{"id":65123,"date":"2024-04-04T12:29:34","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T19:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/?p=65123"},"modified":"2024-04-04T12:38:21","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T19:38:21","slug":"keep-moving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/special-needs\/keep-moving\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Moving\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Alex-Martin-with-his-father-Alan-Martin-winning-Special-Olympics-gold-metals.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" data-src=\"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Alex-Martin-with-his-father-Alan-Martin-winning-Special-Olympics-gold-metals.png\" alt=\"Alex Martin with his father Alan Martin winning Special Olympics gold metals\" class=\"wp-image-65124 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/b3141982.smushcdn.com\/3141982\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Alex-Martin-with-his-father-Alan-Martin-winning-Special-Olympics-gold-metals.png?lossy=0&amp;strip=1&amp;webp=1 500w, https:\/\/b3141982.smushcdn.com\/3141982\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Alex-Martin-with-his-father-Alan-Martin-winning-Special-Olympics-gold-metals-300x240.png?lossy=0&amp;strip=1&amp;webp=1 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 500px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 500\/400;\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Alex-Martin-with-his-father-Alan-Martin-winning-Special-Olympics-gold-metals.png\" alt=\"Alex Martin with his father Alan Martin winning Special Olympics gold metals\" class=\"wp-image-65124\" srcset=\"https:\/\/b3141982.smushcdn.com\/3141982\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Alex-Martin-with-his-father-Alan-Martin-winning-Special-Olympics-gold-metals.png?lossy=0&amp;strip=1&amp;webp=1 500w, https:\/\/b3141982.smushcdn.com\/3141982\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Alex-Martin-with-his-father-Alan-Martin-winning-Special-Olympics-gold-metals-300x240.png?lossy=0&amp;strip=1&amp;webp=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Alex Martin with his father Alan Martin winning gold metals in their Unified Golf competition<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn how children with special needs benefit from sports, dance, swim and other types of physical activities.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you peek into Elizabeth Rose Chacon\u2019s dance class, you might see children yelling. They could be spinning uncontrollably or flapping their arms \u2014 behaviors that teachers elsewhere might find too distracting. But not here. Not at A Dance Class For Me! in Irvine where children with special needs \u2014 mostly autism \u2014 get to be themselves and do whatever they need to calm down and cope with their surroundings. While hitting is prohibited, most other behaviors are allowed to let the students move their bodies in new ways as they build up their physical and emotional strengths.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chacon, a professional dancer and certified Autism Movement Therapy provider, doesn\u2019t teach choreography. She simply asks the young dancers to copy her moves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think music and movement add a dimension to any therapeutic environment. It stimulates the brain, it calms the brain,\u201d she says. \u201cI think it\u2019s a huge benefit to students in any therapy to be able to dance and move.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She doesn\u2019t adjust the lights or music to teach them coping in other class surroundings. They also get a chance to practice talking and leading.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf they\u2019re not given the opportunity to be in a group class, how are they going to learn what it\u2019s like to be in a group class?\u201d Chacon says of her students who range in age from 3 to 18 years old. \u201cPeople don\u2019t pick them to be first, they don\u2019t pick them to go teach others. It\u2019s not a normal part of their life so they get a chance to experience that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over time, she says she has seen her students improve their body awareness, confidence, self-esteem, reduce anxiety and become more social and talkative. Some go on to become teachers themselves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Activities such as dance or sports allow children with special needs to improve on a physical and mental level, say local leaders of such programs. Because they come with a dose of camaraderie and fun, children might be more likely to engage and carry the benefits outside the classes. Many of the programs allow children who don\u2019t have special needs to participate as well, promoting exposure and acceptance and fostering new friendships.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sports and Martial Arts&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Miracle League of Orange County has kids with medical challenges playing in an organized league at an ADA-adaptable field in Anaheim where peer volunteers assist them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe break down the walls and barriers between able-bodied kids and their special needs counterparts,\u201d says Founder and President Steel Morris who started the league with the help of the Los Angeles Angels as a tribute to his late mother, a special education teacher.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, the league has about 150 players who come together for fun and to feel like they\u2019re a part of an organized league for the first time in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cParents say their kids have come out of their shells, that they\u2019ve really grown,\u201d Morris says. \u201cIt\u2019s not a coaching league, it\u2019s a fun league so it\u2019s not competitive. We don\u2019t keep score.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Karate for All in Tustin, Owner and Pediatric Occupational Therapist Wayne Centra incorporates therapy activities between the katas and other martial arts movements. He says often the children don\u2019t even realize that they\u2019re addressing certain physical, social or cognitive issues.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kashing Wong\u2019s 5-year-old son, Alan, who is on the autism spectrum and has motor and speech delays, has been working with Centra and his staff for two years.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt really helps. I mean, I really see a difference. It\u2019s not a difference you see in a month or two, but progressively I\u2019ve seen my son picking up more new skills, motor skills and narrowing the gap,\u201d Wong says, praising Centra. \u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine this would work, but he makes it work in a systematic way to help kids.