by Totally Meditation on Leave a Comment

Benefits of Meditation in Asperger’s Syndrome

Asperger’s and Meditation: Why It Works

Asperger’s Syndrome Meditation.

One of the great things about the practice of meditation is that it’s experienced and felt so differently depending on the person practicing it. One person might only experience the emotional benefits – for example, having more self-esteem and self-confidence. Another might see a marked improvement in both mental strength and focus (mental) as well as decreased anxiety (emotional), for example. For someone with Asperger’s Syndrome, this is often the case. Here’s why:

Meditation can make it easier to handle life’s challenges.

Ask anyone with Asperger’s what structure and routine means and they are very likely to say it means almost everything. There is always a need to have a plan for the day so when something throws a wrench into that plan, it can be difficult to accept. Meditation makes it easier to stop and assess the situation and then move forward with a modified plan accordingly. This is because meditation naturally helps control the effect that life changes have on someone’s mental health by teaching the mind and body how to adapt to change.

Meditation helps reduce anxiety.

Ask anyone, whether with Asperger’s or without, what an anxiety attack feels like. The feeling of not being able to breath, of your heart racing, of your head pounding – it’s something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. For people with Asperger’s, general anxiety as well as anxiety attacks can be a frequent occurrence in their day. It often stems from their own thoughts about who they want themselves to be and the thoughts and opinions that bombard them as truths when they are actually just manifestations of the anxiety. This can be very frustrating as the individual believes they are not measuring up to their own (unrealistically) high standards or expectations. This thought pattern can easily cause them to lose touch with the present moment and spiral further into their anxiety.

Meditation can help turn this anxiety into calm by quieting the mind, changing the thought pattern about themselves, and allowing the person to just live in the moment instead of feeling anxious about the past or the future. Meditation helps improve one’s personal acceptance of who they are, as they are, which is huge for someone with Asperger’s.

Meditation makes it easier to make good decisions.

A calm mind is a clear mind and meditation makes that happen. With calmness comes the ability to think clearly about a situation rather than reacting quickly to it. When you think clearly about a situation, you naturally slow down and make the right decision, rather than making a decision that is not in yours, or the other person’s, best interest (which happens often for those with Asperger’s).

Meditation helps increase productivity.

When someone with Asperger’s is faced with a new situation, task, or environment, they often cope by procrastinating in order to avoid a fear of the unknown, and of what is going to happen next. Meditation encourages using the breath (or other technique) as an anchor to the present moment, thus keeping them in tune with the present. When you’re in tune with the present you are able to focus more effectively on tasks, even those that are unfamiliar.

To your inner peace – Anna

References

Carter, K. (2015, September 08). How Meditation Helps Me Manage My Asperger’s Syndrome.

Linderman, K. (2011, January 26). Asperger’s Syndrome in the Present Moment.

by Totally Meditation on Leave a Comment

Meditation Classes for Those with Aspergers: A guide for teachers

Tailoring Your Meditation Classes for Those with Aspergers Syndrome: A Resource for Teachers

Meditation classes for those with Aspergers sign Asperger’s Syndrome is traditionally regarded as a developmental issue and is classed as a ‘high functioning’ autism spectrum disorder. Some people, however, argue that Aspergers is not so much a disorder, but is in fact a different way of thinking where the emphasis is more on being creative rather than co-operative. Regardless of the definition and reasoning, there are often common characteristics that people with Aspergers exhibit, and an awareness of these along with strategies for catering for them in a meditation class will help your Asperger’s client to get the maximum benefit from your classes.

First and foremost don’t forget the importance of talking to people as individuals. Not everyone will have the same difficulties. Find out what your client hopes to achieve by learning to meditate and discuss what types of difficulties they have, (if any), with things like concentration, interacting with others, noise and smells. It’s possible that they may already know of a fix – they’ve had to deal with this all of their lives and of necessity have often become quite adept at tailoring solutions to help themselves get through situations that present problems. Letting them know that you’re aware of possible issues and that you’re open to working to resolve them can go a long way to allaying anxiety before your client even attends their first class.

The following are some of the more common traits that people can experience and some tips for dealing with them. Please keep in mind that everyone is an individual and as such may/may not require adjustments to classes.

