martial arts in place of cbt

[pr40]

Recent post on CBT made me think about this:

 

we tried cbt and had some success. hubner's book was more helpful in forming a strategy BUT both failled in creating a habit. For habit forming -- learning how to control oneself -- martial arts were, by far, most successful.

ds started when 6 and 1/2. he was in a flare at the time.

after a year, we have a little jedi.

there is no talk ever about fighting and violence. martial arts is about self-defense and, by and large, movement. if you have no experience, think of it as a form of dance choreographe.

i would recommend it over CBT anytime

[JoyBop]

We tried it and it was a major fail. He loved it when he was well but in a flare he is so dis-regulated, uncoordinated and injury prone. Then he gets really embarrassed by his clumsiness, and feels awful about himself and refuses to go back.

 

Every child is so different when it comes to PANDAS symptoms and even treatments that they respond to. CBT has been great in some ways and has given him skills and strategies to cope. But when he's in an all out flare nothing helps. Also, it's very hard to find the right therapist. We went through 5 before finding the right one that has helped our family in so many ways.

Edited May 6, 2015 by joybop

[pr40]

i should clarify:

our ds has been in a flare when he started kung fu BUT the flares that he had at that time, indeed has now, are not as bad as they were at the beginning three years ago. we could not have gone to martial arts or anything else for that matter when he was in those awful early flares.

 

the flare he had when he started MA was the kind of flare during which he would have gone to school, i.e. he is difficult but manageable, not impossible.

 

I am very sorry to hear about your ds, Joybop.

[dasu]

Thank you for the suggestion. We sat in on a martial arts class a couple months ago and the kids didn't like all of the yelling. It may be time to re-visit as they are doing better now.

 

We have heard that OCD can be useful quality when harnessed. Said another way our kids need to find an activity that is engaging, productive, non-destructive. We are still on the hunt for that, which is probably even harder as they are 6 & 7. In our last flare it was 24/7 games on the ipad, that fails the productive test. They can get into math and numbers, so thats been useful. One family we know with PANDAS does music and music composition; but my kids arent so interested in music as yet. They are getting into soccer and baseball, which has been good.

[JoyBop]

Thank you PR40.

 

Glad you found the right activity for your child. I think finding the right instructor is as important for that matter. I know many children with adhd that MA had done wonders for.

 

Right now I can't get my child to do anything. He won't even get out of the car for soccer, which he loves. And normally he loved bike riding but is now driving off the trail, hitting trees, crying and panicking over the site of any flying insect. What a mess.

Edited May 6, 2015 by joybop

[pr40]

Thank you for the suggestion. We sat in on a martial arts class a couple months ago and the kids didn't like all of the yelling. It may be time to re-visit as they are doing better now.

 

We have heard that OCD can be useful quality when harnessed. Said another way our kids need to find an activity that is engaging, productive, non-destructive. We are still on the hunt for that, which is probably even harder as they are 6 & 7. In our last flare it was 24/7 games on the ipad, that fails the productive test. They can get into math and numbers, so thats been useful. One family we know with PANDAS does music and music composition; but my kids arent so interested in music as yet. They are getting into soccer and baseball, which has been good.

hi, dasu, our ds was 6 when he started, is 7 now. we started with a very small class of the same age. only two other kids. that made it possible for ds to join in rather easily. our local kung fu is a part of Steven de Masco's chain. they start young kids in small groups on purpose. ds "progressed" to a bigger group only when he was ready to handle all the noise and crowd.

check out other martial arts facilities. some of them seem to be able to handle "special" kids like ours

[pr40]

"Right now I can't get my child to do anything. He won't even get out of the car for soccer, which he loves. And normally he loved bike riding but is now driving off the trail, hitting trees, crying and panicking over the site of any flying insect. What a mess."

 

I know what you are talking about. Indeed, when a child is in such an exacerbation, calming him down is all you can do.

It may be that our ds is in general improving but it is also possible that his martial arts skills have helped him handle the anxiety. Just went yesterday for our first mountain bike ride of the year. He didn't like it bc at one point his bike "slipped" but overall was able to handle the frustration.

After he got angry, we stopped, rested, and then changed the trail to one with fewer rocks. He was then able to enjoy the ride.

Again, I cannot tell for sure if this is due to a new skill or to overall improvement. My guess is a combination of the two. he is now better able to handle the himself because he has a better skill and the states he gets in are not as difficult as they were.

[dasu]

I think you make a good point - bad/good behavior is a downward/virtuous cycle. When kids think that they wont be able to control their emotions brings more fears and low self-worth. Conversely when they build up their esteem and know that they can handle situations that frees them up to enjoy life and ride out negative emotions.

 

Its hard to differentiate where PANDAS stops and choice starts, and its an ever evolving line coming into and out of a flare.

[JoyBop]

I agree that ar times it's hard to tell where Pandas begins and learned behaviors end. But then when your child has another massive exacerbation you remember how bad things can be. During my sons relative well period we saw what we accepted as his new baseline. We saw mild OCD that was not life inhibiting and mild to moderate generalized anxiety that was manageable thanks to great coping skills learned through CBT.

 

Now my child is in such a horrible flare that he can't do any schoolwork at all. There are only 8 elementary students in his entire school. His teacher is so supportive and compassionate and is so kind and patient with him. He was an outstanding student but now he can't do a single assignment, explodes at recess and is chewing everything that isn't tied down in the classroom, including items that don't belong to him.

 

I suppose there are many similarities between CBT and Ma as both allow them to learn to regulate themselves and builds confidence. Whatever works!! I can't wait to get back to life as usual.

Edited May 9, 2015 by joybop