The Benefits of Exercise on Improving Brain Function

Over the past 3 years, Marisa has become extremely interested in exercising to improve her appearance. She does weight lifting and circuit training by changing up her routine. She does an aerobic workout by running on the treadmill anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or she uses the elliptical or stepper. Other days she trains with WII Fit, yoga and pilates. She has numerous DVDs to help her in her routines when doing palates or yoga, and uses equipment at the gym that she doesn't have at home. I have watched her go from a flabby 30 pounds more than she is now, to a very fit and toned young lady. But that's not all I have seen change about her. Although Marisa's goal was to trim down and look as pretty as her older sisters, she has gained more positives than she bargained for. Marisa has become sharp in her thinking, more energetic and quick to get all jobs she engages in done, not just in a timely fashion, but ahead of schedule. I decided to check out any research that shows the benefits of exercise on the brain. What I discovered was not surprising at all, so I'm going to share it with you.

Tara Parker-Pope researches information on Health for The New York Times Well section. November 30, 2011 an article in the Well section by Gretchen Reynold, summarized some interesting findings by various research groups.

In a study done in 2011, scientists in Ireland asked a group of sedentary male college students to take part in a memory test followed by strenuous exercise. At first the group watched a rapid-fire lineup of photos with faces and names of strangers. Then the group was asked to recall as many names as they could by viewing the photos. Then half the group rode a stationary bicycle at an increasingly strenuous pace, while the other half sat for 30 minutes. When both groups again took the test, those who had exercised performed significantly better than they had initially.  Those who had rested for the 30 minutes did not show improvement.

Blood samples taken throughout the experiment offered a biological explanation for the improved performance. After the strenuous activity, the cyclists had much higher levels of a protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is known to promote the health of nerve cells. The Irish study suggests that the increases in BDNF prompted by exercise most likely played a role in improving memory and recall.

Other studies have shown similar conclusion. A study done by Brazilian scientists, using elderly rats found an increase of BDNF molecules in the rats who ran just 5 minutes a few days a week for 5 weeks.
This group of elderly rats then performed almost as well as much younger rats on rodent memory tests.

A similar animal study performed by researchers in the Brain Injury Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, and published in the journal Neuroscience, also showed increases in BDNF molecules among adult rats allowed to run at will for a week.

Another study involving aging human pilots was published in the journal Translational Psychiatry. Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine asked 144 experienced pilots between the ages of 40 and 65 to operate a cockpit simulator three separate times over the course of two years. For all, performance declined as the years passed. A similar decline with age is common in all of us. Dr. Ahmad Salehi, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford was a lead author of the study. He found that the decline was especially striking among one particular group of men. This group carried a common genetic variation that is believed to reduce BDNF activity in their brains. What was discovered is that the men with a genetic tendency toward lover BDNF levels seemed to lose their ability to perform complicated tasks at almost double the rate of the men without the variation.

Even though this study wasn't an exercise study, it makes us wonder if strenuous exercise could slow cognitive declines by raising BDNF levels, and help improve our ability to perform skilled tasks for a longer time into our senior years. Dr. Salehi points out, "Though other growth factors and body chemicals are 'upregulated' by exercise, BDNF holds the most promise. The one factor that shows the fastest, most consistent and greatest response is BDNF. It seems to be key to maintaining not just memory but skilled performance."

It was noted that Dr. Salehi plans to examine the exercise histories of the pilots, to see whether those with the gene variant respond differently to workouts.

In every study so far,  the evidence shows that physical activity will increase BDNF levels and improve cognitive health. If this doesn't have you convinced then check out the below benefits of exercise that are sure to jump start us all.

"Exercise is the single best thing you can do for your brain in terms of mood, memory, and learning," says Harvard Medical School psychiatrist John Ratey, author of the book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain."

Here are 7 benefits of exercise written up in US News and World Report by Deborah Kotz and Angela Haupt.

