Make a Difference – Autism and Martial Arts

Make a Difference – Autism and Martial Arts

By Bruce McCorry's Martial Arts

220 Newbury St

Peabody MA 01960

Phone: (978) 535-7878

Email:info@brucemccorrys.com

Web: www.brucemccorrys.com

Every April, autism awareness organizations across the world celebrate Autism Awareness Month, taking after UNESCO’s call to observe April 2 as World Autism Day. Through years, these initiatives have forced the world to take note of the significance of being aware of autism, and to initiate moves that help those who fall under the autistic spectrum in several ways. Today many know that the condition of autism should not in any way be the cause for stigma, and that it can be diagnosed early in life in order to make a considerable difference in treatment and results.

 In spite of these efforts, there is much more that can be done to make sure that those around us within the autistic spectrum gets to experience a markedly different life. Ongoing research shows that probably martial arts can be a great breakthrough that can greatly improve the quality of life of kids and adults who come under the autistic spectrum.

How Martial Arts Helps Autism: Discovering the Links

Although the symptoms vary when it comes to those with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), martial arts is an option that can address more than one conditions associated with ASD. There are three major ways in which training in martial arts can help those with ASD:

•       A significant aspect of ASD is difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication, often leading to difficulties in social interaction and emotional empathy. Commentators often note that that being part of a martial art circle often help those with autism to improve their skills of reading social and emotional cues.
•      What often marks those with ASD is stereotypy, the tendency to do repetitive movements in an obsessive manner. According to researchers like Emily Bremer and Fatimah Bahrami, learning an activity like martial arts that is often founded on repetitive and patterned movements could actually help the ASD symptoms such as compulsive movements.
•      Focus, control and balance—both physical and mental—are some of the aspects which people with ASD often find difficult to master. It has been shown that an act like martial arts which trains the learners to tune their focus and move their body in accordance could help those under the spectrum.

Putting Theory to Practice: Addressing Autism through Martial Arts

Bruce McCorry’s Academy (Peabody, MA), the long-standing martial art school with a legacy since 1978, has been invested in putting these martial art discoveries into practice through the several martial art sessions and programs organized for those with ASD over the years. Currently, the leading Special Needs program imbibes many of the current scholarship on autism, ADHD and similar conditions, trying to translate the findings into making a real difference. In the past years, several learners diagnosed under the autistic spectrum has undergone the martial art program at the academy, and have experienced the miracle martial arts can perform to their life. Many of them find it considerably easier to deal with everyday interactions, maintain focus, and improve social skills. Although it is never really possible to correct the symptoms of ASD once and for all, martial arts is the next best thing, as it works as a parallel to regular treatment but in an equally effective manner. This Autism Awareness Month, let us make a real difference by helping those with ASD to discover the path of martial arts.