Autism Therapy: posture

definition of posture: not yet defined.

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School-to-Work Transition and Asperger Syndrome
Work, by Higgins, KK, Koch LC, Boughfman EM, and Viersta C., published in 2008, summarized Mar 13, 2009

A transition treatment team that looks closely at the weaknesses and strengths of a person with Asperger's Syndrome may be able to help in the school-to-work transition.

Youth with Asperger Syndrome are at great risk of not having jobs. People with Asperger Syndrome are often smart, but they may lack the social skills and language usage skills required to hold a job. These skills may include eye contact, body posture, and gestures. People with Asperger's may come across as loners and not have a network of friends to rely upon to find a job. The authors of this paper look at Asperger Syndrome and issues that people with Asperger Syndrome may have as they move from school to work.


Brief Report: Perception of Body Posture – What Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Might be Missing
J Autism Dev Disord, by Reed, CL, Beall PM, Stone VE, Kopelioff L., Pulham DJ, and Hepburn SL, published in 2007, summarized Jan 30, 2008

People with autism should be taught how to read body posture and facial expressions.

People with autism seem to have trouble seeing facial emotions and body posture. This study looked to see whether adults with autism have problems with understanding photos of houses and faces and bodies that are upside down. The authors found that adults with autism have trouble reading emotions from faces that are upside down. They had even more problems, however, reading body posture when photos of bodies were shown to them upside down. The authors suggest that people with autism may need therapy that focuses on body postures and not just facial expressions.


Curing Dyslexia and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by Training Motor Co-ordination: Miracle or Myth?
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, by Bishop, DVM, published in 2007, summarized Oct 1, 2007

Dore therapy has not been shown to help autism.

Dore Achievement Centers offer a costly, drug free therapy for autism and other issues. People who offer Dore therapy may claim that there is research saying that Dore therapy works. Research studies on Dore therapy are very poor and do not include children with autism. There is also no research to support the tests (vestibular and postural) given at the Dore Achievement Centres. The author suggests that doctors counsel parents that there is no research to support Dore therapy.


Underdevelopment of the Postural Control System in Autism
Neurology, by Minshew, NJ, Sung K., Jones BL, and Furman JM, published in 2004, summarized Sep 25, 2006

This paper describes how poor balance may be an early symptom of the poor sensory integration seen in children with autism.

Previous research has demonstrated that children with autism have difficulty maintaining an upright balance when their eyes were closed. Some scientists believe that poor balance is a result of incomplete development of the connectivity between the different brain structures that receive different sensory information. This article reports the results of a study designed to determine if children with autism have poor balance and how that balance develops with age. The results indicate that children with autism had poorer balance than other children. Moreover, children with autism were delayed in developing a sense of balance and their sense of balance never achieved typical adult levels.


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All Arts are at the Focus of the Creative Therapies Program

Jan 18, 2012

Creative Therapies is a program for kids with autism and other special needs that provides dance and art therapies. Creative Therapies is a joint venture between Pinckneyville Park Community Center and Spectrum in the Norcross Georgia area. Recreation Leader Kim Gerlach believes that the combination of dance and art will lead to better self-esteem and improve social skills. Dance can help with posture and can calm as well as stimulate youngsters. The art therapy will include clay, drawing and painting, and pottery.

Read original article: New Program Uses Art, Dance as Therapy


Chiropractor Develops Maximum Potential Program to Help Kids on the Autism Spectrum

Sep 16, 2011

Dr. Richard Kelly, a Bridgehampton chiropractor, has developed a therapy program to help children on the autism spectrum. Maximum Potential works to strengthen the brain so that kids might have improved social and focal behavior. The therapy focuses on sensory and cognitive exercises that combine “postural and spinal adjustments, aerobic and hand-eye coordination exercises and reflex activity.” Kelly calls Maximum Potential less a treatment, but rather a regiment, which includes nutrition and exercise in addition to the adjustments. Maximum Potential begins with an assessment and then adds an individual plan of exercises combining aerobics with eye-hand coordination.

Read original article: Bridgehampton Chriopractor's Autism Therapy Yields Success


Strengthening Gait is a Hippotherapy Program Helping Children with Autism and Other Disabilities

Oct 4, 2010

Strengthening Gait, in Wyoming, provides hippotherapy for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. It began in June when a couple of moms heard a lecture by Deborah Lapinski, an adult with autism, who said she had always communicated better with animals than with people. The children attend two hippotherapy sessions a week, and along with riding the horses, they learn to groom them and talk to them. The kids are also expected to do therapy in addition to the actual riding. For example, they must warm up themselves and their horses prior to riding, they learn balance and sensory integration skills. One mom says, “I just know what it does for kids. Hippotherapy is an absolutely amazing type of therapy for any kid with special needs, but especially those with posture issues and some sensory integration issues.”

Read original article: Douglas Program Uses Horses to Help Children


Morning Dove Therapeutic Riding Provides Hippo Therapy for Kids with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities

Jun 23, 2010

Morning Dove Therapeutic Riding in Indiana allows children with autism and other developmental disabilities to experience horseback riding. Hippo therapy utilizes the movement of a horse to help children learn proper balance, posture, and muscle control. Director Lisa Condes has plans for the center to expand, increasing the arena size and adding classrooms for physical and occupational therapy. Morning Dove currently has PT and OT volunteers from St. Vincent Pediatric Rehabilitation Services and a client waiting list for therapy.

Read original article: Horse Power Propels Therapy at Morning Dove


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Responding to relationship development intervention (RDI)

Jan 6, 2012 by Anonymous

I am a parent of an 18 yr. old young man with ASD who we have been doing RDI with for the past 3 years. Once we began the program his life and ours changed. He now initiates conversation with us - true conversation, with give and take, perspective sharing, observations are related and my interests considered. He is much more other-focused and considerate. Outbursts and anti-social behaviors have been significantly decreased. Our household is so much more calm and life normalized. His ability to make study us during communication (total body language - faces, posture, tone - not just the words said) and approrpriately respond and interpret this non-verbal aspect of language is really imporved and remarked upon by family/friends and teachers. He is able to do this on his own, no prompting, no scripting - it is becoming "normal" and happening as expected. We are completely satisfied with this program and while costly, it has delivered the results where others haven't. It really changed his life. I work in Special Olympics and have a control group to compare him and this intervention against as a result. His progress compared against his peers (same age/ school experiences/ but different interventions) is significantly better. We very much look forward to how far he can go.



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    • Synonyms for posture include: postural
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