Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: How to motivate your teen or adult to exercise
• Part 2 of 3: Understand Why Autistic Teens and Adults Dislike Exercise
• Part 3 of 3: How Autistic Teens Benefit from Exercise

Autism is a very complex developmental disorder. Every autistic child and adolescent is unique, but there are some common characteristics that all people with this disorder have in common. It is very important for everyone, especially those with autism, to exercise and exercise to keep fit. It is very difficult to persuade an autistic teenager to exercise and exercise, but it will bring tremendous benefits to him, improving his health and social skills.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: How to motivate your teen or adult to exercise

1. 1 Make sure your teen is in a relaxed environment that he or she feels comfortable in. There should be no extraneous sounds or other distractions during exercise. Nobody should disturb you, the person should feel calm.
   • There should be no large crowds around you, as this will disturb and distract your teenager.
   • It is best to do this outdoors, with plants, trees and fresh air around you.
2. 2 Try giving your teen visual instructions to increase their learning ability. Instead of verbal instructions, it is better to use videos, pictures and photographs. Many autistic adults and adolescents do not understand speech very well and will understand you better if you use graphics and landmarks.
   • For example, if you want someone to learn how to play basketball, let them watch a few basketball games on TV.
3. 3 It is necessary to support and encourage the teenager so that he does not lose his presence of mind. This is the most important aspect in our business. You need to create enthusiasm in your teenager, for example by showing your enthusiasm by encouraging them to follow your example. Show how much fun you have when you exercise.
   • If you don’t do this, the autistic adult or teenager will think it’s not fair that you are forcing him to do the exercises alone.
   • Exercise with him.
   • Show your enthusiasm.
4. 4 Find out more about the hobbies and interests of the autistic teenager, find out what kind of exercise or sports they like the most. If you ask your teenager to tell you about his interests, you can come up with a suitable way to get him interested in the exercise.
   • Perhaps a teenager or adult likes to watch some kind of games on TV.If it's football, for example, play football with them.
   • Let him watch sports programs, games or matches. Perhaps he will have an interest.
5. 5 Be sure to cheer up and praise your teen when they do something right. This will evoke a sense of accomplishment. This is especially important for autistic adolescents and adults. If you reward him with something he loves, he will want to return to the sport over and over again and will start to love exercise.
   • If he does something wrong, show him how to do these exercises.
6. 6 You can take part in special olympic games. This is the so-called Special Olympics for people with mental or physical disabilities. This will create competition and motivate your teenager, especially if they find a sport they like.
   • A special Olympiad helps autistic people feel like full-fledged athletes and members of society.
   • If this person has an idol in the world of sports, let him do the same sport.
7. 7 Let outdoor activities become part of your daily routine. Make it fun so your child will enjoy getting involved.
   • You can involve the whole family, such as going on a hike.
   • A lot of useful things can be learned from the hike, such as a biology lesson.
8. 8 You can try to introduce dancing into the program. Many autistic people love music, try dancing with them to your favorite song. There are many ways to train an autistic teenager or adult to dance.
   • There are many Wii games in which you need to dance, for this purpose special consoles with motion detectors are used.
   • Try the popular dance game Just dance.
   • You can also look at the games of the Dance Dance Revolution company.
9. 9 Exercise should be fun and engaging. Teens should love sports, and you can turn exercise into play. The more fun you make this process for your teenager, the more time he or she will devote to sports and exercise.
   • Make the exercise a game your child enjoys.
   • You can buy special CDs or download exercise videos with music.
10. 10 Try enrolling your teen in a martial arts class. Many autistic people enjoy martial arts, especially oriental ones. Martial arts force everyone to obey one clearly defined rules, to exercise discipline. It helps autistic people to increase their self-esteem.
    • The success of a teenager or adult depends on the rules of the sport or the game, as well as on the environment.
11. 11 Reward your teenager for being physically active. For example, after a half-hour walk, allow him to watch TV before dinner. Then he will have an additional incentive.
12. 12 Try to use a special hint-and-disappear teaching method. This method is as follows: you need to fully prompt and show, and also help the teenager do the exercise the first few times, and then gradually allow him to do it on his own.
    • For example, if you want to help someone catch the ball, hold their hand in your palm and guide it to help them catch the ball. Then hold only the wrist, then only the elbow, and so on. Over time, stop holding your hand at all.

Part 2 of 3: Understand Why Autistic Teens and Adults Dislike Exercise

1. 1 You need to understand that autistic people have a very narrow field of interest. They devote all their attention to particular activities, interests and hobbies. It is very difficult to get them to do something that they have never done before.
   • You do not need to force and press too hard on the teenager, otherwise, due to stubbornness, he will not obey you.
2. 2 Understand that autistic adolescents and adults have poor motor function. They often have poor coordination and find it difficult to throw or catch the ball.These properties of the body are manifested in many autistic people.
   • A teenager or adult may be aware of this and therefore avoid sports.
   • If he doesn’t do well in sports, he will be very upset. Try to find a way to motivate him.
3. 3 Many autistic adolescents and adults have sensory sensitivities. They are highly sensitive to certain stimuli. This sensory sensitivity can interfere with their ability to participate in sports activities, making them unbearable.
   • For example, a bright light in a gym can be uncomfortable or even painful for them.
   • Ask what is preventing your child from playing a particular sport.
4. 4 Understand that it is very important for autistic people to stick to a schedule. You need to plan your exercise program well. An autistic teenager should have a routine. Try to schedule exercise and exercise at the same time each day.
   • You can create a special form or way of recording your child's various athletic performances to increase motivation and self-confidence.
5. 5 Many autistic people have social disabilities. They fail to play sports as a team. They don't communicate well with other people and cannot play team sports.
   • If so, try to find an individual sport that you can do alone - running, yoga, swimming or cycling.

Part 3 of 3: How Autistic Teens Benefit from Exercise

1. 1 Exercise can help autistic adolescents and adults control their weight. Autistic people are sedentary. Therefore, they are often overweight. In the United States, for example, 15% of children are overweight due to lack of exercise and poor diet. This is especially true for autistic adolescents and children.
   • Approximately 19% of autistic children and adolescents are overweight, and 36% are at risk.
   • These problems are easier to deal with in childhood, before they develop into health problems.
   • Regular exercise will help you get rid of and prevent these problems from occurring.
2. 2 Exercise has certain social benefits. There are many sports that are played in a team, not depriving the attention of the individual abilities and disadvantages of children. Engaging in such sports will open up many social opportunities for your child, as well as allow him to raise self-esteem and achieve personal success.
   • The teenager will communicate with other children non-verbally.
   • You can go swimming, skiing and so on.
   • It is best not to start with a difficult sport like basketball, your child may not be ready for this.
3. 3 Exercise and sports can get rid of pathologically cyclical actions. They have a positive effect and allow you to get rid of many cyclical activities that are inherent in autistic people. This is especially true for aerobics and running.
   • Swimming, for example, helps to get rid of cyclical activities by replacing them with other (sports) cyclical activities.
4. 4 Exercise can help eliminate the side effects of various medications. If an autistic person takes the pill, they may experience a variety of side effects. If a teenager or adult takes antipsychotics, which are used to correct inappropriate behavior, they may gain weight or face other problems.
5. 5 Exercise and sports can help improve self-esteem. For autistic adolescents, self-esteem is especially important. If you teach an autistic teenager or adult to play sports, he will feel better when he is good at it, he will have increased self-esteem and self-confidence.
   • It can positively influence the behavior and life of an autistic teenager or adult.