1. Exercise reverses the effects of stress, by increasing levels of soothing brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Exercise also will work on a cellular level to reverse stress's toll on our aging process, according to a 2010 study from the University of California in San Francisco.
2. Exercise lifts depression. Research suggests that burning off 350 calories three times a week through sustained, sweat-inducing activity can reduce symptoms of depression about as effectively as antidepressants. This may be because exercise appears to stimulate the growth of neurons in certain brain regions damaged by depression.
3. Exercise improves learning. It increases the level of brain chemicals called growth factors, which help make new brain cells and establish new connections between brain cells to help us learn. Activities like tennis and dance classes, which require more thought, provide the biggest brain boost.
4. Exercise builds self-esteem. Seeing fitness improvements like running a faster mile or lifting more weights than previously, can improve your body image.
5. Exercise leaves you feeling euphoric. Sprint bursts through interval training seems to be the most effective.
6. Exercise keeps the brain fit. "In a 2011 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Canadian researchers analyzed the energy expenditure and cognitive functioning of elderly adults over the course of two to five years. The most active participants scored significantly better on tests of cognitive function, and they showed the least amount of cognitive decline."
7. Exercise keeps Alzheimer's at bay. "The Alzheimer's Research Center touts exercise as one of the best weapons against the disease. Exercise appears to protect the hippocampus, which governs memory and spatial navigation, and is one of the first brain regions to succumb to Alzheimer's-related damage."

So keeping ourselves and our kids moving is a no brainer, but the trick will be finding those activities that are most enjoyable for each individual and making them part of our daily activities. That is the best we can do to make sure our brains stay healthy and at an optimal level. And for our special needs kids, this would provide every advantage toward improving their physical well being and bringing their cognitive ability up to their optimal level!

Helpful Supports for Parents of Children on the Autism Spectrum

Recently I received a comment from Healthism Blog, informing me that my blog was selected to be among a group of most inspiring blogs on autism. I was honored by this news!  Here is a link to the list of the blogs selected, that many of you might enjoy reviewing. Also, is a link to a post that will be helpful to parents preparing their children on the spectrum for a college experience. By the way, this is also good advice for parents of neuro-typical kids. And lastly, is a link to a post with tips from a teacher. This offers advice to those having students on the spectrum in their classroom.

http://blog.healthism.com/post/20520919101/parent-blogs-of-children-with-autism 

http://blog.healthism.com/post/20836865415/how-to-prepare-your-child-with-autism-for-college 

http://blog.healthism.com/post/20461553402/teachers-guide-for-children-with-autism

The French Toast Nightmare

Lately, I've been writing such wonderful little stories about Marisa. I'm almost left with feelings of guilt that I'm not writing so much about the difficulties I have with my daughter due to her autism. So here's a story that is a reminder that all is not always well and perfect in my house. Autism is very much still with Marisa, just under the surface, ready to spring forth at any moment when something isn't going quite as she would hope for.

Deep in an early morning sleep, I could hear a high pitched song. Then rapid phrases follow in a disguised voice from some past time. Then its repeated over and over. The high pitched song ... the rapid phrases ... the high pitched song ... the rapid phrases repeated again in that disguised voice that is not Marisa's sweet voice.  And I thought, It's happening!

I bolted upright out of the comfort of my dream with the realization that something had to be going terribly wrong in the kitchen. Marisa was up at the crack of dawn every morning, and always followed the same routine. She would dress and then come to the kitchen to prepare her breakfast. But every day is a different breakfast, and I knew that this day she prepared a french toast that wasn't quite right when she made it last night. Marisa wanted to prepare french toast following a recipe she found in one of her magazines. I was busy at the time, so I didn't get to see the ingredients she put together, but later when I looked at the large bowl of liquid she prepared to dip the toast in, I knew something was wrong.

"What's in here? It looks like too much liquid for just 2 pieces of bread?" I asked.

Marisa showed me the recipe, which I felt was strange, because there was 2/3 of a cup of milk for just one egg.

