working on body control, body awareness, strengthening, and
motor imitation through the use of yoga for years. The specific
type of yoga that Cantalician Center has been incorporating
into its School Age services focuses on purposeful breathing
and movement through yoga poses, some traditional and non-
traditional, in order to target specific reactions from the sensory
system, as well as to move specific types of energy through the
body and within the environment. Gigante said many students
at Cantalician Center have multiple challenges, both at home
and within the school environment. He said those challenges of-
ten stem from difficulty regulating their behavioral or emotional
reactions to sensory input or frustrations.
“One student in particular, who specifically sparked my
interest in following this path to becoming a certified yoga
teacher was experiencing extreme fluctuations in his response
to students, peers, and sensory input within his environment. I
remember seeing his reactions were almost always aggressive
in nature. Even though he continues to have some difficulty
managing his reactions to certain input from the environment,
he has learned ways to gain control of his emotions and his
responses which has led to an improved ability to remain en-
gaged during learning opportunities in the classroom, increased
his ability to make friends with his peers, and has increased his
self-esteem and his ability to feel joy and happiness at school,”
said Vito Gigante.
Cantalician Center’s Early Childhood Community Services
provides comprehensive evaluations and direct services to chil-
dren who are suspected of having learning difficulties and have
tried yoga with the toddlers and parents they serve. Different
Parent/Child Therapeutic Yoga classes for kids ages 18-months
to 3-years-old, were held this past spring on a weekly basis.
The class, taught by Gigante, aims to improve the little ones’
sensory processing, gross-motor skills, communication skills,
and more. It also demonstrates to the caregivers that they, too,
can help their children.
“We have received excellent feedback from the families
that participated. They learned tips and tools in the class that
they were able to take home and implement. They told us that
the techniques yielded results from better focus and attention
in their child, to them sleeping better at night. Those may seem
like small strides to some, but this was huge for the families
that we serve,” said Jackie Skinner, director of Early Childhood
Community Services at Cantalician Center.
One of the most basic yoga concepts that families can inte-
grate within their home environment is to work with their chil-
dren on purposeful breathing. Once children, with the support
of their caregivers, learn how to use their breath to help manage
their thoughts, emotions, and processing of sensory information
they will be better equipped to handle whatever challenges they
may face in their day.
For more information on the various types of Yoga offered
at Cantalician Center or upcoming trainings to teach Therapeu-
tic Yoga, email [email protected].
Ashley Hirtzel is the communications coordinator at the Can-
talician Center for Learning. This article was prepared in co-
operation with the Public Relations Committee of the Develop-
mental Disabilities Alliance of WNY (DDAWNY).
August 2018 WNY Family 33