What Autism Karate IS NOT:
Not a place for criticism, nor for judgment.
Not a psychology service
Autism Karate IS:
A respectful place
A family activity to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder:
To develop great self-confidence
Improve their ability to concentrate
To better control and inhabit their physical body and their coordination
To improve their social skills.
A meeting place to allow families:
To share their experiences with a real sense of belonging...
To seek moral support from people who are experiencing (or have experienced) similar situations, and who have acquired great resilience in the face of autism.
A school with a philosophy of life, without any pretensions, where we share:
the result of our many years of experience acquired with more than 2000 people (adults, parents and children0 with the autism spectrum
The use of martial arts as a primary tool
WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF…
Not enrolling your child in one of our adapted martial arts classes? Or if he does not participate in any physical or social activity…
…With the experience we have acquired with more than 2000 parents in our classes,
Unfortunately, we have often observed… parents who try to change the perception of people and the world around them, in front of their autistic children, by adopting a victim attitude…
I believe that for many of us, we unfortunately go through this path! But, it just doesn't work!
The only thing you can change is how you help your child better understand their world and environment.
The way and attitude you react to the challenges that life throws at you makes a big difference to the end result of your experience with your child.
By not involving your child in activities of a social or sporting nature... your child risks remaining in his world with his limited understanding of the outside world, which will complicate his life a lot and make his relationship with him even more difficult, with you and with others.
The big question to ask yourself… is how much will it cost you when your child with the autism spectrum is older, if he is not independent? Versus the price of your invested efforts if you help him today… to gain confidence and develop his autonomy?
By not involving your child in an activity, he will remain shy in front of people, he will not improve his concentration, nor his social skills, nor his motor skills.
For a few we teach today, they ended up in foster care.
If you wish, dear parent, to feel this happiness and joy that you experienced at the birth of your child...
In fact, that's what happened to my wife and myself, we were able to rediscover this joy of living as a family, since our son, with an autism spectrum disorder, started at a young age. , to integrate a new lifestyle, a specific exercise routine that completely transformed him!
He is now 27 years old, holds a degree from McGill University and works at Bell in collaboration with auticon Canada.
You will receive several benefits over the months, since it is not a miraculous recipe, it is rather a process of accompaniment which requires an implication on your part, resilience and perseverance which allow:
To improve the lot of your child
Improve your confidence
Improve your concentration
Getting her to do some physical activity
To improve motor skills
To improve one's own perception, to feel better and to be better connected with one's environment and one's body.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q- Can you tell me more?
A- Come and try our classes for free without any obligation
Q-What is your credibility André Langevin to offer this kind of class?
A- I have more than 35 years of experience in martial arts, including 15 years as an adapted martial arts instructor, I have 28 years of experience with autistic people of all levels, with all the challenges you can imagine.
Q - Who are you?
A-I am André Langevin, now retired from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, for whom I worked for 30 years as an investigator. I have been married for 35 years with my wife Nathalie and I have three children. I have been practicing martial arts since 1985.
Q- Are you able to understand the stress that parents of children with special needs experience?
A-My son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 5, with severe language and fine motor problems, in addition to severe hyperactivity issues. I myself suffered from generalized anxiety for several years. I have accompanied in my classes, more than 2000 autistic people since 2008.
Q-Why is karate beneficial for people with autism?
A- For several reasons, the first is a stable environment that offers a routine to people who practice it, and autistic people love routine. Your child will practice a sport, which is not necessarily stimulating at first for people with autism.
Karate brings them a lot of confidence, this is one of the first things you will notice, will follow the improvement of his concentration thanks to all the exercises that we perform, and also, you will observe an improvement in his feeling at the level of his body and the movements he will make, which is called proprio perception.
Q-Where have you taught so far?
A-I have taught in several places, in Montérégie, Montreal, Laval and in different schools including the Irénée Lussier school in Montreal, a school with students considered autistic Heavy, I also taught at the Kuper Academy and at the CIUSS center Ouest in collaboration with the Miriam house in Montreal.
Q-My child is noisy and hyperactive, can he participate in your classes?
A-All children and people with autism are welcome as long as the parents can attend, for the very obvious reason that our costs would be much higher without the parents' participation.
Q-Why should parents attend classes?