"I think it's a typographical error," I said, "but we'll try it and see how it turns out." I didn't want to disappoint Marisa or toss the ingredients and make her feel bad, so I let her put butter in the pan and proceed to fry the toast. It wasn't going well at all, but she persevered and managed to salvage the 2 slices of wet, soggy toast. I helped by scrubbing the pan clean.

So this morning I knew the toast was soggy, but it was already prepared. The only thing left to do was heat it up. HEAT IT UP!!!  OH NO! I knew what had happened before I even got to the kitchen. She had to have put the soggy french toast into the toaster instead of the microwave. Recently, I had told Marisa to warm waffles in the toaster instead of the microwave because the toaster would keep them crisp, whereas the microwave would make them soggy. Come to think of it, Marisa's idea of crisping the soggy french toast in the toaster was not such a bad idea at all! However she wasn't prepared for what would happen if she placed WET french toast in the toaster.

As I arrived in the kitchen, my biggest fear has been confirmed. The french toast was in the toaster. It fell to wet pieces, much of it sticking to the inside of the toaster. Marisa was doing an anger dance and gritting her teeth at me. Then she just started to scream at the top of her lungs ... a scream that was piercing and a reminder to me that Marisa was so disturbed by her spoiled french toast that she just couldn't handle it.

"I need to do it over!" she yelled in between screams and her continued crying.

"Okay, we will!" I answered. I knew that if we didn't do it over, her day would surely be a disaster from this point on. There was no settling for a bowl of cereal once she had her heart set on french toast. And why not redo the toast? It was only 7 AM and she didn't have to leave the house for work until 9:30. This was not a problem at all, and it even left room for a lesson in preparing easy french toast.

"All you need is an egg, a drop of milk and some vanilla. You don't even need a recipe, and you don't have to measure either," I said.

Together we made the new french toast, and Marisa went to work happy.

Later when she returned with her support staff, I mentioned how the day almost turned into a disaster.

"Oh she told us at work all about the french toast, and said she would NEVER make it again," Christina, Marisa's support staff informed me.

It was refreshing to hear that Marisa was able to talk about the french toast disaster, but I wasn't satisfied to learn that she felt bad enough to decide not to ever make french toast again. After all, we had redone it together and it turned out just fine!

"Marisa, there was an error in the recipe. It wasn't your fault. We all learn from our mistakes, so we can make corrections for next time."

And there will be a next time for Marisa to make french toast on her own. Only this time, I'll be right there to watch and make sure it's going well, so that the memory of the french toast nightmare will be erased and replaced with the knowledge that it can be done successfully. If we want our special needs children and young adults to learn and continue to grow, then the word never should not be an option.

A Wish Come True

Marisa's been pushing the limit on requests for special events. A few months ago she requested to see the show The Fantastics.

"Why do you want to see that particular show?" I had asked.

"Aaron Carter is in it!" was her quick reply.

I'm not too up on all the young celebrities, so I asked who he was.

"Oh, he's a singer and the younger brother of Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys."

Okay, so at least her urgency to see this show made more sense to me.

Shoshana, Marisa's older sister, purchased tickets for the four of us. Marisa was delighted!

"I have to get Aaron Carter's autograph!" she announced in an extra exuberant voice when she heard that we were actually going to see the show.

Oh no, I thought. She's going to be so disappointed when we don't hang out at the back door to the theater waiting in freezing temperatures for the stars to exit.

 "It would really be so hard to wait in crowds of people for an autograph. Who knows how long that will take?" I said.

"I don't care," was her quick response. She was so determined.

The special day had arrived. Delight and excitement was written all over Marisa's face. We arrived at the theater 30 minutes early. The Snapple Theater in NYC is a small theater. We were able to sit and wait in the lobby till the audience was able to enter. As we sat, Marisa grew more and more excited about the event and was talking about waiting for Aaron Carter's autograph after the performance. We kept telling her it was going to be difficult. Not willing to accept that, Marisa took the initiative to ask an usher how she could get an autograph. The usher told her that the stars would come out to the lobby to sign autographs after the show. Marisa was delighted and the rest of us were finally put at ease.

