Imagine you live in a world with few, if any, friendships. You dont relate well to people because you have trouble reading emotion and body language. If a conversation does start, it fizzles because you cant keep it going.
Thats what life can be like for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, known as ASD.
Great strides have been made in early detection and treatment of ASD, yet the number of children diagnosed with this range of disorders is soaring.
The Autism Society of America says 1 in 88 babies born will have ASD, with the rate among boys at 1 in 54. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in Arizona 1 in 64 kids have autism 1 in 40 boys.
A new program in Marana offers a way for children with autism to connect with each other and with the world around them. Once a week, specially trained teacher Pam Adler teaches a class to three pre-teens with autism at Arizona Power Yoga, 8567 N. Silverbell Road.
Owner Ron Martin said the same benefits yoga offers adults, it also brings to children, including balance, strength, breathing and concentration. Yoga also helps kids with autism improve social and motor skills and lessen anxieties.
Adler has completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training, obtained an endorsement for teaching children and is working toward yoga-therapist status.
She also works at the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind and has years of experience teaching children with ASD.
Children, teaching and yoga, the three greatest things on the planet, she said.
Adler says better breath control, a basic benefit of yoga practice, helps children calm themselves and relieve their anxieties.
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New program uses yoga to help kids with autism