It took five weeks, but Heather Elson finally helped an active, talkative boy with autism curl up quietly on his yoga mat.
"I had not heard him be that silent in five weeks," she said. "I was in tears by the end of that class."
Since October, yoga instructor Elson has offered free, once-a-week yoga classes for teens with autism and their caregivers out of the Hamilton De La Sol yoga studio. She's helping the teens develop tools to self-regulate, find calm and develop body awareness by focusing her classes on breath work, stretching and sitting, standing and balancing postures.
"For a lot of these kids, self-regulating is not something they have great access to and the ability to relax is not something they have great access to," she said. "To be able to give these kids the tools to self-regulate is very profound for me."
She'd never taught a class specifically for autistic students, but when a De La Sol manager called her up in the summer she decided to give it a go.
"There's value in yoga for everyone," Elson said.
In her classes, she experiments with poses, postures and breath work. Some students have difficulty regulating their movement, while others struggle with staying quiet or still. She figures out what works for each student as they go.
"It feels like really, really important work," she said.
But with the end of a one-time grant from Autism Ontario via the Hamilton Community Foundation, a question mark has been inserted into the program's future.
Elson is now working hard to keep the program afloat, launching a silent auction earlier this week and accepting donations from her generous regular yoga students who've chipped in enough money to cover the December classes. She plans to keep fundraising in the new year, perhaps seeking out a corporate sponsorship, to raise the $4,000 needed to keep the program running to the end of 2020. De La Sol is helping out too, offering the space for free.
She's watched it change lives of her students — and their caregivers, too.
"I know that I can take what I'm learning in class and bring it home with me," said Rose Repchull, who attends the classes with her son, Hayden, who has autism. "Life is very stressful and it has just helped me relax."
The classes have helped her son.
"Hayden has two emotions: happy and angry," Repchull said. He often gets overstimulated, unable to manage his response to emotions, but "while we're doing yoga, he seems really focused."
Hayden is 29 — not a teen, but Elson made an exception for him.
Repchull believes yoga will help her son as he grieves the loss of his father, leaning how to manage his feelings. Repchull's ex-husband died in November. Hayden currently sleeps with a photo of his dad.
"With yoga, I'm hoping that with the repetitive classes, he will eventually be able to help himself and self-regulate," she said. "He loves it and takes pride in following instructions."
She said if Elson isn't able to secure funds, she would pay for her son to continue with the classes. But it would be just another out-of-pocket expense she has to pay for his autism-related programs.
Indeed, the classes is at risk of becoming another Ontario autism program casualty, amid others slashed or in limbo due to the Ford government's cuts.
As for Elson, her positive yogi mindset won't entertain the idea the classes won't continue.
"I'm confident the funds will come," she said.
katrinaclarke@thespec.com
905-526-4629 | @katrinaaclarke
katrinaclarke@thespec.com
905-526-4629 | @katrinaaclarke
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