Abstract
Research findings indicate that adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a high prevalence rate of anxiety (72-84%) (Lytle & Todd, 2009; Groden et al., 2005; Reaven et al., 2009), sensory processing difficulties (42-82%) (Pfeiffer, Koenig, Kinneraley, Shappard & Henderson, 2011) and are at risk for obesity due to lack of physical activity (Obrusnikova & Cavalier, 2010). Interventions for adolescents with ASD focus on specific deficits, such as, cognitive, social or academic deficits and rarely take a multidisciplinary approach (Kenny, 2002). The purpose of this project was to create a yoga curriculum for adolescents with ASD to teach coping strategies to alleviate stress, address sensory processing difficulties and promote physical activity. The literature review explored the benefits of yoga for typically developing children and adolescents and the efficacy of yoga programs for children and adolescents with ASD. Findings from this research demonstrate the potential benefits of yoga for adolescents with ASD in reducing stress (Goldberg, 2004); increasing attending skills and self- regulation skills (Behar, 2006); decreasing challenging behaviors and increasing ability to concentrate (Rosenblatt et al., 2011); increasing compliance behaviors and decreasing hyperactivity (Koenig, Buckley-Reen & Garg, 2012); and increasing imitation skills (Radhakrishna, 2010). Additional research pertaining to adolescents with ASD was explored in the areas of stress and anxiety, sensory processing difficulties and physical activity. The yoga curriculum contains nine comprehensive lessons that systematically teach adolescents with ASD breathing exercises and yoga poses for relaxation. Additionally, the concepts of feeling relaxed and anxious are define and explained. The yoga curriculum contains a variety of visual supports, including visual sentence strips to support adolescents with ASD to utilize breathing exercises and yoga poses. The curriculum also incorporates a variety of sensory activities and promotes independent yoga practice at home to increase physical activity.