Dancing. Swimming. Riding a bike. There are many gross motor skills that we take for granted as adults. Children have to learn the basics and slowly refine. For children with autism, sometimes even the fundamentals can pose a challenge. This is where autism therapy at Monarch House can play a big role in your child’s development.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can affect many areas of a child’s development, including behaviour, social communication, and physical abilities. There has been a great deal of focus given to the social and communication challenges that children with autism face, but the physical activities shouldn’t be overlooked. For children with neurodivergence, gross motor skills can also be significantly impacted. These are the activities that involve large muscle groups and body movements like walking, jumping, or climbing. Your child may struggle with balance, coordination, and strength, which can limit their ability to engage in typical physical activities. Fortunately, at Monarch House, we offer various therapies that can help improve these skills, contributing to a better quality of life and greater independence.

Here are ten ways therapy can enhance gross motor skills in children with autism in Waterloo.

1. Occupational Therapy (OT)

Therapy might start out as simply as having your child jump around, or run across the room with a professional present. Monarch House’s occupational therapists often work closely with your child to develop both fine and gross motor skills. While fine motor skills relate to smaller movements, such as using hands to thread a needle or shuffle some cards, gross motor activities like things like climbing, running, and jumping. Our occupational therapists and behavioural therapists make use of sensory-rich environments and exercises that focus on motor planning. From climbing obstacles to lifting small weights there are a series of routines and moves our therapists employ to help your child with autism develop better control over their large muscle movements.

2. Sensory Therapy

Sometimes it’s the feel of a surface, or the temperature of the room that acts as a barrier to motion. Sensory processing issues for children with autism are common. This can sometimes make it difficult for them to interpret and respond to sensory information like balance or spatial awareness. Sensory therapy helps by gradually acclimatizing your child to controlled sensory experiences that promote better motor skills and coordination. Some examples of this might include: swings, balance beams, and trampolines. Tools like these may be used to help children improve their ability to move and develop body awareness. 

3. Adaptive Physical Education

Traditional gym class isn’t for everyone. There are cases where children with autism may require specialized physical education programs customized to their unique needs. Monarch House can help you build an individualized education plan for your child that incorporates physical education as an area that requires some modifications in the program. Adaptive physical education can include activities that help your child build gross motor skills in a supportive and inclusive environment. One of our occupational or behavioural therapists can help put together a strategy that breaks down tasks into manageable steps. By focusing on individualized goals, children with autism can develop skills like running, jumping, and throwing in a way that matches their abilities.

4. Physical Therapy (PT)

At Monarch House, our behavioural therapists and occupational therapists can assess and treat gross motor difficulties in-house by building personalized exercises that target specific challenge areas. For example, we might work on routines that help to strengthen muscles, improve balance, or enhance coordination. For children with autism, PT might involve activities like balance beam exercises, obstacle courses, or core strengthening routines. These exercises help to improve foundational motor skills.

5. Aquatic Therapy

There are some recommendations that we have for your child that we don’t offer in the centre, but we can help you find. One of these examples is water-based therapy (or aquatic therapy). Movement therapy offers a unique way to build gross motor skills in children with autism. How it works is that the buoyancy of the water supports your child’s body. This makes it easier to perform movements like reaching, kicking, and balancing in a controlled way. The nature of water is that it also offers resistance. This drag helps to strengthen muscles, much like swimming does. Many children with autism find the sensory experience of water calming, which can improve focus and engagement in motor activities.

6. Equine Therapy (Horseback Riding)

Another therapy that we don’t offer at Monarch House, but we can help to set you up with is equine therapy (or therapeutic horseback riding). Animal assisted therapy for children with autism has been shown to improve gross motor skills in children with autism. Riding on a horse improves balance, coordination, and muscle tone. Being on horseback also requires a child to engage their core muscles and maintain balance. Overall, this leads to improvements in body awareness, posture, and overall motor control. On top of that, riding horses is fun and a great way for your child to bond with an animal.

7. Group Motor Skills Programs

At Monarch House we offer group programs for children with autism to participate in structured activities. Some of these programs are specifically designed to promote gross motor development. We might incorporate elements of sports, dance, or gym-based activities that encourage running, jumping, climbing, and other physical movements. The best part about a group setting is that it provides opportunities for social interaction. Working as a team, and with others they know can help build confidence and inspire motivation to participate in even more physical activities.

8. Play Therapy

A trip across the monkey bars can work wonders for gross motor skills. So can a whirl on the tire swing. Play therapy involves fun games and activities that incorporate your child’s body and mind. For children with autism, play therapy encourages the use of large muscle groups in natural, enjoyable ways. This might involve games that require running, jumping, or climbing at the adventure playground. Frozen tag or The Floor Is Lava are good examples of this. This playful approach allows children to practice motor skills in a casual way. It takes away the pressure that comes with rigid (and boring) structured exercise. At the end of the day, the idea of play therapy is to make sessions feel less like work and more like play.

9. Yoga And Mindfulness Exercises

Tell your kid you’re going to have them hold on to a downward facing dog. That’ll get their attention. Yoga and other mindfulness exercises are another great way that you can help your child with autism improve their gross motor skills. Holding poses enhances body awareness, improves flexibility, and is excellent for enhancing their ability to balance. At Monarch House, our occupational and behavioural therapists can help your child through guided poses and breathing exercises at our centre. Plus there are yoga workshops for children with autism to check out in Waterloo. Through stretching exercises, your child can practice motor planning and coordination in a calm and focused setting. Yoga also offers sensory regulation benefits, which can help your child better manage their physical movements as they go about their day.

10. Music and Movement Therapy

One of the most fun ways to improve strength, coordination and muscle tone is to simply bust a move. Music and movement therapy for children with autism combines the benefits of music with physical activities to enhance gross motor skills. Again, this isn’t a program that we offer directly at Monarch House, but we use components of the method in our behavioural and occupational therapy for children with autism. We can also set you up with places that the program is offered. Under this model, children with autism are encouraged to move in rhythm with the music, engaging in activities like marching, dancing, or clapping. This helps improve coordination, timing, and spatial awareness while also providing sensory input that can aid in motor development.

There is more than one way to improve your child’s physical abilities. Monarch House’s autism Waterloo centre has behavioural therapy, occupational therapy and a wide range of approaches to improve gross motor skills in your child with autism. Our therapists can help your child gain strength, coordination, and confidence by addressing the unique motor challenges they may face. There’s a positive domino effect that happens. Gradual improvements in gross motor skills lead to greater independence, which means more opportunities for play and social interaction. Ultimately, this means an overall improvement in your child’s quality of life.