Cognitive Aspects:

A lot of people with Aspergers find it easier to relate more to concrete concepts, as opposed to abstract ones. An example of this is an exercise involving visualisation: an instruction given to the class to imagine their body becoming lighter and lighter and floating up through the roof like a helium balloon may be impossible for someone with Aspergers to relate to because it’s just not possible for this to physically happen.

Having them focus on bodily sensations, however, such as their breathing and suggesting that they breathe away stress accompanied by an explanation of the way in which oxygenation of the brain allows for more clarity of thought, regulation of breathing and reduction of stress hormones may be just the thing they need to get them on the right track to successful meditation.

Ensure any meditation exercises you use are based on fact and reality, as opposed to abstract imagery.

Some people with Aspergers may be fearful of certain situations, so it’s important to find out how they feel about interacting in a group and whether they have any specific fears. Adjusting class numbers and altering the meditation room as necessary to accommodate these things will go a long way to making them feel more comfortable and creating an environment that’s more conducive to learning. In the example given above, they may have a fear of heights and a propensity to take things literally could have them focussed more on how scary the experience would be, rather than on the sensation of lightness.

Language Aspects:

Clients may be very literal. Your approach to this should go hand in hand with the discussion above about keeping concepts concrete, as opposed to abstract. Ensuring that you don’t include a lot of metaphors or similes in your speech will work to minimise any confusion.

Overstimulation

A lot of people who suffer from Aspergers become overstimulated very easily, resulting in heightened anxiety. Sources of hyperstimulation can include textures, sounds and smells. For this reason, it’s a good idea to ensure that the room in which you teach meditation has soft lighting, pleasing textures and that you don’t use any kind of perfume, incense or other scent that could prove irritating or distracting. Note external noise levels and when speaking, ensure that you’re making yourself heard above them. You don’t want your voice to blend in and have other sources of sound detracting from your instructions.

If you know someone who has Aspergers, you may like to ask them to give the room a once over to ensure that you can adjust for anything that isn’t apparent to you. Of course, this won’t ensure that everybody who crosses your threshold won’t have difficulties, however it may help the majority.

Try to follow the same routine in your classes as much as possible. Some people find it difficult to adjust to change, so when it’s necessary to cancel classes because of holidays or there’s a change of venue for some reason, make sure you give plenty of notice and reminders and let them know exactly what that means for them, as well as being prepared to discuss anything that might make it easier for them to accept. This will go a long way to decreasing their anxiety when the change actually takes place.

If you’re working 1:1, keep in mind that they may have difficulty maintaining eye contact and experience difficulties reading your body language or facial expressions. This is true for group interaction as well, so it pays to be aware of, and sensitive to, the needs of your clients and spell out group rules in a tactful manner that doesn’t make them feel singled out for attention.

Keeping the above suggestions in mind when catering to those with Aspergers will make the classes more enjoyable for everyone concerned, give them a sense of achievement and allow them to experience the benefits of regular meditation and mindfulness practice. In fact, it’s possible that they may get even more out of your classes because of the invaluable techniques that help to combat their increased anxiety and sensitivity.

Once again, I would like to thank the folks at Asperger Experts for the following quote they provided me when I contacted them:

Meditation and many forms of somatic experiencing are terrific ways to help the AS individual process out their sensations. Generally speaking, one has a tendency to resist internal/external stimulations without letting them process through as the body naturally wants to do. Sitting with one’s sensations and consciously processing them out in a comfortable, safe environment is a fantastic way to work through these challenges.

May your classes always be full of happy, mindful clients who are content and able to find peace whenever they feel the need.

If you would like more information and articles about this and other topics consider signing up for my newsletter in the right hand column:

by Totally Meditation on 2 Comments

Meditation and Aspergers Syndrome

Meditation and Aspergers Syndrome:
Modify Meditation to Suit Your Needs

Meditation and mindfulness. They’re important in today’s hectic world where we never seem to get a minute to enjoy peace and quiet and give our minds a rest. More and more studies are exploring and outlining the benefits of a mindfulness practice and of learning to be present in the moment. If you have Asperger’s syndrome, however, the thought of learning to meditate may be great in theory, but the actual logistics are enough to send your anxiety levels sky high. If you’ve ever attended a class or listened to a recorded meditation and found that you just didn’t ‘get’ it, it could very well be because the class or recording weren’t a good fit for you.

