Why Working Out, Works out

Basketball, tennis, yoga, soccer, "fitness" (= calistethics) and now aerobics: Charlie and his classmates have been doing all of these sports in their Adapted Physical Education class. They have gym everyday at 8.30am (I wish they had it more than once a day, frankly----exercise and getting in motion have always had a restorative effect on Charlie). Charlie's teacher is hoping to get an exercise bike in his class soon and maybe even a treadmill----he's an active kid and sitting at a desk is not easy for him (plus, with Charlie having grown so much, the average middle-school desk might be feeling a bit on the smallish side).

Sometimes, though, when we've taken Charlie to sports events specifically for kids with disabilities, the activities just have not seemed sufficiently physical and active for Charlie. He really needs to be physically engaged and to work up a sweat; then he gets happy and into it. When Charlie was younger, there was a tendency for some teachers and therapists to shy away from getting him more active, almost as if there was the sense that because Charlie was delayed in meeting a number of his gross-motor "milestones," he was a bit "delicate," and it was best not to challenge him too much.

But we all know what happens when expectation are low---so are results.

Certainly I understand the need for "safety" first. Nonetheless, it's always seemed a bit puzzling to us, that Charlie might be considered "delicate" and "fragile." A study in the February Pediatrics looks at an adapted sports program for high school students with disabilities and finds that these are, for the most part, "reasonably safe." Out of 210 students, "athletes with autism" had a higher rate of injuries (usually in the form of abrasions and contusions), as did those who have seizures.

That finding raises eyebrows about safety; ultimately, though, I'm just very glad to know that such a study is being done, and that there are efforts underway not only to provide athletic activities for children with disabilities (and there should be for all ages, too), but also to find ways to adapt and accommodate and keep sports activities active and not just to be about going through the motions. 

Now in the pool, Charlie is pretty much on his own and not just because he can swim, but because---he being somewhat more at ease and faster in water than on land---he can take care of himself, for the most part, amid the splashing of the other kids and all the potential hurly-burly of a swimming pool of children in January (with minimal recourse to the outdoors). A real workout works out well for everyone.

(Yes, that's Charlie swimming in the ocean last summer----it's feeling like it's high time for summer to roll around soon around here!)