The Language Of Exercise: Movements Impact On Language Development

Participants will learn how exercise can play a role in developing language while improving social skills and academics and achieving a physically active lifestyle. This is an active workshop where participants will learn the visual, sensory and tactile supports necessary in implementing a structured exercise program. This workshop will help speech-language pathologists utilize components of exercise to create new intervention techniques while meeting the needs of their students. Participants will leran about exercises impacton on children and adults with autism. They will learn exercises role in daily living, physical and cognitive development. Participants will be active and immediately be able to use the exercises, techniques and activities with their children, students and/or clients.

Language Objectives

1. Participants will learn how to integrate exercises and activities into their lesson plan

2. Participants will be able to create activities to help improve expressive language within an exercise group

3. Participants will learn how to use receptive language through multistep direction activities.

4. Participants will learn receptive language activities to help a student understand their body

5. Participants will learn how to facilitate learning through action vocabularly.

Physical activity offers a variety of benefits for individuals with autism. Following moderate aerobic activity, childen with autism may experience increases in attention span, on-task behavior, and level of correct responding (Rosenthal-Malek & Mitchell, 1997). Physical activity programs for children with autism may promote approriate behaviors and improve cardiovascular endurance at the same time - two for one benefits. This information was taken form a case study and work done by John O'Connor, Ron French and Hester Henderson published in Palaestra; Volume 16, Issue3.

Exercise Objectives

1. Participants will be able to identify the Five Components of Physical Fitness for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

2. Participants will be able to create two activities using masking tape or chalk that can help improve gross & fine motor coordination and language development

3. Participants will learn the structure within an exercise program and how it can be altered

4. Participants will be able to identify the visual, sensory and tactile supports necessary when establishing an exercise program

5. Participants will learn how to break down exercises/movements to enhance segmenting and blending of sounds and words.

CEU Consideration 

This presentation was approved by the Illinois Speech-Language Hearing Association for .2 ASHA CEU's (professional area, introductory level) for the South Cook Speech-Language Hearing Association Presentation January 25, 2013. 

This presentation will use videos of clients from David Geslak's clientele demonstrating many exercises that show the improvement and motor planning and language development. 

Participants will not only be active during the presentation, they will also have the opportunity to work with their peers to share ideas and create better programming for the children and adults they serve.