Autistic children can benefit from partaking in a yoga exercise program with the assistance of people who hold occupational therapy jobs, according to a published report.
Research performed by scientists at New York University indicated that "Get Ready To Learn," the 5-step exercise program for autistic students, proved to be helpful to their performance within the walls of the classroom, eMaxhealth reports, citing an article published in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
"We found that teachers' ratings of students who participated in the daily yoga routine showed improved behavior compared with teachers' ratings of students who did not," occupational therapy assistant professor Kristie Koenig said in a press release. "Our aim in this research was to examine the effectiveness of an occupational therapy yoga intervention. Our research indicates that a manualized systemic yoga program, implemented on a daily basis, can be brought to public school classrooms as an option for improving classroom behavior."
The yoga exercises that the autistic children perform serves to strengthen the connection between the mind and body.
The five steps are spreading out the mats, deep breathing, assume a pose, tensing and relaxing muscles and singing, eMaxhealth reports.