Autistic Pride Day 2018: How can yoga help deal with autism?

Yoga, meditation and breathing exercises provide a healthy effective adjunct/ alternate treatment that can support both the child and the family.

Upneet Pansare | Updated: July 6, 2018 3:24 pm

Autistic Pride Day is observed on June 18

Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of the fastest growing developmental disorders in the world. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to an incurable mental disorder with a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. This condition, says Divya Kanchibhotla, meditation trainer and Director, Sri Sri Institute of Advanced Research, is present from early childhood and can be diagnosed as early as 18 months of age.

In India, a recent study suggests the prevalence of ASD is 23 children in 10,000. This is relatively much lower than the recent report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),USA which estimates that in USA, 1 in 59 children suffer from ASD, reporting a 15% increase from their last report.

Children with autism spectrum disorder face developmental and emotional challenges. The social stigma attached to the disease creates a barrier for people to seek help and to talk about it. ASD also comes with its share of comorbid conditions like epilepsy, mood disorders and attention deficiency syndrome. ASD is often characterised by emotional and social connected issues.

ASD has no cure, there are several treatment options available, including medication and therapy. Yoga, meditation and breathing exercises provide a healthy effective adjunct/ alternate treatment that can support both the child and the family.

Benefits of yoga
In addition to benefits typically associated with yoga such as increased strength, balance, coordination and flexibility, benefits such as increased social-emotional skills, language and communication, body awareness, self-regulation, focus and concentration and a reduction in anxiety, impulsive, obsessive, aggressive and self-stimulatory behaviors have also been noted. Yoga can help children with Improved social connectedness, reduced anxiety, improved body awareness and a positive sense of self.

How yoga helps Vagus nerve activation
One of the mechanisms of actions by which Yoga can help children with ASD is through Vagus Nerve Activation. Vagus Nerve is the longest cranial nerve that is the command center for Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). PNS is the part of the autonomic nervous system that regulates the process that we don’t regulate consciously. Vaga in Latin means to wander. This cranial nerve wanders around the body from the brain to our colon and helps regulate heart rate, speech, hearing, digestion, fertility amongst several important functions. Our ability to perceive someone’s tone of voice and emotional connect with the speaker is also dependent on a healthy Vagus Nerve.
Scientists are now exploring a connect between Vagus Nerve and ASD. Since Autism is a neurological disorder, they hypothesize that people with ASD have impaired functioning of Vagus Nerve which creates cognitive and social challenges. Several studies are now exploring the benefits of Vagus Nerve Stimulation in ASD and exploring the stimulation as an adjunct treatment.

Yoga has been shown to activate the Vagus Nerve. Several studies show the deep breathing, stretching and meditative components of Yoga practice stimulate the Vagus Nerve. When Vagus Nerve is healthy, it has a multifold effect on the mind-body complex: the release of oxytocin creates social bonding. The active PNS allows access to areas of higher cognition. It also creates a sense of calm and reduces anxiety.
A natural way of Vagus Nerve stimulation can be found in Yoga which can lead to improved quality of life and alleviated symptoms in individuals with ASD.

Divya Kanchibotla can reached on Twitter @divya_kanchi

Image source: Shutterstock

Published: June 18, 2018 9:42 am | Updated:July 6, 2018 3:24 pm

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