The Benefits of Bean Bag Chairs for Kids With Autism

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of disorders characterized by significant impairment in social interactions, communication difficulties and repetitive, compulsive behavior. Approximately 1 in 150 children in the United States are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, and symptoms can range from mild to severe. It is common for a child with an ASD to have an additional diagnosis of sensory integration dysfunction. This means that the child's brain doesn't process the sensory information it receives in a coherent, organized way. Therapy for autistic children with sensory processing difficulties often involves weight-bearing exercises and deep sensory input. For these kids, beanbag chairs are a low-cost therapeutic tool.

As a seating option, bean chairs help autistic children who have poor muscle tone, or hypotonia, which is a common problem with kids on the autism spectrum. Hypotonia isn't a medical disorder; rather, it's the name of the symptom resulting from any combination of neurological and muscle disorders that cause overall muscle weakness. Researchers are still looking into why kids on the autism spectrum often have hypotonia, but it is more challenging to address in children than adults by virtue of the fact that many weight-bearing exercises involve the use of adult-sized, overly heavy equipment.

Bean bag chairs have just enough weight to act as a weight-bearing exercise tool for kids on the spectrum. A child may use it for weight-lifting with his arms or legs. Additionally, because of the palpable inner components, a bean bag chair provides sensory feedback during weight-training exercises. Their flexible shape allows kids and therapists to shape and mold the chairs for whatever purpose they need.

Bean bag chairs help hypotonia in kids with autism in other ways. Many kids on the autism spectrum find it uncomfortable to sit in traditional chairs. The use of bean bag chairs in the home may provide kids on the autism spectrum with comfortable alternatives, since the chair molds itself to the child's body while providing the sensory feedback of its filler material. In an autism classroom, a teacher may use bean bag chairs for the students at least part of the day. Many kids on the spectrum find the sensory feedback of sitting in a bean bag chair very comforting. Best of all, they're easy to transport and lightweight enough so that even very young children can move them from room to room.

Two bean bag chairs used together can be a helpful therapeutic tool for kids on the spectrum. Many kids with autism find it comforting and calming to have their torsos surrounded by gentle sensory pressure. Some autistic kids like to sit on one bean bag chair while having a second bean bag chair placed across the torso. This gentle weight and the continuous sensory feedback can be very calming and relaxing for a child with autism, helping him to organize his thoughts and center his emotions. Bean bag chairs are more than just a comfortable option for children's furniture - for kids with autism, they can be an important therapeutic tool, too.

With the many features and benefits of beanbags, buying one which provides the comfort and affordability necessary to meet your needs is crucial. Comfy Sacks has bean bags in a wide variety of sizes and colors. Instead of being filled with beans, they are filled with a proprietary blend of shredded polyurethane foam. This guarantees that it will be soft, and durable for years to come.

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Sensory Integration Dysfunction and the Benefits of Taekwondo

The truth is that it began as a way to keep the 5 year old little brother occupied between the start of big sister's dance class and the end of her class. Because the front door of the TKD studio was literally four doors down from the front door of the dance studio it seemed like a good enough idea. We had no clue at the time that it would end up being the very best thing we could ever have done for our son.

As any parent knows, each child develops at a different rate and all children face their own special challenges. Some 5 years olds can read but can't hit a ball off the "T" to save themselves. Others can already ride a bicycle without training wheels but may not yet know their colors. You know what I mean. As a parent, the hope and the challenge is to coax improvement in the areas which are lacking so as to give them every advantage.

Rob's special challenge was physical which is now hard to believe when you see him do a 360 twist kick. By this I mean that he literally had no idea where his body was and had little control of it. Later we learned that the medical term for this is Sensory Integration Dysfunction. Contributing to this was another condition called Strabismus which is often referred to as "lazy eye" for which he eventually had corrective eye surgery. When he was a little guy and I got my final kiss good-night I routinely held up my arm in a blocking maneuver to protect myself from the head-butt which was sure to come because he was unable to accurately judge how much force was required to move his body a given distance. As he got older we used to tease him that we had "charmed" the floor in the kitchen (this was back when Harry Potter was all the rage) because it seemed as though every time he walked across it he would fall down. Often he would simply fall off his chair at the dinner table, sitting still was an impossibility.

Peer pressure can work for you or against you. When he saw that his classmates could stand still in a straight line he learned that he could exercise self-control too. When all his classmates were advancing to a higher rank he wanted to advance too and he learned that hard work and perseverance are rewarded. The constant and repetitive physical and mental demands of learning Forms and Sparring were exactly what he needed. Taekwondo is a snap shot of all the honorable aspects of life included all within a 45 minute class. Sometimes you succeed and sometimes you fail, but your personal integrity is what matters most. Did you try your hardest and do your best? Only you will know. Do you have the spirit to try it again? We have experienced the thrill of breaking the last board on the last try and advancing to the next belt level and we have experienced the utter agony of no-change.

My little guy is now almost as tall as I am and about to become a high school freshman. He is a good student and a hard worker, and he is a confident and courteous young man. Reality is that his opportunity to experience negative peer pressure is about to go up by a factor of a hundred, but I am extremely confident that he has the tools and the training to make the right choices thanks in no small part to Ms. Peck and all that she has taught on the way to developing a 3rd degree black belt and a junior instructor following the guidelines of Taekwondo America. His mother and I are very proud.

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