Here are just a few benefits that trampolines can offer to your special-needs child:
- Trampolines can regulate special-needs children's sensory skills. Children who are suffering from autism or Asperger's syndrome frequently feel overwhelmed by stimuli, leading to added stress and undesirable behaviors. However, a trampoline with an overhead tent attached can provide a wonderful "safe place" for autistic children to calm down enough to resume their normal activities even when they are away from their usual environments.
- Trampolines are also fantastic for increasing sensory awareness and improving motor skills. Bouncing on a trampoline stimulates almost every sense, leading to a more involved interaction between the special-needs individual and the outside environment.
- Due to their complex capabilities, many special-needs children find learning at a desk in a traditional classroom difficult. A teacher can teach them easily while jumping on trampoline and while having fun.
- Trampolines can also be a very useful tool for teaching children how to listen to directions. For example, a teacher may ask the child to jump three times, or jump to the right and then the left. Or, a parent may play "start and stop" games with the child in which the parent gives a signal ("Start!") to indicate that the child is to begin bouncing.
