At Kidisthenics, we empower individuals with autism to overcome social, cognitive, and physical barriers through our high-intensity movement programs. By tailoring each session to the unique needs of our clients, we help build emotional strength, self-confidence, and critical life skills that enable greater independence and integration into their communities.
Our innovative approach blends Primitive Movement Training, Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI), Rhythmic Movement Training (RMT), and proprioceptive and vestibular stimulation with real-world social experiences. This holistic methodology not only enhances physical and cognitive development but also fosters emotional resilience, creating a foundation for meaningful growth across all areas of life.
Breaking Physical and Cognitive Barriers
Primitive Movement Training
During one-on-one sessions at Kidisthenics, movement specialists guide clients through customized exercises designed to address their unique needs. For example, a client with a retained Moro reflex—associated with heightened sensitivity to sensory input and adaptability challenges—might perform specific coordinated movements, such as crossing the right arm and leg over the left, then alternating with the left arm and leg crossing over the right. Known as the Moro reflex exercise, this activity targets the fight-or-flight response governed by the sympathetic nervous system.
Primitive reflexes, including the Moro reflex, emerge during the first year of life and form the foundation for early motor development and environmental interaction. For instance, the Moro reflex, which typically appears during the first 3-4 months of life, is an involuntary protective motor response triggered by sudden disruptions to balance or stimulation. A baby exhibiting this reflex will extend their arms outwards with palms up and thumbs flexed, then retract them toward their body, with elbows bent, before relaxing. Similarly, the palmar grasp reflex prompts a baby to grasp an object, like a parent’s finger, as an involuntary response to pressure placed on the palm.
As infants grow and continue to interact with their environment, these primitive reflexes provide essential sensory and motor feedback, activating the neural pathways that enable the development of voluntary movement. This process, known as “bottom-up projection,” builds a sensory-motor map of the world in the brain, paving the way for purposeful, goal-directed behaviors. By ages 3–6, the rapid development of the frontal lobe—the brain region responsible for impulse control—enables the inhibition of primitive reflexes, allowing for more complex motor patterns to emerge.
When primitive reflexes remain active beyond their typical developmental timeline, they are considered “retained primitive responses.” This disruption in progression impacts the development of voluntary reflexes, which are essential for higher-level learning and development. Retained primitive reflexes can impair movement and balance, making it difficult for a child to learn new skills, interact with others, and participate in daily activities. This places a child at risk for various social, academic, emotional and motor challenges..
Individuals with neurobehavioral conditions such as autism, ADHD, Tourette’s, and dyslexia often exhibit retained primitive reflexes, which are linked to delays in nervous system maturation. Common retained primitive reflexes in children with autism include the rooting reflex, palmar grasp reflex, asymmetric tonic neck reflex, spinal galant reflex, tonic labyrinthine reflex, landau reflex and the moro reflex. These retained reflexes can result in challenges like poor handwriting, difficulty with speech and articulation, poor balance, and limited visual-motor skills.
Kidisthenics addresses these challenges through an integrative approach combining Primitive Movement Training and Rhythmic Movement Training (RMT). Primitive movement exercises replicate the involuntary movements observed during early development, while RMT incorporates fluid, repetitive motions to enhance neural pathway development and support nervous system regulation. By tailoring interventions to each client’s specific needs, Kidisthenics helps clients reduce anxiety, improve adaptability, and overcome barriers associated with retained primitive reflexes. This holistic approach empowers clients to develop critical physical, cognitive, and emotional skills, fostering overall growth and well-being.
Proprioceptive Stimulation
Every session begins with what our movement specialists call “energy-release movements.” To prepare our clients for their guided workouts, specialists lead them through a resistance band warm-up that includes movements anywhere from overhead pull-aparts and chest pulls to simply plucking the band with their fingertips. These activities are not only effective for releasing anxious energy, enabling clients to follow directions and engage fully with their movement programs, but they are also deeply rooted in sensory input. These movements activate the proprioceptive system, providing essential feedback that supports sensory regulation and enhances body awareness.
