Special Needs

For autistic college students, these guidelines can be instrumental in minimizing stress at the grocery store.

In a traditional gym class, how will the concept of jumping rope look for an autistic child? Considering that 79–83 percent of the autistic population does not display the appropriate motor skills for their age group, their needs will likely not be met. Until now...

Where does a child go when their physical world is too loud or quiet, bright or dim, uses jargon that makes no sense? Somewhere worth visiting.

The Power of a Note is an outreach tool for parents, educators, and personal trainers to help a child with autism reach his highest potential through movement and health.

Now at home, this is a great opportunity to get the family involved by creating new healthy habits using indoor and outdoor space.

In preparation for our next training session, I knew I needed the help of my coworkers. The next morning they all received the following email blast...

Begin the motion to expand upon the public’s perception of autism with an educational application. How? Try filling in the blanks by using the movie "Rain Man" as your springboard.

It would’ve been easy to create another brand-new workout with different recreational equipment. But a more powerful lesson rather than starting at ground level in terms of skill, was for the students to observe their strengths and weaknesses and then create a plan to reach a new level of skill mastery.

In this episode of Table Talk Podcast, Dave Tate opens up about being a father to a son with Asperger's, and elitefts Managing Editor Sheena Leedham talks about training and educating Blaine and other young adults on the spectrum.

Do you have questions relating to exercise for a child or young adult with autism? For a father raising a child with autism? Click here to ask questions that Dave Tate and Sheena Leedham will address tomorrow at 11 a.m. EST on the Table Talk Podcast.

Navigating the seas of parenting a child with autism means weathering storms, passing shipwrecks, and getting stranded on an island. But there are always people willing to help get both parent and child back on board with resources aplenty.

The cool thing about this setup is we had a high possibility of creating new benchmarks and brand-new levels of mastery, which were more valuable than throwing a ball in a hoop or hitting a ball over a net (two activities by which these students have experienced failure through participation).

I challenge you to use your gym to uplift and strengthen the community in another special way.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of CJ. He may not fully understand what he’s overcome, but I do.

This was more than a 10-week prep geared to beat our previously recorded race time of 52 minutes and 32 seconds while flying past a self-proclaimed mashed-up meathead.

This program provides a monthly social outlet for teens and young adults with high functioning autism. As we approach year one, I want to share how I’ve made this program my own.

Bridging the gap between immobility and action, this lesson served as another opportunity to reshape the students' negative associations with exercise and revamp their workout creativity in OSU’s backyard.

The goal is to get an inactive child on the spectrum socially and physically strong through movement. This initial type of training, the first in a progression of eight, takes place in the gym.

This documentary is the culmination of years of intimate interaction with a child with autism. Interaction as a father, a mother, an educator, a trainer, and a friend.

With more than 50 presentations to attend within a 10-hour time frame, here are the presentations from which I found great applicability to my work in both the private and college settings.

Moving from theory to practice, this lesson took us from the classroom to Lucky’s Market on High Street in Columbus, Ohio.

Listening to a group of college students with high-functioning autism, I learned there was a consensus among many of how they felt in a typical college gym setting — something they didn’t want to feel again.

At 3.1 miles, we cross the finish line in 52 minutes and 32 seconds — four minutes quicker than our 2016-competition time. A success! Beating our previous time was exactly what we came to do.

You'll meet Sean, Wesley, and Blaine (three boys on the spectrum) and consider their needs, find a starting place, and create a program schedule using a singular, linear, or overlapping approach.