Caroline,
I enjoyed you article:
Autism and Martial Arts It came at a very good time for my 16 yr old son and I.
We actually decided to enter him into Tai Chi classes, because in addition to learning more about his body - this gave him breathing and meditation techniques. It forces him to slow down and think about things.
When a few months ago my mom discovered a karate class being taught by a local youth pastor, she mentioned it to my son - and he said he'd rather stick with the Tai Chi, he is enjoying it that much!
It is kind of funny, because he is the only teen in the class, the next youngest person is in his 30s, and the majority are in their 50-60s. Our instructor is 67 (although you would never guess it by looking at him - and I would definitely never want to try to match him in a fight!)
The only other martial art he is interested in is the Brazilian Capoeira - the dancing fight. He likes it, because it combines dance, gymnastics, and martial arts. But we can't find one near us. I must admit that it does look
really cool, though!