Wow, what a break! I thought.

The Fantastics turned out to be a very enjoyable show for all of us. At the end, we filed out in to the lobby to wait with other young people eager for an autograph.

Then the performers started to come out and Marisa waited second in line. She not only got Aaron Carter's autograph, but a hug and 2 pictures as well. She was thrilled! She also was able to ask other stars in the show for their autograph. So with much satisfaction we left the theater, happy that Marisa was able to have her wish come true.

Two days later, while Marisa was at work talking about her experience, she mentioned that she always wanted to see Big Time Rush. They actually performed at Radio City Music Hall the day that we saw The Fantasticks. Then Marisa found out that Big Time Rush was going to perform in August at Jones Beach Theater. Jones Beach Theater has a capacity of 15,000 seats with an additional 5000 general admission lawn seats.  Later that day, Marisa asked if we could attend.  Since this was a group that Marisa's been talking about for a couple of years, we considered it, and thought it would be fun to attend a performance at a summer outdoor theater. Then we decided to purchase tickets!

Marisa was so excited to hear the news, but there was just one problem!

"I'll need to get their autographs!"

"This time it won't be quite so easy to do," I said.

Will Marisa's wish come true, or will the size of the amphitheatre soften her desire when the time comes?

On a more positive note, this could turn out to be a good lesson in realistic expectations, a subject for another post in August.

A Moment to Shine!

Marisa loves to shop! Like women of all ages, she is fashion conscious. She loves to check out the websites of her favorite stores. She'll methodically search for a particular item she may have seen in one of her fashion magazines. Often she will head for the store branch nearest our home to see if she can find the item she is interested in.

I was with her on one of these excursions. Then, while waiting outside the fitting room at Delia's clothing store, I spotted a sign posted on the wall that sent my own heart racing with excitement. It was an opportunity to be a model for a day in a Delia's fashion show!

The sign read:


Seeking 20 girls to participate in a fashion show at Delia's. 
Sign up on January 24 between 3 PM and 8 PM. 
Show to take place February 11!
DJ and refreshments!


I stood there thinking about how this was a perfect opportunity for Marisa. I couldn't wait to show her the sign on the wall beside me! Once she read it, she was so excited that she exited the fitting room like someone who had just won the lottery! All eyes were on her as she stepped up to the cashier to ask about participating.

"I want to be in the fashion show! Can I sign up?"

We were told to come back on the designated sign up day, when 20 girls would have the chance to participate in one of 2 shows scheduled for February 11. Ten girls would be in the 1 PM show and 10 girls would be in the 4 PM show. Marisa left the mall ecstatic!

The next week we returned to sign up for the show. We were the first to arrive! We were given instructions about when to return to try on outfits for the show.

"I'm so excited to be in the fashion show!" Marisa announced to me as we left the store. "I can't wait!"

A week later we returned. Marisa was told that she could try on as many outfits as she wanted, but would need to select just one to wear for the fashion show. There was much to choose from, but Marisa only selected two party dresses. Off she went to try them on, and when she made her choice, I was not surprised to see that she had chosen a blue sequin dress to model for the show.

When the day of the show arrived, Marisa was feeling very upbeat. As we walked through the mall on the way to Delia's, she had the air of a celebrity about her. She wore an outfit that was clearly Rocker/Pop star ... a white sequin sweater over her worn and holey rhinestone jeans that she reserved for attending concerts and shows. Only today, she was feeling like the show was hers. Her entrance into  Delia's felt like the impact of Niagara Falls. "WOW! You look great in that outfit!" the manager said.

"Thanks!" Marisa's response expressed all the excitement of the upcoming event to take place.

Marisa was escorted to the dressing rooms where she changed in to the beautiful blue sequin party dress. She had her own dressy shoes to wear and was given a necklace and bracelet to accompany the dress.
As we waited, it was nice to see Marisa introducing herself to the other girls in the show. They stood around making small talk till it was time for the show to begin. It was nice to see this natural interaction between Marisa and the other girls who were all sharing the common bond of participating in the fashion show.

