A research review by Michelle Rodgers (CUNY Queens College)
Authors: Morrissey, P.A., Franzini L.R. & Karen R.L.
Title: The Salutary Effects of Light Calisthenics and relaxation training on self-stimulation in the developmentally disabled
Citation: Morrissey, P.A., Franzini, L.R. & Karen R.L. (1992). The salutary effects of light calisthenics and relaxation training on self-stimulation in the developmentally disabled. Behavioral Residential Treatment ,7, 373-389.
Purpose of this study: The purpose of this study was to determine if light calisthenics and relaxation could decrease self-stimulatory behavior. Light calisthenics was defined as 15 minutes of exercise, such as running, and bending to touch toes from various positions, such as standing and sitting.
In addition to decreasing self-stimulatory behavior, the authors also wanted to determine if light calisthenics and relaxation could also improve attention to toy tasks.
Relaxation and calisthenics were possible replacements for self-stimulatory behaviors because they were believed to provide the same type of proprioceptive feedback the inappropriate behaviors were creating.
Participants: The participants were four males ranging in age from 8-13. These males were diagnosed with the following developmental disabilities:
chromosomal abnormality with microcephaly, spastic quadriplegia with seizure disorder, chromosomal abnormality and fetal alcohol syndrome and the final subject was diagnosed with autism.
Settings: The treatment took place in a basement room located within the residential facility.
Target behaviors: The target behaviors were an increase in attending-to-tasks, through toy play, and a decrease in self-stimulatory behaviors such as hand flapping, hand mouthing, and other self-abusive behaviors such as hitting head with knuckles and body slamming.
Procedure: After a baseline of these behaviors were recorded over 5 days, treatment began. During treatment, the participants were engaged in light calisthenics as mentioned above. During the relaxation interval, they were asked to tense and relax various parts of their bodies, such as their legs, then arms, and then their hands. Free time was considered the control condition and the residents could play with various toys that were present during attention-to-task activities. The treatment sessions and control condition lasted fro 15 minutes each. After the treatment sessions, data were collected for 10 minute intervals and directly followed treatment. During this interval, the subjects were asked to play with the toys in order to measure their time on task.
Results: The light calisthenics decreased self-stimulatory behavior in all four subjects while relaxation had an effect on three of the subjects. Four subjects showed an increase in task attending after the calisthenics and only three of the boys exhibited on-task behaviors after relaxation. The only downfall to these techniques was that the effects were short-lived. The behaviors decreased immediately after the treatment sessions but had increased again later in the day.
Implications: Light calisthenics and relaxation may be good techniques to employ prior to a learning session or activity to have the most dramatic effect in increased attention and decreased self-stimulatory behaviors. The authors had mentioned that if the exercise had been directly related to each subject’s self-stimulatory behavior, the replacement exercise may have been effective and long-lasting. However, in this study, each subject, regardless of their self-stimulatory behaviors, received the same treatment. It was also noted that the effects of treatment weren’t realized until a few days after treatment. It is believed this was due to the time involved in learning some of these exercises. It was not until the subjects were more fluent with the exercises that the effects were noticed. This was speculated to be related to the amount of proprioceptive feedback that would be gained with proper exercise formation. The authors also made mention of the fact that the relaxation techniques were more laborious on the staff members because they had to help these subjects get into various positions, whereas the calisthenics were more easily implemented and feasible for a larger group.
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Wednesday, February 6, 2008
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4 comments:
Hello Angela,
I just started a Yoga program with my students a few weeks ago. I hope to see similar results in my students. Was there any specific time period that the exercise was done during? Before specific activities?
Alyssa
In terms of time, the information I found was that the treatment was done in fifteen minute intervals. After the interval they had the students engage in some activity and measured the self-stimulation.
The article noted that by "late afternoon" the effects were no longer noticeable and self-stimming returned to baseline levels. So, I assume the study was conducted in the morning hours. They had to adhere to the scheduling at the residential home. That is the best information I could find from the article itself.
I would say you should try the yoga prior to an activity that requires a lot of attention. The exercise session should be about 15 minutes long (if following the study's time frame).
A few years ago as a preschool teacher for children with Autism and PDD, I introduced a program before our daily 1-hour ABA sessions: 15 minutes of "movement" (singing songs and moving to their instructions like the hokey pokey or following along on a similar kind of CD/tape OR a 6-step obstacle course that really allowed the kids to get moving and use their bodies) followed by a short tactile activity - sand table, bubbles in the water table, rice/beans/gravel, etc. I found that for most of the kids it was very settling and helped them to focus. It wasn't a controlled study, but on the days when the kids were out at therapy and missed the sensorimotor activities right before ABA time, they had more difficulty focusing and following programs during ABA. Glad I was on the right track...and I just started a similar thing with a child that I see at home. I hope to see good results.
As a teacher of preschool aged children, I find that movement and exercise is essential to the children's daily routine, growing and learning. In my opinion, having them move around a little bit (10-15 minutes) before lessons, is key to keeping them on task during the lesson and/or activity. I know on days when it rains, and the children cannot go outside for recess, they are exploding with energy inside the classroom. Often, I do an activity called "shaking our sillies out" before I am going to need the children to be focused for a 20 minute activity. Children have so much energy and they need periods of movement to let it all out. I find bean bag activities, and music and movement CDs really useful in my classroom. One thing that has always bothered me was that when a child is acting up, a teacher may cut down or even eliminate that child's recess time as a form of punishment. However, I have always felt that was a bad choice of punishment for a child with behavior problems. It is usually this child who requires recess time the most.
Jodi Charatan SPEDE 772
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