Proprioception input provides the brain with essential information about the body’s position, movement, and spatial orientation. This input forms the foundational awareness necessary for the development of motor skills, as well as the muscle strength needed for precise and coordinated movements.
Individuals with autism often lean on their proprioceptive input to regulate their emotional and behavioral responses to sensory input. However, many possess an oversensitivity or under-responsiveness to proprioception.
When someone with ASD has an oversensitivity to proprioceptive input, they may find certain movements, body positions, or pressure overwhelming. This can lead to difficulties in regulating their movements and the force they exert, potentially resulting in an agitated or anxious response to proprioceptive input. In contrast, individuals with under-sensitivity to this input often have the opposite response. They may seek intense or repetitive movements, apply excessive pressure, or engage in self-stimulatory behaviors to obtain the sensory input they crave.
Our movement specialists are trained to address these tendencies and regulate and redirect a client’s emotions through sensory-engaging band work. For clients with oversensitivity, they are guided through more gradual resistance movements, such as chest pulls to overhead stretches. These exercises are designed to avoid overwhelming movements while still providing proprioceptive feedback to the arms and shoulders. Firm, deep pressure movements – such as stretching the band around the body in repetitions to mimic the feeling of a firm hug – help individuals with autism achieve a calmer, more alert state. This technique not only addresses oversensitivity but also provides a comforting, grounding sensation, which can significantly reduce anxiety and promote self-regulation.
Clients with an under-responsiveness to proprioception, who seek more intense sensory input, are led through more engaging and stimulating band exercises, such as band-resisted tug-of-war or resistance band crawling. These exercises help increase self-awareness of their body and movement.
By integrating these “energy-release movements” into our program, we adopt an MNRI approach to address neurological challenges through sensory integration. Our clients enhance their attention, awareness, and overall regulation of proprioceptive input, preparing them for subsequent movement exercises that stimulate the vestibular system.
Vestibular Stimulation Through Fitness
Once our clients have completed their primitive movements and energy-release band exercises, their vestibular system is primed and ready to be engaged and challenged through our high-intensity movement programs.
The vestibular system, which encompasses parts of the inner ear and brain, plays a crucial role in processing movement and providing information about the body’s position in space. It is essential for the development of motor skills, balance, posture, coordination, muscle tone, and an overall sense of safety and security for individuals with autism.
Dysfunction within the vestibular system is common in individuals with autism, leading to challenges in processing sensory information and potentially contributing to sensory integration and processing disorders. The most effective method for improving motor skills linked to the vestibular system is through movement. Sensory integration techniques, such as the band exercises used during our warm-ups, help increase attention and awareness while regulating sensory responses to vestibular stimulation. However, our high-intensity movement programs take this process to a deeper level, targeting the vestibular system in a more profound and comprehensive manner
When individuals with autism have dysfunction in the vestibular system, they may develop a fear of movement activities. Those with hypersensitivity to vestibular input may avoid ordinary activities, such as climbing, descending stairs, or walking on uneven surfaces. Conversely, those with hyposensitivity may seek out intense sensory experiences, such as body whirling, jumping, or spinning.
Tailored vestibular activities are a proven, effective intervention for vestibular stimming in individuals with autism. Our movement specialists are trained to guide our clients through physical activity in a structured, controlled manner, balancing accommodations for each client’s unique needs with challenge and encouragement. Prior to participating, our specialists consult with parents to identify triggers to avoid, ensuring that our clients can engage in physical activity in a safe, comfortable, and welcoming environment. This approach helps our clients develop a more regulated response to movement, expanding their comfortability and confidence in their physical abilities.
Programs such as basketball, kayaking, and football gradually progress through skills, building upon coordination and fitness in each session. While activities like running through ladder drills and throwing a football with our clients are enjoyable, they also provide direct stimulation for our clients’ vestibular systems. By progressing through different sports programs throughout the year, we continually challenge and push our clients toward growth, ensuring their vestibular system remains engaged through a wide variety of movements and environments.
