If you or your children have dealt with any kind of developmental disorder and struggle to achieve a healthy balance in life, this news will come an assuring option. If you’ve been looking for a way to sustain calm and confidence, focus and ambition, while avoiding medication and doctors for a child with ADD, AD/HD, or an autism spectrum disorder, think dojo! You might think your child has to have a knack for participating in a martial art. Maybe he or she has tried and failed at other sports. You may be worried your child is simply too non-traditional to be successful at something thought to be rigorous or combative. Yet more and more testimony has been published about the benefits of martial arts in children with developmental disorders, especially AD/HD and autism. Martial arts are taught as a peaceful, structured way of life, one that holds no restrictions for background or health condition, and that is an enabler for children with practically any kind of condition. And if you do your research, you’ll find there are many martial arts schools and programs out there designed directly to coach and care for children with these special needs. In fact, based on the literature on it, martial arts are saving lives and enriching quality of them.

One of the shortcomings of martial arts application is that more research studies need to be conducted; however, a few doctors have stepped up to implement their own. One study is by New York Psychologist Dr. Matthew Morand in 2004. Morand’s study measured the effects of a Martial Arts Intervention Program on the academic and behavior performance of non-medicated boys with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). AD/HD is usually characterized by inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsive behaviors.

The study describes martial arts being different from other forms of physical activity in the effect they have on AD/HD children in that they offer:

- Systematic influence of Meditation, Rhythmic Breathing and Relaxation amounting to or simulating self-hypnosis

- Step-by-step repetitive movement instruction

- Multi-level personal attention and positive reinforcements

- Adherence to etiquette

- Constant group reinforcement

- Mutual help and encouragement

- Sense of Group Cohesion with shared goals and ideology

The study’s findings reveal:

“children who engage in martial arts […] improve in social behaviors, as martial arts are a socialization process that can become a socialization agent and a therapeutic activity. The novice martial artist acquires a new social identity, learns appropriate role behavior and conforms to expectations of the group through a process of interactions. New physical skills, values and beliefs are fostered through a regimented schedule of instruction, modeling, imitation, positive reinforcements and observation. The readjustment of social skills, meditation to clear ones mind to focus and physical exercise, may make for a multifaceted program to treat maladaptive behaviors found in children with AD/HD.”

It continues to affirm martial arts have an important affect on concentration. The martial art itself will teach the practitioner to focus, relax, communicate more effectively, become self-aware and integrate the mind and body. This fusion of skills aids in minimizing fear and anger while maximizing focus & concentration. It’s also worth noting that this study’s martial arts program was chosen as the intervention program because it uniquely employs a hybrid style of martial arts, one that includes the instruction of the forms of karate, jiu-jitsu and aikido.

Many parents have strategically enrolled their kids in a martial art because of the distinct improvement and development of children’s confidence, concentration and social skills. Dr. John Greany, assistant professor of physical therapy at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and father of an autistic son, conducted an extensive search on research literature yet didn’t find any studies directly relating to benefits of martial arts for autistic children. So in 2010, with the support of a LaCrosse martial arts dojo, Greany and a team conducted an 11-week study of six high functioning children with autism spectrum disorders. The autism spectrum disorder category includes autism, Asperger syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

Greany and his team’s research found improvements in the children in the following areas:

- Assertiveness and cooperation

- Social and play skills

- Balance (average time for one legged stand went from 9 to 19 seconds)

- Eye contact

- Decrease in negative behaviors like fighting.

Greany noticed improvements in balance, motor skills, coordination, attention and running in his own seven-year-old son who was a participant in the study. “These kids experienced […] the type of progress taken for granted by other kids,” said Greany to LaCrosse Tribune.

Other parents of participating children noticed specific improvements like calmness, willingness to engage in play time activities and balance and motor skills. One of the team’s graduate students noticed a growth in listening skills and respect for the instructor over the course of the study. Instructor and owner of the participating studio, Nicklaus Cornell, knew martial arts could help children with autism spectrum disorders because the art had been successful with children with AD/HD and other disabilities he had worked with.

Cornell says martial arts helps children communicate and talk more; “We help them with the ability to concentrate and focus their attention in a very structured way.”

A story published by the St. Petersburg Times in 2009 describes a story of how martial arts actually saved an autistic boy’s life. Here martial arts did what doctors couldn’t. In 2008, Hunter Oliver was a 7-year-old boy that weighed a mere 26 pounds. For Oliver, refusing to eat was a life threatening symptom of living with autism and epilepsy. A doctor told Oliver’s parents that if he didn’t gain weight, he’d need a feeding tube within a matter of months. Fifth-degree black belt in taekwondo and co-owner of Man-Son-Hing Martial Arts in St. Petersburg, Chris Man-Son-Hing wanted to help. Man-Son-Hing was confident martial arts would help Oliver even though Oliver’s parents were concerned the art would be too rigorous for their son.