Use the following tips and you may discover you can learn to meditate successfully.

Distractability

Man with Asperger's trying to block out noise If you have trouble focusing on what other people are saying because of the intrusion of background noise or if you get distracted by little sounds that a lot of people easily disregard, then make sure you create a quiet, soothing, welcoming place for your meditation or mindfulness practice. If you can, lock the door, turn your phone off and meditate when others aren’t likely to disturb you. Be sure to let them know that you’d like some quiet time so that a housemate won’t turn their stereo up full blast in the middle of your practice!

If you’re attending a meditation class, it might be worthwhile to see if you can have a look at the venue first and note any difficulties that noise or tactile surfaces may present.

Talk to the teacher and ask how meditation is conducted (sitting or lying down) then physically sit in the chairs provided, if possible, or lay on the floor to get a feel for whether these surfaces are likely to help or hinder your focus on your meditation or mindfulness class.
Check to see what the maximum number of people allowed in the class is and see if there’s a quiet spot where you may be able to position yourself so that the movement of other students doesn’t impact your focus.
Don’t forget to check what kind of lighting the teacher uses and whether they use any kind of incense or other scent that may be a source of stress.
It’s okay to ask them straight up if they have any knowledge of Aspergers and if so, how they’ve adapted their classes to suit.

Language

Sometimes it’s what’s said that causes problems with paying attention in meditation classes or when listening to recorded sessions. If you prefer ‘concrete’ language, as opposed to metaphorical language, ensure that the teacher also uses this kind of style when teaching or guiding meditation.

A mindfulness exercise such as looking at your thumb, noting the length of your thumbnail, how wide your thumb is, its creases, pores, colour of the skin, etc., can be more effective at creating mindfulness than an exercise where the teacher asks you to imagine being a tree sending your roots down into the earth, for example.

If you’re considering attending classes and the teacher also offers recorded meditations, it may be worthwhile purchasing or borrowing one of these ahead of time to ensure that the language they use is easy to follow and relate to.

If you’re purchasing recorded exercises for use in your own home, check out the return and refund policy in case you find that these don’t suit your preferred learning style in terms of the language used.

Sensitivity to Noise

Even though this can be included under things that can be distracting, the importance of your meditation teacher’s vocal tone and the volume at which they speak is important enough to warrant a mention all on its own. You want to ensure that the way that they speak is in keeping with the meditation topic and loud enough to be easily heard above any background noise such as traffic outside, yet not too loud to be intrusive and prevent you from focusing on the important stuff.

One of the benefits of a recorded meditation is that you can control the volume to suit, however you still need to take into consideration whether there is background music and whether this will enhance or detract from your ability to focus on the exercises presented. Again, the teacher’s vocal tone will also play a role here.

While it can be a little more challenging for someone with Aspergers to learn meditation in the beginning, with the right adjustments to both environment and content, it becomes easier and easier to achieve success. The key is to arrange things in such a way that it facilitates your learning AND your meditation practice. For example, if you like a particular recording, but find the background music disturbing, you can write the meditation down and re-record it yourself without the music, or get someone else to do it for you.

Other Considerations

If you know other people who meditate or practice mindfulness ask them where they learned to meditate and then check out both the location and the teacher to see if they suit you.

Try approaching meditation resources from an analytical point of view before diving in. Check out whether things that can create anxiety and distraction are present and if they are, see if there are ways you can reduce or eliminate them. A good meditation teacher will be happy to discuss any foreseeable difficulties with you and consider ways to work around them, if possible.

The benefits of meditation are widely known and publicized. Learning how to:

Release anxiety and stress
Be fully present in the moment without worrying about the past or the future
Relaxing and learning to be more in command of your emotions
These things can benefit every single one of us.

Whether you’re considering attending meditation classes or learning from recordings at home, you may wish to combine the tips above with my meditation checklist to help you create the right environment and find the right teacher.

With your meditation space set up the way you like it and by attending classes where you feel comfortable and know that your needs are being met, you may be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to start enjoying the benefits that a regular meditation practice can bring!

I would like to thank the folks at Asperger Experts for the following quote they provided me when I contacted them: