José Caro - Class Facilitator
Jose developed an interest in the field of autism in 2010 when coaching boys ages four and five for the Brampton Youth Soccer Club. He noticed that a participant was not responding to instruction, so he had to use multiple prompts to guide this child so he could successfully participate.
This experience motivated him to conduct as much research possible on what the diagnosis of autism actually is and increase his understanding on strengths and weaknesses that each individual may have. Simultaneously, this encouraged him to volunteer with an instructor therapist who works with individuals with autism and learn how to effectively work with this population.
Currently the Head Coach for the Humber College Women's varsity soccer team and a former student athlete for the Humber College men's varsity soccer team (2011-2015), with 12 years of experience working with the autism population providing in-home and virtual services.
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
Implementing a Physical Exercise Program for All Abilities
Many special needs educational programs do not provide structured physical fitness. Although adaptive physical education exists, normally these are offered by implementing “only sports” rather than “foundational movement”. As a result, those students participating from adaptive physical education do not develop adequate foundational skills.
Gross motor patterns allow for movements such as lifting, climbing, walking, standing, crawling and more complex activities. When these movement patterns become compromised, the brain and muscular units must spend more energy to complete all the demands necessary for any given task.
Physical exercise provides optimal cognitive functioning for neurotypical individuals; thus, this area of expertise has not been fully explored, adapted physical education for the autism population does help with inclusion and social interaction, however it requires a more structured approach for each individual need.
Originally developed by Eric Chessen @ Autism fitness, the PAC (Physical, Adaptive and Cognitive) profile assessment is a foundational tool that is applied by REDI Fitness, which can be implemented at gyms, schools/Adapted PE settings, recreation centers, therapeutic facilities, and in homes.
