' of people on the Autism Spectrum and it is a great fit.
Taekwondo allows for one-on-one training, it has repetitive movements or forms, it is taught by example (visual input), and sparring is not required.
Subsequently I searched the internet for studies about Martial Arts and Autism. Most of them notices an improvement when a martial art is practiced.

Evaluating the effects of a structured program for adults with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities
The effects of 14 weeks of Kata techniques training on stereotypic behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were investigated. The study included 30 eligible (diagnosed ASD, school age) children with ages ranging from 5 to 16 years whom they assigned to an exercise (n=15) or a no-exercise control group (n=15). Participants of the exercise group received Kata techniques instruction four times per week for 14 weeks (56 sessions). Stereotypy was assessed at baseline (pre-intervention), week 14 (post-intervention), and at one month follow up in both groups. Results showed that Kata techniques training significantly reduced stereotypy in the exercise group. Following participation in Kata techniques training, stereotypy decreased from baseline levels by a M of 42.54% across participants. Interestingly, after 30 days of no practice, stereotypy in the exercise group remained significantly decreased compared to pre-intervention time. The participants of the control group did not show significant changes in the stereotypy. Teaching martial arts techniques to children with ASD for a long period of time consistently decreased their stereotypic behaviors.
I came to the conclusion that Martial Arts Training is beneficial to people on the Autism Spectrum and I would encourage anyone to start practicing a Martial Art.






Here are some links

the-unique-discipline-of-martial-arts-for-autism
martial-arts-and-the-autism-spectrum
Martial_Arts_Therapy_for_Aspergers
martial-arts-and-the-autism-spectrum
martial-arts-proven-beneficial-for-individuals-with-autism/



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