Developing Social and Behavioral Skills
Building Connections Through Exercise and Social Outings
Cognitive challenges linked to ASD often include difficulties in neurocognitive functions, particularly executive functions, as well as deficits in social cognition.
Executive functions are high-level mental processes responsible for guiding behavior in dynamic environments. These include skills such as planning, mental flexibility, response initiation, impulse control, and the ability to inhibit inappropriate responses.
Research across 75 studies comparing social and non-social cognitive functioning in individuals with ASD and neurotypical adults revealed that individuals with ASD exhibit the greatest deficits in social cognition. These challenges are especially pronounced in areas such as theory of mind—the ability to understand that others have thoughts, beliefs, desires, and intentions different from one’s own—and emotional perception and processing. As for non-social cognition, verbal learning, reasoning, and problem-solving were found to be among the most impaired domains.
Studies indicate that adult mentorship for teens with ASD is effective in reducing social anxiety while fostering social connectedness and overall well-being. During our one-on-one sessions, movement specialists act as mentors to their clients, providing guidance on social etiquette and encouraging the development of problem-solving skills in real-time situations. For instance, if a basketball becomes stuck in a tree, the movement specialist does not provide the solution outright but guides the client through their options, presenting the pros and cons of each. Similarly, when a client exhibits inappropriate behavior, the specialist may prompt them to consider how their actions might affect others and encourage a more suitable choice. This approach fosters independence by guiding clients toward self-discovery and self-regulation rather than providing direct answers.
These skills are reinforced during our Group Sessions every Saturday, where clients participate in sports programs as a community, and through social outings in real-world settings. Unlike rigidly structured interactions, these sessions provide a natural, unregulated environment for social engagement. Movement specialists observe interactions rather than intervene directly, allowing clients to apply the skills they have practiced in one-on-one sessions. Any challenging social behaviors observed during group activities are addressed later during individualized sessions, where specialists work collaboratively with clients to develop appropriate responses. This differs from traditional methods, where social interactions are often overly structured and externally dictated. Our approach encourages genuine, self-driven social growth, strengthening key executive functions such as impulse control, response initiation, and behavioral regulation while addressing deficits in social cognition, including theory of mind and emotional processing.
Our social outings provide clients with opportunities to navigate real-world settings and build life skills in dynamic environments. Outings to destinations such as SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park immerse clients in bustling, stimulating environments where they can practice skills like navigating crowds, interacting with employees, and using a debit card. Movement specialists support clients by encouraging them to embrace new experiences and regulating overstimulation through movement-based exercises designed to alleviate anxiety. This combination of support and challenge helps clients build confidence and independence, empowering them to thrive in real-world situations.
A Unified Approach to Movement-Based Learning
At Kidisthenics, our holistic approach to movement-based learning addresses the complex interplay of physical, cognitive, and social challenges often faced by individuals with ASD. By integrating innovative techniques such as Primitive Movement Training, MNRI, RMT, and high-intensity fitness programs, we target foundational systems within the body to overcome barriers to growth.
Our programs extend beyond traditional exercise, incorporating targeted interventions to support neural development, regulate sensory input, and enhance motor skills. By activating the proprioceptive and vestibular systems through structured and purposeful movement, we empower our clients to build physical coordination, emotional regulation, and a sense of spatial awareness essential for navigating the world with confidence.
Equally vital is our focus on fostering social and behavioral skills through meaningful connections. From one-on-one mentorship to group sports and community outings, every aspect of our program is designed to create authentic opportunities for clients to apply their skills in dynamic, real-world settings. Our specialists encourage independence, guiding clients toward self-discovery while providing the support necessary to thrive in unfamiliar environments.
Kidisthenics bridges the gap between therapy, fitness, and real-world application, empowering individuals with ASD to lead more independent, fulfilling lives. Our unified approach ensures every client has the tools to grow, adapt, and succeed, both within their communities and beyond.
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