Gary Martinez Jr (@gary_martinez_jr) is a speaker, teacher, fitness trainer, author, and father of two children. Through raising his daughter, he has developed skills and techniques for using fitness as a means to help autistic children thrive in school and in life.

Gary's daughter was diagnosed with Autism as a young child. Since that time, Gary dove all the way to find the best ways to help her thrive in life. Using his background as a personal trainer he found that exercise, physical activity, play-based activity and overall healthy habits and routines were among some of the best tools to help her.

There is a very individual approach needed for each child. Gary spoke about how he approaches training sessions with some children and how he must cater the session that individual child's needs in order for it to be successful.

Gary explained how routine and physical activity can be an excellent way to start the day for autistic children. It's a way for them to center themselves and be prepared to handle whatever may come that day. However, there will still be times when children experience meltdowns for any number of reasons. When these events occur, one must work with the child to support them through it. Using the strategies worked on previously to prepare themselves for the day often works, but must be catered to the situation. Gary tells an incredible story of a meltdown his daughter had in a public park and how he used exercise coupled with the use of imagination of some her favourite movie characters to help her through it.

There are many people in the world who fall on the autism spectrum, and they need to be supported. Exercise is one such tool that can be useful to help children thrive in school and in life.

If you or someone you know is living with someone with autism, this episode and Gary's resources would be an excellent place to find more help.

You can find Gary's book, "Living Life Through Their Eyes, Our Journey Together On The Autism Spectrum" on Amazon. You can also find Gary on his website: https://www.autismstar.net/, Youtube, IG, TikTok and Facebook.

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