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Long before he opened the studio, Centra worked as a pediatric therapist at CHOC, treating children with a variety of conditions. He once met a 7-year-old boy in the intensive care unit who had no interest in getting out of bed and participating in therapy. So, the martial artist turned their appointments into karate sessions, a more appealing option to the child who found motivation to get moving and fight cancer. Soon, other patients came around and he\u2019s been combining the two for years now through Karate for All and Centra Pediatric Therapy. A couple of his longtime students went on to become occupational therapists themselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I\u2019m doing karate, I\u2019m not just focusing on karate,\u201d Centra says. \u201cI\u2019m focusing on independence and life skills and social skills and emotional regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from improving strength, flexibility, emotional regulation, sensory processing, leadership, focus, attention span and more, Centra doesn\u2019t forget about the basis of martial arts \u2014 the self-defense.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe want [our] kids as adults to be able to take care of themselves out in the community, whether they\u2019re bullied or assaulted in any way,\u201d he says. \u201cI want them to be functioning in the community just like everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Luke-a-student-at-Aqua-Tots-with-Coach-Gerardo-Hernandez.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" data-src=\"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Luke-a-student-at-Aqua-Tots-with-Coach-Gerardo-Hernandez.jpg\" alt=\"Luke a student at Aqua-Tots with Coach Gerardo Hernandez\" class=\"wp-image-65128 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/b3141982.smushcdn.com\/3141982\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Luke-a-student-at-Aqua-Tots-with-Coach-Gerardo-Hernandez.jpg?lossy=0&amp;strip=1&amp;webp=1 500w, https:\/\/b3141982.smushcdn.com\/3141982\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Luke-a-student-at-Aqua-Tots-with-Coach-Gerardo-Hernandez-300x240.jpg?lossy=0&amp;strip=1&amp;webp=1 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 500px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 500\/400;\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Luke-a-student-at-Aqua-Tots-with-Coach-Gerardo-Hernandez.jpg\" alt=\"Luke a student at Aqua-Tots with Coach Gerardo Hernandez\" class=\"wp-image-65128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/b3141982.smushcdn.com\/3141982\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Luke-a-student-at-Aqua-Tots-with-Coach-Gerardo-Hernandez.jpg?lossy=0&amp;strip=1&amp;webp=1 500w, https:\/\/b3141982.smushcdn.com\/3141982\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Luke-a-student-at-Aqua-Tots-with-Coach-Gerardo-Hernandez-300x240.jpg?lossy=0&amp;strip=1&amp;webp=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Luke a student at Aqua-Tots with Coach Gerardo Hernandez<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Swimming Along&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Physical activities can help in other ways. Drowning is a leading cause of death for children with autism, according to the National Autism Association. At Aqua-Tots Swim Schools, which has locations in Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Orange and Tustin, instructors with the S.N.A.P. (Students Needing Adaptive Programming) program work with children to help empower them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Owner Caroline Carlson says they work closely with the parents on identifying goals for each child as well as the best ways to accomplish them. While swimming is a great exercise for all, it is particularly beneficial for children with special needs as water reduces body weight and provides an environment with less restriction, helping improve physical strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn addition to learning swim skills, our goal is to help build character and to build self-esteem by showing them that they can do things that maybe they initially didn\u2019t believe that they could,\u201d Carlson says.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Loraine Dressler\u2019s grandson was born with congenital myotonic dystrophy with some autistic characteristics as well as neuromuscular weakness. When the retired registered nurse first brought him to the swimming pool at Aqua-Tots, Zen could not coordinate his body parts. Now, eight years later, Zen, 11, can hold his breath under water, swim on his back and more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI feel that the pool has benefited every area that affects Zen\u2019s ability to be successful in society,\u201d says Dressler, adding that his cardiologist and pulmonologist agree that swimming is a good choice for him. \u201cIt\u2019s about the best thing we\u2019ve got going for him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For some, participating in sports could lead to major life changes. Alan Martin\u2019s 29-year-old son, Alex, who has Down syndrome, has been a Special Olympics of Orange County athlete for 12 years. The organization has a wide variety of free programs for children and adults with and without special needs. Aside from fitness and the ability to play sports, the family found a few unexpected benefits. Throughout Special Olympics programs, Alex became more aware of a healthy lifestyle and as he was spending time with teammates of different ages \u2014 some 20 and 30 years older \u2014 he found mentors and role models. Some had jobs, which sparked Alex\u2019s interest in pursuing employment himself. He now works as a dishwasher and helps in the kitchen at The Ranch at Laguna Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe got him involved because we thought it\u2019d be a good activity,\u201d Martin says. \u201cIt also has paid dividends in other ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Martin, who is now a board member of the organization, brought up another benefit for the parents \u2014 the opportunity to network with other families in similar situations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dressler has this advice for parents weighing their options.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy suggestion is parents need to involve their child in many avenues, not just one \u2014 because our kiddos, the ones with disabilities, they have a lot going for them \u2014 they may just need a different avenue to connect with it and get it going.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\">By Magda Hernandez<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how children with special needs benefit from sports, dance, swim and other types of physical activities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":65124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3137,549,3138],"tags":[],"post_folder":[3189],"class_list":{"0":"post-65123","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-inspiration","8":"category-special-needs","9":"category-therapies-treatments","10":"entry"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65123"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parentingoc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=65123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}