The first thing Oliver learned was the importance of good nutrition. Oliver would become exhausted playing with the other children, and Man-Son-Hing would tell him the importance of eating regularly to keep up his strength. “He learned that if I eat my lunch, they can’t catch me,” Man-Son-Hing said. The approach worked; by September of the same year Oliver weighed in at 41 pounds and had grown a whole dress size.

“He’s much more self-confident,” Man-Son-Hing said for the article. “If there is something he cannot do, he’ll still try it anyway.”

“Just last year, I was still putting a fork in his mouth,” Tonya Oliver told the Times. “Now, he won’t let me do it. He feeds himself.”

Cathy Zenko, coordinator of education and training for the University of Florida Center for Autism and Related Disabilities said Hunter’s case shows the benefits of exercise for autistic children. Zenko explained that in addition to improved motor skills, training in sports [like a martial art] can be a confidence booster for anyone, but especially kids with autism.

Zenko affirmed that teakwondo is very disciplined and told the Times, “children with autism love structure and routine.”

Martial arts organizations across the country have been created and designed to address these two very disorders. In fact, they have also been developed to provide therapy for children and students with illnesses like cerebral palsy, sickle cell anemia, chronic asthma, heart conditions, and even cancer. Some even teach the blind and deaf. One such organization is Martial Arts Therapy (martialartstherapy.org), a program created and headed by former police officer, teacher, principal and social worker, Rabbi Sensei Gary Moskowitz in Brooklyn. According to their website, Martial Arts Therapy helps children fighting cancer and with illnesses and disorders through pain management, physical rehabilitation skills and deep relaxation techniques. The program uses an eclectic approach that combines several forms of martial arts, modern medicine, religion, and psychology. It is a virtual combat practice that offers the skills and confidence of martial arts to even the frailest child.

Their site reports, “Martial Arts Therapy has been recognized by doctors as a form of complimentary medicine, providing a vast spectrum of benefits.”

This organization is particularly organized and supported. Martial Arts Therapy is backed by a board of advisors from a spectrum of related professions including martial arts instructors, medical doctors, psychologist, yoga experts, a nutritionist, pastoral counselors, education consultants and a social worker.

Testimonials from medical professionals for the organization include Dr. Daniel C. Korman, M.D. of Eastern Island Medical Care P.C ,who asserted, “In fact, several medical doctors have recognized his technique as a form of complimentary medicine. The Rabbi was hailed by the Long Island Jewish Hospital’s Pediatric Oncology Department, where they brought their staff of medical doctors, social workers, and psychologists down to observe his counseling and therapeutic program.”

Mental Health Counselor, Dr. Michael Meir, M.D., Ph.D. of Health Information Technology is quoted on the site affirming, “I believe Rabbi Gary Moskowitz’ foremost contribution to the field of mental health is his innovative work with kids with cancer and other disease. He uses various components of the martial arts to train his students in behavior management techniques so they can cope with fear, anger, anxiety, guilt, shame, sadness, envy, jealousy, and pain as a result of their illness. He also trains medical personal and other health professionals in these techniques.”

With a motto of: Education, Energy, and Empowerment, this martial arts approach is a prime example of how the arts are used for healing over combat skills.

Another specialized program just north of Detroit in Windsor, Ontario is Art Mason’s Peaceful Warriors Martial Arts Institute. Grand Master Art Mason has high level degree black belts in four martial arts, has been teaching martial arts to children who have ADD and ADHD for 25 years and his three schools specialize in working specifically with children and adults who have the disorders. Master Mason writes on the organization’s site, thepeacefulwarriors.org, that the first step to helping a child with ADD or AD/HD is to improve the child’s confidence and that with proper motivation and hard work, many children will not require medication. According to the website, the program offers the products of grade improvements, leadership skills, increased physical aptitude and fitness, mental development and high energy outlets.

Representative of the notion that martial arts is outreaching to and being taken up by a diverse background of students, i.e. nontraditional, the institute’s mission statement articulates that they “thrive to provide instruction in the martial arts to all individuals willing to learn.” Unique to this organization is that its site also offers a blog written by Master Mason specific to caring for children with ADD and AD/HD with highlighted information on martial arts and the disorders. Encouragement to research the arts’ affect on the disorder is evident in the incorporated blog, newsletter, student website and links throughout the organization’s site that provide insight and testimonies of the benefits of martial arts on children with the special need.

Yet another well established organization is Mixed Martial Arts for Autism at the Simmler Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts. MMA for Autism receives its funding and support from the Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts, which serves as a support, information and referral service for children and families affected by autism spectrum disorders. The program is also supported by Austism Radio and Grappling Autism. According to their website, part of MMA for Autism’s mission is to “enhance the social skills, body awareness, motor development and executive functioning of our students.”

MMA4a.org cites that their program helps students develop social skills, cultivate friendships, improve self-control, refine and strengthen motor functions, and build confidence. The program also uses a multidisciplinary approach and fun, skilled orientated stations, each presenting a new challenge students learn to meet and exceed. Their cite explains they break down big goals into smaller, more attainable steps and that they develop story boards to provide visual support for those who learn best that way.