Then the DJ started to play and announced that the fashion show was about to begin. I left the dressing room area and headed out to the front of the store where my husband and daughter Deborah were waiting along with Marisa's support staff and a crowd of other parents and passerby shoppers. Each girl was introduced by name and a brief summary of their interests were mentioned as they walked out individually on the predetermined path to the front store window and then back to the dressing room. Marisa was the last one to come out, but she managed to walk gracefully with her head held high. Her smile showed all the pride and satisfaction she was feeling to be included in this fun modeling event. Then all the girls in the show came out as a group and stood modeling their outfits in the store window. It was clear to see how special they each felt!

As I stood there watching my daughter be a part of this fun event, I couldn't stop thinking how amazing this moment was. There was my daughter with autism, modeling among a group of neuro-typical girls. Was she different? Was she noticeably disabled? Did she stand apart from the others? Not at all! However, there was something about her that was very special. She was totally uninhibited to be standing there dancing to the music in the store window, while wearing the beautiful dress she had picked to model. I couldn't have been more pleased and more proud than I was at that moment. But one thing was clear to me.

This event gave Marisa a moment to shine, and that assured me there would be more to come!

Learning to Iron

About a month ago, I pulled out my ironing board and gathered all the items needing ironing. I really don't like this task, so I waited for a number of things to accumulate. Now the basket was full, and I could not put it off any longer. I surveyed the items in the basket to see what order I should attack the job. I started to gather Marisa's button down collared shirts. There were 3 no 4, 5, 6 ... 8 all together! Well, here's something Marisa should start to learn, I thought. For work days Marisa likes dressing in what she was taught were work appropriate clothes. Tailored pants and button-down collared shirts are her choice for work attire. The problem, however, is that I have been stuck with the job of ironing all those shirts. So the time had come to teach Marisa a new skill, but going about it was not going to be so easy. It would have to be a slow and cautious process.

"You really need to learn to iron your own shirts," I started to say. "If you're ever going to live on your own, I won't be there to do it for you," I added as incentive. "Next time you do your laundry, we'll work on that. Okay?"

"Okay!" was the reply. I wasn't sure if she was taking this seriously.

Days went by. Then I heard, "I'm ready to iron!" There was eagerness in her voice. I was not so eager to approach this task. It was going to be difficult, but her enthusiasm was so refreshing!

I pulled out the ironing board and then the iron. I explained how to turn on the iron, fill it with water for steam and adjust it to the proper temperature for the fabric being ironed. That in itself was a lesson and one to be repeated over and over again until she would be able to show me the steps on her own.

"Okay, now we're ready to begin!" I said. Step by step I explained how to tackle the tailored shirt, one of the most difficult items to iron. I ironed one shirt slowly as Marisa watched. I figured if she could learn this, then she could iron anything! First the collar, then each sleeve, turning to do the other side. I ironed the placket and around the buttons and then both sides leaving the back for last. It was a slow process, but after I did one shirt, Marisa started with the second. I showed her how to hold the item while staying clear of the iron. Watching her was awkward and slow, but like anything else, learning something new takes time. She managed, with a lot of help to get through with that one shirt. Then I did the rest. I didn't want to push too hard and discourage her. Even I didn't want to iron 6 more shirts!

We're going to be working on this skill for a while. So what if it takes a long time! I spent nearly 2 years helping her learn to unlock the front door.  It was worth the effort and learning to iron will be worth it too. Marisa will learn to have a freshly ironed shirt ready for work each day.

Just the other day I heard a call from the distance.

"I'm ready to iron now! Will you help me mom?"

What more can a mother ask for?

