Studies show that one in 68 children are susceptible to developing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Baio, 2018) and this rate seems to be increasing every day. If we look at the figures historically, we see that in 1985, 1 in 2,500 children were diagnosed; in 2000, 1 in 150 children were diagnosed; and in 2008, the figure was 1 in 88. Today, it is thought that 1 in 68 children is born at risk of autism.
Many people with ASD experience chronic stress and anxiety. Similarly, studies have found that adults with ASD have three times the level of anxiety as adults who have intellectual disabilities. It has been observed that the higher the levels of anxiety and stress in adults with ASD, the less ability they have to cope with changes, strong sensory stimuli and/or unpleasant events.
There is evidence that Mindfulness training contributes to stress reduction, resulting in positive changes in people with ASD and their families. The practice of Mindfulness has a profound relevance to modern psychology. Hassed and Chambers argue that Mindfulness is "a mental discipline aimed at training attention."
Thus, Mindfulness turns out to be a scientifically proven practice that yields positive results in hospitals in many parts of the world today. When looking at the results of *MBSR Therapy applied in hospitals by John Kabat Zinn (Cachia, Renee L., Mindfulness and Autism Spectrum Disorder), a decrease in psychological distress, anxiety, depression, anger, rumination, cognitive dysfunction, post-traumatic avoidance symptoms, and medical symptoms was found.
People with autism (ASD) tend to have weaker muscle strength and endurance than their peers. Therefore, many of these people lack the physical abilities that the rest of the people possess. These skills include balance, coordination, visual-motor control and other mobility skills. In our project, yoga postures and “walking meditation” activities, applied through the method of imagination and storytelling that take into account the principles of mindfulness, aim to reduce the anxiety and anxiety levels of people with autism, as well as support and strengthen their physical competence.
In this project, aspects such as meditation, breathing work, deep relaxation techniques, activities that strengthen and develop body and inner awareness and yoga postures narrated with images, activities that are developed considering the principles of mindfulness, are going to be worked on with people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition, all this work will be shared with the youth workers of the project. Later on, in a joint manner, new activities and studies will be implemented. In order to achieve the goal we have set for ourselves with this project, firstly, through a presentation to the youth workers, we will explain what Mindfulness is and some of its basic concepts, we will share with them the mindfulness meditation and informal actions that they can use and practice for their daily life. Furthermore, by sharing their competence and motivation to regularly apply mindfulness practices, these will become a lifelong habit.
In this context, the main purpose of our project is to increase the capacity of institutions working with young people with autism spectrum disorder to develop their physical, socio-emotional skills of non-verbal communication and relationship maintenance. To achieve this goal, various activities such as Mindfulness, breathing awareness, movement awareness, different deep relaxation techniques, practicing physical yoga postures with imaginary stories and walking meditation will be carried out. And all these techniques will be taught and practiced with the youth workers.
In this sense, our objectives are the following:
- To increase the participants' knowledge about the problems experienced by people with autism in different countries and to think about solutions to these problems.
- To teach mindfulness, breathing awareness, movement awareness, deep relaxation techniques, yoga postures, in order to apply them to young people with autism spectrum disorder.
- To carry out activities that reduce the stress and anxiety levels of young people with autism spectrum disorder.
- To develop long-term collaborations between partner institutions for the solution of the problems of young people with autism spectrum disorder.