Hiking and Autism

[keepinitsimple]

Just thought I would throw it out there. Anyone hike with Autism? Be it your own, or a family/friend. I realize the spectrum covers many disorders, with a multitude of concerns. I have my 6 y/o out in the woods from time to time. He loves it and asks to go frequently. It's good for him. I think it helps him focus. Any thoughts? Experience?

[Gray Blazer]

With my music ed experiences, I have often worked with Autistic children. You are right-a wide spectrum from normal appearance to head hanging down and drooling.

I brought my woodwinds to an alternative school and they brought the autistic kids to see/hear me. Apparently the teachers would watch TV/etc all day and let the kids cut pictures out of magazines all day (IOW they had no interaction with the kids). Imagine the teachers and aids shock when I asked the kids what animal was the flute in Peter and the Wolf and the kid with his hanging down and drooling answered quickly "the bird".

Again they were shocked as heLL when he answered the the clarinet was the cat and that there was no saxophone in the story.

The point is keep doing stuff with the kids as if they are normal cuz in some ways they are prolly more advanced than the rest of us and have a closer relationship with the Creator than most of us. God Bless you and your family.

This is prolly one of the longest posts on WB I have ever written. Peace out.

[Water Rat]

Just thought I would throw it out there. Anyone hike with Autism? Be it your own, or a family/friend. I realize the spectrum covers many disorders, with a multitude of concerns. I have my 6 y/o out in the woods from time to time. He loves it and asks to go frequently. It's good for him. I think it helps him focus. Any thoughts? Experience?

My 12 yr old nephew is autistic... I believe the school likes to use the word "functioning" to define him. I think he functions just fine... He just has a different way of doing things. :) He hates schoolwork (funny, I think that is "normal" for a lot of kids) and doing classroom structured activities in a group setting, so he often gets agitated in the classroom.

The teachers are now using my nephew's two loves (helicopter history/knowledge and the piano...writing his own music, as well as playing the piano) as a way to redirect him when he gets agitated. Instead of fighting the autism, they are working with it. Everyone has different ways of doing things and different things they love... If nature is something your son enjoys - Embrace it! Take him out hiking - Odds are good that it calms him and does help him focus. I'll bet before long, he will be teaching you new things about the woods and the things he loves. :)

I think it is wonderful that your son has a love for the outdoors and it is something you both will be able to share! That will give you common ground.

[Alligator]

An interesting story recently about how looking at the stars helped a boy with autism.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/autistic-teen-working-astrophysics-phd/story?id=19283078#.UajMW0qOWKI

[Cyngbaeld]

My daughter has Heller's Syndrome. Before she lost so much ground we would camp and hike quite a bit and she seemed to enjoy it. She has gone from low normal IQ to profoundly disabled though. I won't be bringing her on the thru hike.

[Slo-go'en]

A few years ago, I met a woman who was attempting to start a thru-hike with three of her childern who all had varring degrees of autistic problems. It was a nightmare. Took them all day to cover 2 miles. I don't belive she had prepped the kids in any way before the hike, which no doubt was a big mistake. Need less to say, it was a very short thru-hike attempt.

Since he like to be in the woods, day hikes or even an overnighter would not be unreasonable. A much longer trip might not be such a good idea, but you know the capability of your child and we don't.

[fizz3499]

I take my 11 year old grandson hiking and he has autism. His autism is on the severe side and he requires medication to help control his aggression. He loves hiking but I have to keep the hikes short and the routes varied in order to help him stay focused. I would never consider taking him on longer hikes because it would just be over whelming for him. I think with any medical condition we have to take things on a case by case bases and see what works for that individual.