How do you ensure your child with severe learning difficulties/severe autism gets enough exercise?

[gess]

I was pondering this yesterday. I went with one of my direct payments girls to a local park. She looked after the younger 2 whilst I glued myself to ds1. He doesn't really use the equipment much these days- prefers to run around a field and up to houses and into gardens (given half a chance). Left alone he is extremely fast, which means that he really can't be more than a foot away from me, because with a head start he'll outrun me (roads/cars/private property problems etc). All of which means he needs to go at my speed, which is getting slower each year

I can't think what to do with him. If he didn't have autism I'm sure he'd be playing football or rugby or something, or cycling or whatever, but that's not going to happen. I'd like to do some moor walking perhaps but he often refuses to go in certain directions so it all becomes a scrap and a nightmare and we never seem to get a good walk in. How can I let him run off all that energy? I feel a bit like I'm caging him. Has anyone found a solution for this sort of problem (daft asking today I know as Davros is away, so I may have to bump!)

[gess]

We have a trampoline btw but he's not all that interested in using it - he will but only for half a minute at a time. He prefers to jump down flights of stairs

[saintmaybe]

Trampoline for us, best buy ever.

[tibni]

Hi, my little lad bounces all the time! Exhausting just watching him.

Organised exercise he goes swimming to a ASD swimming group every Sunday and horse riding on a Saturday.

We (royal "we" here as it will be hubbys job as I take daughter to ballet) is going to start him in SN athletics group. DS is severe ASD and a runner but they assure me they will cope (hubby will stay)

Local to us the Wacky warehouse runs a SN session on a Sunday and they do not have the height restrictions applying.

We also have a SN adventure playground about 30 miles away but I haven't made it there yet

[gess]

He does donkey riding at school and I'll take him once a month to the Saturday club from now on. He loves soft play but is just to unmanageable without special arrangements (i.e. no other children and two adults)He just won't bounce on the trampoline anymore.

tibni- does your ds understand the concept of athletics? There's nothing like that here, but I don't think he'd understand at all- they had a mini marathon at school last week (yearly event) and he was a complete nightmare- just kept running off to look over fences. No idea or interest that he was meant to be doing the same as everyone else. What do they do at the club?

[gess]

DS1 does go swimming as well, but doesn't understand about swimming iyswim. just sits in the pool or tries to run off to look under doors. I've tried taking 2 of us to teach him, and try and physically promt him through the swimming motions, so he understands thatyou can do more than just sit in the water but he still doesn't get it. He loves it- but gets no exercise at all from it iyswim.

[tibni]

Hi Gess,

No he doesn't have a clue about racing, winning or losing but he loves to run. We are hoping that it could be productive to channel his running and make it a little more controlled. I understand the group has children with differing abilities and even compete in cross country! With 1-1 support of course LOL

Haven't taken him yet and it may or may not work out.

DS has got so fast both hubby and I joined the gym to keep up with him. People think we are joking but it actually limits who he can go out with!

We bought a trampoline too but it only gets limited use. He will jump on the bed all day!

[mymatemax]

gess i have a cousin with autism & when he was young his mum arranged with a local farmer to let him loose in the fields. Every couple of weks she would just turn up with him (& a flask) & let him run around. A couple of times the farmer had to get a tractor out & chase him as he went a little too far but mostly she could keep him in sight.
this was all many years ago before sn groups etc.

[gess]

He has a bike with stabilisers, but he tends to peddle a little way then leap off and run, so whoever is with him then has to get him and the bike back and it's physically impossible.

I'm just back from taking him out and need a stiff drink.

He can't swim- loves water, loves the pool, but has zero concept of actually swimming, so just sits in it.

[tibni]

DS has dance in his mainstream school which he loves. I know, however, that he wouldn't manage to access an after school dance class.
He does attempt to copy the moves on Fun Song Factory Video or on his own in front of a mirror.

One of my DS best exercise comes from running around chasing his sister (round and round the table) when she is in her gym leotard (he has a thing for velvet! LOL)

DS also loves bouncy castles more than trampolines but we haven't got a big enough garden to keep one of them in!

