Karate classes for SPD/PDD kids?

[amandanmv]

DS has been diagnosed with SPD by his OT. My SIL is also an OT and ABA and works with autistic children daily. She and I both believe he has more issues besides the SPD. We have an appointment with a new pediatrician (who has an autistic son that my SIL treats) on Friday of this coming week!

I was going to put DS in soccer with the rec department this year for the physical activity (he's sensory seeking and constantly active) but he didn't meet the age requirement. So, I thought about karate. My girls were enrolled in karate for a while a few years ago (I was working out of town and it became difficult to get them to class on time so we dropped out) but DS would be using the same instructor.

He's 4..will be 5 in January. Is there any positives that would/could come out of enrolling him in karate. He has a difficult time staying on task and is very impulsive. I'm not sure the instructor would be able to get him to focus long, but I'm willing to try if it might be a good activity for him.

Anyone have input on this?

[5gifts]

Judo was a better fit for my oldest when he was young. They took 4 yo then. We tried both, but judo is much more active - karate is more standing in place. Judo was like gymnastics, martial arts & wrestling wrapped into one. Wish they had it where we live now - my 5yo NEEDS it. I need to get him in the wrestling club....

[amandanmv]

I don't think they offer Judo here. I live in a small town and there's only 1 instructor. We don't even have access to gymnastics unless I want to drive 30 minutes or more to the next town. I work full time so that's not an option for us.

[Linda on the move]

You can always try and see what happens.

For my DD (whose dx was PDD for a long time) swimming was the best activity.

I think that any activity that a child enjoys is really good. Martial arts work on body awareness as well as self control, so if he can participate in it OK, it could have theraputic value for him (in my very non-expert opinion!)

[khaoskat]

I am in Karate with several younger kids ages 4-6. A few of them are high energy/maintenance kids, and our instructor works wonders with them.

I have seen a huge transformation in the last couple of months with one of them, and all does is either not allow the child to participate in a favorite thing we are doing if he is acting out. I would say we have about 2 or 3 spectrumy kids in the class or very energetic. In general they are not really a distraction and do not require a lot of maintenance. We the students also try to help with gentle reminders and explenations of things to them (like why even though we are sitting at the wall and not actively doing the activity, we still have to watch so that one who is doesn't get to close and accidentally fall on us).

I will say that my son who has sensory issues will not stay in the class for long, it is too loud for him and the smell of sweat bothers him.

[tankgirl73]

My son started karate at age 5. We didn't fully know it at the time but he's ADHD, SPD, and Aspie.

The first year or so was not great... he had lots of behaviour problems in the class. But he did enjoy it a lot. The instructor was GREAT -- dealt with the high-energy kids beautifully. Never judgmental and never putting them down, just laying down the rules and there were consequences if you didn't follow them... but they were not unreasonable consequences, nothing shaming. Just trying to help them stay focussed. And lots and LOTS of positive reinforcement and discussions.

Of course ALL kids at that age have difficulty with focus! But there were 2 or 3 in each class who would just start running around the room randomly when they were supposed to be standing at attention, for instance. My son was never one of the ones who STARTED running, but as soon as someone else did, he would FOLLOW them.

Anyway, we had lots of frustrating times the first couple of years before he started to get into the groove. Then when he was 9, he got his junior black belt!

If we were to do it over again, I might have waited another year before starting him in the classes. And how much difference it made in the rest of his life... ??? Hard to say, really. But at the very least, if it didn't directly improve his abilities to focus and be respectful, it gave him a great physical outlet for his energy.

So much depends on the school and the teacher. After moving across the country when he was 10, we couldn't find a karate school here that fit our schedule, so we tried Tae Kwon Do. There was enough overlap in techniques that they let him keep his black belt and he just had to brush up on the terminology and the lower-belt forms.

Well, it ended up being a disaster, but not because of my son's behaviour. The teacher was VERY much into drilling little soldiers, and his consequences were all about shaming. "You're acting like a little girl!" was a common one, for instance, if a child wasn't "tough" enough. We had a really bad experience with some terrible bullying at a summer camp, and when I confronted the instructor, he actually said that my son was the problem, for not being tough enough to put up with it, and that I was over-mothering him. That was the last straw and we left there.

So... it can't hurt to give it a try. If he acts up at first, give it at least a few weeks, see how the instructor deals with it. Odds are, they're very used to it and can give you a good idea of whether it's best for him to wait another year or keep going. But also make sure you're comfortable with the instruction methods. I really, really wish we could still go to classes with our former school, the instructor was just amazing... tough but sweet, strong but fair, gentle and kind but powerful. He rocked and he was a great mentor for my son.

[yllek]

Ds6 has been doing aikido for about a year now. We love that its framework is non-competitive and non-violent, but there is a lot of awareness of others, self-control, focus, communication, honoring one's own boundaries.... Yes, these skills are very present in the program, even for the four-year-olds! It's wonderful!

The activities are very fun and game-oriented with lots of cooperative skills. The self-defense aspects are a bonus, but very much a huge part of the program.

I agree with other posters that any martial arts experience is going to depend on the school and the teacher. Ds is an SPD kid with low tone, low register, poor motor planning, etc. Aikido has been awesome for him.