Acording to dojolocator.com, California and Texas are the top two states in the nation with the most listed martial arts schools. And though some schools are specifically advertised for teaching special needs children, it’s likely that you’ll find that many dojos and instructors have experience working with special needs students and welcome students of all backgrounds. Such is the case at Xcalibur Martial Arts in San Antonio, TX where 3^rd degree karate black belt Nelson Nathaniel has been teaching students kindergarten age old through adulthood for over ten years. Having students simply call him coach, Nathaniel has been working with special needs students for at least five years, and their special needs have included ADD, AD/HD, the deaf, the spinal handicapped, and dwarfed conditions. Nathanial explained in an interview with TotalVid that Excalibur’s instructors offer one on one, personal attention to special needs students; they still complete their sessions with the rest of their class, but they are given an additional outlet to burn extra energy or hone in on instruction.

“I make sure they understand what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. You break down every factor of what they do and what it means for them to do it,” said Nathaniel. He adds of ways of learning, “Some kids learn visually. Some audibly. Some by actually doing the movement. If we offer them three or four different ways of actually practicing the movements, they’ll learn better.”

Nathaniel described improvements specifically of his ADD and AD/HD students to be improvements in grades, an increase in participation, an establishment of focus, a development of ambition, and assumption of leadership roles. According to Nathaniel, one of his ADD students was a C level student when he joined and always had trouble paying attention. After time in the program, the student is now an A-B student.

“When they come in it’s a constant thing to get them to pay attention. But it’s just consistency with them. You keep seeing improvements.” He further commented on those students, “They’re the first to raise their hands now. They want to be the leaders. They want the other kids to follow them.”

Nathaniel also notices how his special needs students’ self confidence and interests in other things grow. His students start showing interest in participating in other sports and wanting to compete in competitions.

“They have direction, a mission. They’re starting to set goals, and you need to know how to do that in life.”

What’s most compelling about his conviction of martial arts helping special needs is that Nathaniel knows how it feels to grow up different; he also dealt with ADD as a child.

“I remember when I was a kid thinking – I’m not like other people. I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t sit still!” Though not clinically diagnosed, Nathaniel knew he was dealing with some condition. His ahah moment came when he was nineteen and received his first black belt. “It wasn’t until I received my black belt that I realized I had had a problem. People kept telling me ADD. I had seen how much I had changed over four years [it to me to master the art].”

Like many other martial artists will tell you, Nathaniel is a strong advocate of how martial arts way of life teach you to harness spirit and energy. The idea is to learn how to draw upon the spirit and effectively direct your energy to teach you how to heal yourself.

“Martial arts train the spirit, and that’s something doctors can’t train. …If you really research the history of martial arts, you’ll find that ancient martial artists were really doctors, and they had to know the breakdown of the body and how it could be affected.

Further support for martial arts as therapy and alternative treatment for AD/HD children comes from an essay that has been referenced and linked to dozens of martial arts and health websites entitled “An Awesome Alternative to Drugs: Martial Arts Practice As Treatment For Children With AD/HD”. In it, Dr. Abida Ripley asserts:

“The training works to change the AD/HD behavior from destructive to creative/positive not by blocking it or fighting it, but by first accepting that it is there, and then making it work for the child (Hobbs, 1995). Martial arts training thus has the potential to effect this positive transformation on each of the basic triad of AD/HD symptoms: impulsivity, distractibility, and hyperactivity.”

She later states, “As students’ concentration improves, so does their self-control. Learning self control is an important tenet of many martial arts philosophies and disciplines, and it is the fundamental challenge facing AD/HD individuals. In the martial arts, the children learn to control their bodies, and to control their emotions and reactions.”

Another article also sourced my multiple martial arts websites entitled “Attention Deficit Disorder in the Dojang”, by psychologist Diana H. Dunlap, Ph.D. offers a three part perspective by a school psychologist, a taekwando instructor and a mother of an ADD child. Dunlap writes:

“Increasingly, more and more professionals engaged in the treatment of children diagnosed with ADD or ADHD are recommending that these children become involved in a martial arts program. For many children with Attention Deficit Disorder, the dojang provides ideal place to increase attention span, decrease distraction, develop motor and behavioral control, improve self-esteem, and build positive peer relationships. As a Certified School Psychologist, I have frequently recommended taekwondo instruction for ADD children. As a taekwondo instructor, I have seen ADD children make tremendous strides in their ability to sustain attention and control behavior. Finally, as the mother of an ADD child, I have seen the impact that taekwondo instruction can have on attentional and behavioral concerns on the home front.”

So be inspired. Participating in a martial art grants special needs children access to skills on focusing, directing their energy, facing their fears, becoming more confident, becoming ambitious, learning to exceed under pressure, learning respect, becoming more social, being a team player, becoming more invested, and yes, gain self defense skills. They physically can become more balanced, more fit, and more self and health aware. If the frustration or meltdowns gets you down, do your research. Ask the doctors. Ask the martial arts professionals. Or you could even ask your neighbor. Chances are, you know someone that has a special need and has benefited from martial arts. When you think you’ve tried everything else and want to avoid the doctor’s office, remember: Think dojo!