[gess]

Fio he makes me walk around the pool every time we go - we walk around it then sit in it and watch the divers then go. I thought he might get it and realise there was more to swimming when he learned to imitate last year, but alas no- an imitation step too far. We've tried phsycially prompting him (2 adults to him) but still no comprehension. He swims every week with school as well, but they have the same problem.

[gess]

Yep, and looks at the water overflowing iykwim.

[gess]

He's not scared of the water, he loves it- I think he just hasn't realised that he's not swimming (lack of imitation skills showing).

[Otter]

i had a boydriend for many years whose brother was severely autistic
part of the day each day involved dragging ( and sometimes my boyfriend did drag) J round and about various Co Tyrone beauty spots
the bigger the hills the better
J was still very overweight as he had an issue with food ( it all had to be locked up - plus you had to watch your own dinner lol))
It was very hard work for all concerned

[nannynick]

Depending on age (often need to be 9 years+) indoor rock climbing takes a lot of energy. Climbing centre's tend to have a taster session so you can see if it is something he will/won't do. Will need 1:1 care while attending the centre... does dh like climbing?

Swimming - I find the leisure pools better than the traditional pools, more things to look at and play on.

tibni - don't suppose that adventure playground is the one in Maidenhead is it? If so I joined their email list a while back but have had nothing from them... any idea when it is open?

[tibni]

The adventure playground I was referring to was the North Staffordshire one. There is also a SN adventure playground in Cannock that we have been to a few years back but I wasn't over impressed with. The North Staffs one is more established I understand where as the Cannock one started to accept local NT children.

Maybe will try North Staffs over summer holidays.

[gess]

I've thought about arranging ASD climbing sessions for the NAS where everyone has a set time. Anything that involves any waiting at all is completely impossible atm. The problem with taking him is that he has 2 younger siblings. To do something like climbing with ds1 would I think need 2:1 at the moment and then someone else to look after the other 2.

Otter- that sounds like us on Dartmoor. The trouble is I really can't physically handle him anymore alone if he refuses something - and he refuses a lot. It's a real worry tbh.

[MrsWho]

We have a gym at our school and the treadmill seems to be popular with some of our kids with ASD. I don't suppose you know any one with one? We used to have special sessions at the public one before we got it.Other wise our PE sessions tend top be swimming, team games, walking , canoeing, and then stuf like curling/boccia which aren't very energetic (all depends on physical ability of course)

[Pixel]

Gess, are you anywhere near Bideford? We always make a trip over to the Milky Way adventure park when we stay at Porlock, even though it's a couple of hours drive. The reason is the indoor 'soft' play area is huge and built so that adults can go on it and ds adores the big slide with mats. We usually avoid that kind of thing when it involves paying 'per go' and queuing because of the trauma of making ds wait each time and then getting him away before he wants to stop. At the Milky Way we are all happy because he can just go on the slide non-stop all afternoon if he wants to and he gets plenty of exercise climbing the steps. Mind you, I get plenty of exercise as well because he won't go down by himself and I have to sit on the mat with him on my lap but I don't mind because it's just nice to be able to do something fun with both my children for a change (dd sits in the next lane and we have races).

[tobysmumkent]

Message withdrawn

[gess]

Thanks for the ideas- he likes the noodle things- but then just floats! He really doesn;t seem to understand about kicking legs. Soft play is good, but Bideford too far to go regularlyIt has to be quiet as well or it just gets too scarey (he gets lost as I can't keen up). I think team games are out as is something like canoeing - although perhaps kayacking with 2 (I would worry about a paddy/unpredicatbility though - what if he decided to just get out??).

There isn't anywhere here that can offer high enough supervision- the SN stuff is aimed at access mainstream with a support worker (usually with limited experience). That's just not appropriate or safe for ds1- he needs a much more specialist environment.

[Saker]

You have my sympathy - Dh and I were just talking about Ds2 putting on too much weight (he's not exactly the slimmest child anyway and very fond of his food). He is reasonably compliant and will stay with us so we can go for walks, soft play etc, but doesn't have the stamina/motor skills to last very long and burn up many calories..

Would your Ds1 ride on a tagalong bike, if you could find some way of strapping him on so he didn't get off halfway. Then at least you would be in charge of which direction you were going in.