Physical activity should be a part of everyone’s week throughout their lifespan. Regular exercise lessens anxiety, improves sleep, increases endurance, builds muscles, develops motor skills and offers opportunities for socializing. Whether being involved in organized sports on a team, solo activities (swimming, archery, martial arts), or just playing outdoors, physical activity offers the chance to grow stronger, expand interests, and adds to the enjoyment of life.
Start with Little Steps to Get Moving
If a child has not been physically active, enrolling them in a sport or lessons may be too much to start with. Think about:
- Walking to the corner store to get a few things.
- Walking the dog.
- Walking to school or the library.
- Creating a family routine like shooting some hoops after dinner or walking to a nearby park.
- Introducing little body breaks throughout the day – 5 minutes on a mini-trampoline in between activities, running on the spot during a TV commercial, set an alarm on a phone to get up and move for a few minutes every hour.
Build Physical Literacy
A person will have more success with physical activity if they have some of the prerequisite skills. Physical literacy can be practiced through a series of simple exercises that only take minutes to do. Some examples of physical literacy skills are:
- balance
- coordination
- tracking a moving object in the air
- catching
- throwing
- striking (hitting an object with a stick, racquet, bat etc.)
- agility (used in sports like soccer, basketball, hockey, volleyball, racquet sports, martial arts, dance)
- jumping
- skipping
- hopping
The Active for Life website has a number of activities that target these skills. They are short (5 – 15 minutes) and a list of equipment and instructions are provided.
Sample a Variety of Activities
You never know what you’ll like until you try it. Sample a variety of activities. My autistic adult son enjoys horseback riding, biking, hiking, sailing, bowling, golf, swimming, fitness classes and yoga. My autistic adult daughter loves curling, bowling, swimming, golf, biking, boxing, and Wii Fit workouts. When trying out new physical activities, include one or more from these 3 areas:
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