A-Especially to facilitate communication with our students, parents are the people in the best position to help their children who generally have much more confidence in them than in strangers. And also For a cost reason as mentioned before.
Q- What are the levels of students you accept?
A-We offer three (3) and even four (4) levels of classes to better respect the rhythm of our students, each autistic person is different and has different needs, we have introductory karate classes, beginner classes , intermediate and advanced students.
Q- Are there trial classes?
A- We have free trial and evaluation classes to place our students in the groups best suited to their needs.
Q- What does it take to be a karate instructor at your school?
A-To be an instructor with us, you generally have to be a parent of an autistic child and have attended our classes for several years.
Q-What is the maximum number in your groups?
A- We generally have groups between 10 and 25 people per class, including parents.
Q-How many instructors do you have in your classes?
A-We always have at least two instructors in each group and in some, up to four instructors.
Q-My child moves a lot, I'm not sure he can stay still?
A-We have groups for all types of autistic students, each activity lasts about 10 minutes to keep students interested and for a duration of one hour.
Q-I am separated and can only attend classes every two weeks?
A- We have families in your situation as well as packages for your situation.
Q- Why are you so involved with autistic people?
A- Our life experiences make who we become, and my son's improvement has completely changed my outlook on autism and life. I have become passionate about my field, because autistic people give us so much and make us better people, if we allow ourselves to open our hearts.
Q- What is the difference between autismkarate versus autism karate?
A- Autismekarate is our parent company, the school I founded in 2008, we have accompanied more than 2000 people with autism. We have also created the non-profit organization Karaté autisme, bringing together several donors, which allows us to offer karate classes adapted to the most disadvantaged people (adults and children) with autism, who do not have access to as many services and activities.
Q-What do you know about anxiety in people with autism?
A- I personally suffered for several years from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety caused by my work, I passed, among other things, very close to death, yes I know that! Today I am doing well, considering the serious problems I have experienced.
Q-Have you ever been approached internationally for your work with your son Philippe?
A- Yes, in 2011 my son Philippe, my wife Nathalie and myself were invited to the largest international health research center in Washington DC at the National Health Institute. For 6 days, several scientists gave Philippe a battery of tests to try to understand why he had improved as much as anyone with the autism spectrum.
Q- Can you tell us about your relationship as a couple with all that you have experienced in your work and with your son's autism?
A- Like all couples, we have gone through very difficult times, which could have broken our relationship several times. Even today, I tell my wife that it is a miracle that we are still together after 35 years. Ultimately, I believe that what worked in our favor was our deep desire to help our son, which led us to develop a resilience that I never thought possible.
Q-Can karate make your child violent?
A- Karate is basically a very respectful sport towards others and in general the people who practice it do not indulge in violence. Among other things, because it helps to release stress and frustration. Several parents told me that hitting shields relieved them of their stress.
Q- Can your Program also help more affected students?
A- At École Irénée Lussier in Montreal, I taught teenagers with a mental age of 18 months, and yes, they too benefited from a marked improvement with our program.
Q- Tell me about the students who particularly stand out…
A-I am impressed with all of my students whom I love very much, I have a non-verbal adult student, who was diagnosed by the doctors with his frontal lobe not functioning, with no pilot on the plane. Now, this student performs 15 katas, about fifteen different choreographies with his father, in addition to being part of one of my advanced classes. imagine if his frontal lobe had started working!
Q- I have other children and I don't have a babysitter, what can I do?
A- Bring your family, the cost of $115 per month is for the family (Max 4)
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Q-What is the monthly cost?
A- The cost is $115 per month, per family (tax included)
Q- I have financial problems, can I get help to pay for the classes?
A- Yes, if you have a file with a social worker or with your CLSC, all you have to do is make a request. We also offer free classes to autistic adults in collaboration with community organizations.
Q- Do you have testimonials or videos demonstrating the credibility and real help provided to autistic people in your classes?
A- To date, we have received many testimonials from parents. And we've filmed several videos involving students of all levels of autism, starting with some non-verbal adults demonstrating their skills to you. A picture is worth a thousand words, while a video with a testimonial from a satisfied and happy parent is priceless! (See section 5. Vlog)
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Q-Do I have to buy a uniform?
A- There is no obligation and you can get one if you wish, some children simply do not want to wear one.