MINDFULNESS HELPS PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND ASD

Mindfulness meditation helps people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) reduce their mental and physical problems. 

That is the thrust of the research findings contained in a recently published eBook entitled A Mindfulness Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: New Directions in Research and Practice.

The book presents emerging research on the effectiveness of mindfulness methods in reducing behavioural problems associated with ASD in children and synthesizes current research and theories on the therapeutic uses of mindfulness, specifically for people living with developmental disabilities.

In addition, the book examines a promising new study in which mothers of children with ASD learn mindfulness techniques for their own use and are then trained to teach the methods to their children. The book concludes with a report of post-study findings and a discussion of practical and methodological issues regarding mindfulness interventions for ASD.

In short, mindfulness meditation has been shown to be effective for reducing aggression, both physical and verbal, as well as deviant sexual arousal, for quitting smoking and losing weight in people with ASD conditions, and for alleviating anxiety, depression, and stress-related physiological symptoms. These effects were either assessed against the condition of participants before their mindfulness training or individuals with similar disabilities who did not learn mindfulness.

eBook: Hwang, Yoon-Suk, and Patrick Kearney. A Mindfulness Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: New Directionsin Research and Practice. ISBN 978-3-319-18962-8. Springer. 3 September 2015. 150 pp.

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