What is Autism?
Autism is a condition that affects how an individual, feels, thinks, socialize, and interact with their environment. More in technical terms, it is a complex neurobiological development disorder, induced during pregnancy. Autism is a lifelong disability that starts when a person is born, usually diagnosed in early childhood and stays throughout a person’s lifetime.
Every Autistic person is different from every other with a wide range of characteristics associated with this disorder. That is why autism is described as a ‘spectrum’.
The autism spectrum defines characteristics associated with autism which include an impaired ability to communicate and relate to others socially. Autistic individuals feel discomfort in busy and complex social situations such as gatherings and prefer to do everyday activities alone.
Another characteristic widely linked to autism is a restricted range of activities. Since autistic people tend to have poor muscle strength, balancing disorders, slow body movement or coordination, and restricted motor skills, performing everyday activities becomes very challenging for them.
Autistic individuals also have an uneven pattern of thinking abilities. The ability to focus on one thing for a very long time makes it difficult for autistic people to switch from one thing to other. This ability allows them to notice specific details, patterns or changes which other people are unaware of.
Emotional disorders and repetitive behaviors such as following very specific routines are also common among people with autism.
In a survey conducted by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), it was estimated that around 164,000 Australians had autism in 2015, which represents an overall 0.7% prevalence, or about 1 in every 150 people [1]. Of those who were estimated to have autism in 2015, 143,900 were identified as also having a disability (88%) [1].
Most commonly children and young people are diagnosed with autism. ABS in its survey also found that people with autism were more likely to be younger, with 83% aged under 25 [1]. Autism was most prevalent among children aged 5 to 14 in 2009, 2012 and 2015, which reflected the general increase in diagnosis for school-age children [1]. This group also experienced the greatest increase over time, though prevalence has increased across all age groups between 2009 and 2015[1].
It is undetermined why the prevalence of autism is increasing. Higher levels of diagnosis and increased awareness among masses have contributed to an increase in the reporting of autism-related disorders.
What has the research shown?
In addition to the overall health-related benefits of physical activity, exercise has proved to have a positive impact on autism-related disorders. A substantial decrease in repetitive behaviors is the most common behavioral improvement after physical activity for children with autism.
Research has concluded that hyperactivity, aggression, and self-stimulatory behaviors in autistic individuals can be controlled by vigorous exercise. Workout sessions of at least 20minutes or longer, 3 to 4 days a week are found to have shown positive results.
According to an article published in Biomed Central (BMC) Research Notes, profound results were evident after vigorous bouts of physical activity [2]. Another research study reflected that vigorous physical activities, together with appropriate behavioral therapy, can help improve behavioral disorders in children with autism.
Aerobic exercise is found to significantly decrease the persistence of negative, self-stimulating behaviors that are common among individuals with autism. Disorders such as head-nodding, body rocking, hand flapping, spinning and object-tapping, are some of the behavioral characteristics of autism which cause hindrance in learning and socializing. These attributes of autism can be controlled by physical exercise. Additionally, exercise also discourages aggressive and self-injurious behaviors and improves attention span as well.
Exercise is important for everyone including children of all ages and adults. Individuals with autism whether adults or children, can reap the benefits of exercise and improve overall well being. Not only it promotes a healthy lifestyle but also benefits an autistic individual in many ways such as to improve cardiovascular fitness, reduces extensiveness of bone and joint problems, and even affects mental health in a positive way.
It can be challenging for someone with Autism to participate in physical exercise especially if he or she has disability issues associated with this condition. Limited motor functioning, low motivation, difficulty in self-monitoring and impaired auditory and visual capability are restraints to getting physically fit. Similarly, exercises involving social interaction such as a team activity can also be a difficult situation for autistic individuals. Appropriately planned and custom-designed training programs can help overcome many of these challenges and in due course, improvement in the quality of life can be achieved.
Some several other treatments and therapies can also help, such as auditory integration training which has proven to be very effective and reflected positive results in treating disabilities such as Autism and Dyslexia.
Where to get started:
An Accredited Exercise Physiologist is a specialist who can guide you about the benefits of exercise for Autism. It is always recommended to get specialist medical assistance to start with. AEPs will determine where a patient falls in the autism spectrum and then can create a specific exercise program accordingly. Autistic patients are very sensitive both emotionally and physically and treating them without any prior knowledge and skill could be a very challenging task. Do not try to treat such patients by yourself since it can further worsen their condition. Along with knowledge and skill, the right resources are also required for autism treatment. Once it is determined what type of autism an individual has and what type of exercises are required, patients can be assisted by their family members for a daily exercise routine.
Despite all the dedicated research and tireless work of professionals for providing evidence-based results which prove exercise has a positive impact on autism, the general public along with many health professionals are still unaware of its benefits.
References:
1. ABS 2016b. Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers 2015, TableBuilder. Findings based on the use of TableBuilder data.
2. MacDonald M, Esposito P, Ulrich D. The physical activity patterns of children with autism. BMC Res Notes. 2011;4:422.