Using Exercise in ABA Therapy | Pediatric ABA Therapy

Exercise and physical activity are highly crucial for every being. It is crucial for our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Not only does exercising keep us fit and active, but it also keeps us away from the risk of several chronic illnesses, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, and even cancer.

This is why exercise has become an integral part of many therapies around the world, ABA therapy in Chicago being one of them.

How is Exercise Used as Part of the ABA Therapy Program?

Therapists make sure they have exercise included as part of the child’s therapy plan. However, they have to keep in mind a few considerations when developing a therapy plan for each child.

Firstly, every child has their own specific mental and physical limitations, the child’s current physical level of activity, and the interest and preferences of each child. These factors are highly crucial and become the basis of therapy programs for each child. ABA therapists usually make use of easy, simple, individual exercises and physical activity.

Moreover, ABA therapists make great use of positive reinforcement as part of ABA therapy. This is a great way of implementing physical activity and exercise, like using other equipment and activities to maintain the interest of the children.

Therapists also don’t really focus on specific sports or exercises but make use of interesting physical activities such as climbing monkey bars, jumping, and hopping, which are more successful in ABA therapy.

Furthermore, most ABA therapists also make use of a short time period of physical activity and exercise throughout the day. For instance, planning only 5 minutes of the day for dance, jogging, or even yoga. Moreover, visiting Here on the Spectrum would be great if you are interested in learning more about the jobs of aba therapists.

Benefits of Exercise in ABA Therapy

ABA therapists have started to realize the importance of exercise and physical activity in ABA therapy due to the fruitful benefits it has brought with it:

Helps Develop Numerous Skills

Experts and professionals have proved how beneficial exercise is in ABA therapy. Exercise is used as part of physical therapy in ABA therapy and has significantly helped children who are lacking in various skills. For instance, exercise boosts motor skills (both fine and gross), as well as social communication with other people and attention as well. Exercise has also proved to improve academic skills in children and has shown them to do much better at school than those children who do not exercise.

Therefore, through physical therapy, children are also able to learn various valuable lessons, that includes how to take turns, how to interact with others, how to use verbal and nonverbal communication, and also role play. Exercise has proved to be an excellent way of naturally building these kinds of skills in children.

Eliminates Problematic Behaviors

Exercise greatly helps in eliminating problematic behaviors and encouraging good ones, especially in those children who have behavioral issues. Exercise is used with positive reinforcement, to help get rid of bad behaviors, and retain good ones in children. Helps direct the brain away from any stress and worry, which is why exercise greatly affects neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers present in our brain, it really helps regulate children’s behavior and mood.

Improves Self-Stimulatory Behaviors

Exercise as part of ABA therapy has also shown to improve stimming, or self-stimulatory behavior. Stimming is a common behavior among children, as well as adults, of all neurological and behavioral characteristics. Therefore, exercise and physical activity significantly reduce the impulse to self-stimulate. These mainly include engaging with external stimulation, keeping physically occupied during the whole activity, and also improving the child’s focus for a short time after the activity.

Boosts Coordination

Because exercise that requires coordination makes use of the Cerebellum. Which is part of our brain, it greatly helps children to process information at a faster rate. Apart from making children smart, it will also help them develop better self-control as well.

Makes Therapy Session More Fun and Exciting

Unlike traditional therapies that do not have exercise as part of the therapy program, exercise can make the whole therapy much more fun. Exercise, for the child, will not be the same old and boring exercise routine. However, it would be much more exciting for them. Thus, children will be more willing to perform those physical movements, as they will take it more like a game than a therapy session.

Improves Fitness

Exercise significantly impacts an individual’s fitness level. Remember, just because a child has autism, it does not mean that they are unable to develop other underlying health conditions. Therefore, physical fitness and exercise being a part of the ABA therapy is a good idea, and the sooner they start, the better they will be as they grow older.

Personalization

Because ABA therapy is highly customizable and individualized, it means that each therapy session is tailored to each child’s needs. Exercise is, indeed, a therapy itself. In case a child is very fond of dogs and puppies. A good exercise of physical activity would be taking them out with the dog. Even horse riding is a great form of physical activity and can be highly therapeutic for the child. Therefore, the whole therapy plan is basically based on each child’s requirements. The treatment can, moreover, evolve over time.

Reduces Anxiety Levels

Anxiety levels are quite common in autism spectrum disorder. When exercise is incorporated in ABA therapy, it has numerous fruitful benefits for such children. It greatly helps reduce anxiety levels in them. Because exercise also helps produce more serotonin in the body, which is a feel-good hormone. Children also feel much better after physical activity. Exercise also helps produce endorphins which are produced by the body to reduce pain. Moreover, physical activity has greatly helped children cope with their stress as well, and they tend to become more confident.

Improves Proprioception

Proprioception is also a common problem faced by children who have ASD. It is a feeling as if your body is in space. This phenomenon results in clumsiness in children, and they become even more prone to falling. Therefore,  ABA therapy incorporates activity in order to improve proprioception in children. Moreover, children can practice their posture and stability through exercise.