The Benefits of Being Gainfully Employed

Since Marisa graduated in June of 2011, she has joined a gym where she manages to work out a few times a week, participates in Special Olympics and is employed at 2 jobs that she enjoys immensely. Knowing that young people coming out of school are struggling to find jobs, it is truly a blessing that she is able to be gainfully and happily employed. But the best part about this is that having these jobs has boosted Marisa's confidence and self esteem. It has given her the chance to prove that she is a responsible young adult. She has shown me in numerous ways that she is quite capable of anything she puts her mind to.

For example, walking in to a store with the intention of purchasing a particular item, Marisa will go straight up to a sales associate, pull out a picture of the item she is looking for, and ask where it is in the store. Recently, Marisa's support staff Kathy, informed me that Marisa surprised her with a response to a sales associate in a store. The sales associate told Marisa there were no more of her requested item in stock. Marisa was not satisfied. Why? The sales associate hadn't even gone to look in the stock room. How could she know for sure? Marisa  immediately approached another sales associate and asked her the same question. This sales girl promptly went to check the back stockroom, and to Marisa's delight produced the requested item! How many of us would have been that persistent? We might have felt foolish to approach another sales person in the store. After all, the first one clearly stated that they were out of the item. Perhaps it was intuition on Marisa's part or just sensing that the first sales person couldn't care less or was too busy to help out. I can't be sure what Marisa was thinking. But there is one thing I do know for sure.

Marisa, being employed in a retail store, learned that the customer is supposed to be treated in a friendly, helpful manner. If all customers were treated the way the first sales associate had treated Marisa, the chances are the store would send the customers running. That is something she learned from being employed. She learned that a customer should always be treated courteously and given the time and attention they deserve. After all, without paying customers, the stores would go out of business.

Not only did Kathy notice this polite but persistent approach when out shopping with Marisa, but I noticed it as well. Marisa has become a patient and methodical shopper. If an item is not in stock, she will ask when it is going to come in again, and will check back with the store at the designated date.

I have also seen other benefits as a result of Marisa's employment. Just the other day I was headed in to my laundry room to take the bath towels out of the drier. But there they were, already folded neatly on the counter. How did that happen? When did I fold these? I have no memory of doing this, but they're folded exactly the way I would fold them! I thought. Then it occurred to me that perhaps Marisa had done it. I decided to ask.

"I folded them because I needed to put my laundry in the drier," she answered.

Why was I not surprised? Marisa had learned to fold clothing so perfectly while working in the clothing store. Of course she was able to fold the towels! It really had become no big deal. Where previously she would have asked me to remove my towels so she could use the drier, she realized it would be quicker and more efficient to just do it herself. Her goal was to get her job done, even if it meant doing some of my job.

Then the other day Marisa and I were preparing one of the new recipes she had given me. There were numerous steps involved in this Spicy Macaroni and Cheese recipe. It wasn't anything like my standard 5 ingredient macaroni and cheese that takes 5 minutes to throw together.

"You have a recreation program in an hour. There's no way you can get this done, eat it and get to the program in time," I said. "Would you like to skip this recipe and eat something quick?"

I expected Marisa to grit her teeth and do an anger dance to express the turmoil in her head. She usually could not accept having to choose between two activities, expecting that somehow she would have to do it all no matter if there wasn't enough time. There was silence now as she was thinking out this problem ... searching for a solution. I waited. Then ...

"I'll skip the program. I don't need to do a holiday craft," she replied. I looked at her as she busied herself at the stove.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "You could go a little late," I suggested.

"That's all right," she answered. "I'll work on the dinner instead."

Pleasantly surprised at the ease with which she made her decision, I thought about how mature she had become. Was it the responsibility of her jobs that had helped her? Was it the ability to problem solve that comes from being in a work environment or was this just normal maturation? I can't say for sure, but one thing is certain. Every working experience in life contributes to growth. Whether it is through a paying job or through volunteering for a worthy cause, there is an intrinsic reward for one's efforts. That reward is knowing that we are all able to be contributing members of the society in which we live. Realizing that in itself is a wonderful thing! May we all continue to learn, be happy and productive in the new year!