I got an email a few weeks ago from a Mom by the name of Sarah. She was seeking advice about outdoor play/activities for children with learning challenges, specifically ADHD. Because I have little to no experience with this kind of thing I invited her to write up her experience in hopes that other parents might have more advice to share than I did.

If you have a child with a learning challenge or special need and have used the outdoors as a tool, we want to hear from you.(See the bottom of Sarah’s article for more specific questions, or add your own thoughts).

Thanks for sharing your story Sarah, I absolutely love this post. I for one think Michael is a pretty lucky kid.

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This is my firstborn, Michael:

His little fetus self hit me in the gut at twelve weeks pregnant and didn’t stop moving the rest of the pregnancy. At twenty weeks, he kicked the TV controls off my belly. After his birth, he screamed for three months straight.

I stopped comparing him to other kids, or asking for help from other moms a year into the adventure. My son was just—different. Tough, independent, confident, and able to take down a full grocery cart in 2.3 seconds. He climbed out of his car seat before other kids even realized they were in one. (P.S. Duct tape around the straps solved this problem for awhile).

Around his third birthday, he was evaluated for early learning disabilities (including autism and ADHD). Twenty minutes into the evaluation he pulled out every toy, had to be told to go back to his seat fifteen times, ran into the door twice, and spun in a circle for three full minutes… Oh and he tried to set some turtles free. Anyways, after all this, the evaluator scrunched up her face and went, “Yeah. It looks like ADHD.” As if to drive this point home, the kid ran into the concrete block wall and bounced off with a huge smile. Then did it again.

One of her suggestions—find a gross motor activity that allows him to practice his missing executive function skills.

A little bit about Executive Function:

Executive Functions are a group of key cognitive skills, the lack of which is where learning disabilities and ADHD collide. People with ADHD have less executive functioning skills than everyone else, plus, they acquire the little they do have much slower (about thirty percent slower).

The skills themselves are things like: anticipating the future, avoiding repetition of the same mistakes, planning, having a sense of time, paying attention, staying awake, finishing a task, controlling emotions, being able to internalize thoughts, analyzing, organizing information, error correction, and performance in situations where activity is not rehearsed or planned. (Zeigler Dendy, 3)

So when the therapist suggested a gross motor activity that included executive function practice, I immediately thought of climbing.

It made perfect sense that my son’s lack of executive function could be helped by rock climbing. My husband has severe ADHD, even as an adult, and has used rock climbing as part of his coping strategies since he was about eleven. His dirt-bag years in the New River Gorge got him through college. On the rock, he is safe, thoughtful, technical and precise. He is in control of himself and one of the most conscientious climbers I have ever come across. But when he’s in the basement packing his gear, he forgets to pack QUICKDRAWS. OR ROPE. OR ANCHORS. (true stories– I check the gear bags now).

But while it made sense, it was only a theory. Michael, after all, was only three. I couldn’t see climbing having a huge impact on a three-year-old. He’d been out with us before, but nothing focused on him, and especially nothing focused on working through these brain issues.

I decided to take the suggestion and run with it. What could it hurt to try?

Climb On:

The week before his third birthday, I strapped my ten-month-old in the Ergo on my back and *firmly grasping* Michael’s hand, we went to the climbing gym with the sole purpose of a quasi-therapy session.

Note: I would have taken him outside, but we have no safe outdoor climbing near us. Great Falls National Park is our local crag, but he is so impulsive that he will not go climbing there until he’s like…twenty-five. The climbs are all in a gorge along the Potomac River and you belay on ledges above the water. When you fall in the Potomac there, you die. Seriously.

I planned to keep it simple. I had a bag of M and M’s to use as motivation (to put in the holds for him to climb after). After getting the candy, he would sit on the mat for a set amount of time before moving onto another climb.

I went in the very early hours where he would be the least intrusive. And I kept my expectations low. The kid couldn’t listen to me read a book for more than twenty seconds, after all. Even if it was only ten minutes in the gym, it would be something we tried.

We were there two hours. Climbing for two hours.

He furrowed his brow and walked around the edges of the walls until he saw something he liked and pointed it out.

The candy piece went into the hold he was going for, and off he’d go.

Occasionally he had problems focusing on the climb. His eyes would ping back and forth in his head in excitement, and when he got on the wall he couldn’t keep his body from flailing. In those instances I pulled him off the wall and had him jump up and down on the mat in order to regain focus.

He climbed like a boy—all arms, pull-ups and aggro, brah. And he was proud of himself for getting the candy. I didn’t realize until that moment how little opportunity he had in everyday life to be proud of himself for achieving something.

When it came time to sit in between climbs, he sprawled out on the mat and relaxed without any problems. It’s very rare for him to even slow up, let alone stop and be calm. It did my mommy heart good.

In the calm space, I was able to point out the few other climbers in the gym. He normally cannot break out of his own fast paced world to notice other people, but that day he could. And we were able to practice climbing etiquette (no screaming for the most part, no running around, respecting other people’s space).

There was this moment about halfway into it where we were sitting on the bouldering pads just talking in between climbs. I’ve never gotten to just sit and talk with my child before like that.

For two hours my son could operate at a normal speed, be proud of his achievements, and connect in a way he hadn’t been able to before.

The other surprising thing? It lasted. He didn’t get a nap that day, but was still focusing and connecting better than if he had, hours after we left the gym.

Going Forward:

We’ve started changing some things at home. He asks to watch climbing videos on my ipad a lot now—the kid who cannot watch Sesame Street can sit frozen through Chris Sharma climbing videos. His favorites though, are the kids climbing. Anyone in a diaper climbing anything is awesome to him.

We’ve started taking him to the gym more frequently.

Our winter project now includes building a small bouldering wall in our basement for him. I think this might work out really well for “therapy” during those days where he just cannot get a grip on himself.

We’ve found some little baby boulders at a park that he loves to play on.

He asks every single day to go climbing.

And here are my questions to the Outside Mom community:
What other ways can I harness the outdoors and apply them to the way his brain works?
Have you heard anything about types of outdoor therapies that are succesfull with LD/ADHD/ASD children?
How do I help him progress in climbing?

Things I’ve learned about taking two small children to the climbing gym:

1. Go when no one is around. I mean 10:00 am on a sunny, seventy degree Tuesday type of no one is around.
2. Make them wear the harness even if you have no plans on putting them on the rope—thinking towards the future AND you can grab them quicker.
3. Do not have someone with ADHD check the harness you’ve never put on before and say “uhuh” when you ask if it’s on right. It’s not on right. He will tell you this after you get home all proud of yourself. Then he will have no recollection of telling you it was.
4. Give them something to climb for. We adults climb for something. Kids don’t have much awareness for esoteric reasons why they climb. They do understand candy. I’ve even used my keys. So they climb for candy and shiny objects.
5. One in the carrier on your back.
6. Pray everyone is forgiving of your toddler being fascinated with the echo.
7. Stash snacks in the Ergo and your pockets.
8. I think this is obvious, but don’t let them anywhere near chalk!
9. Point out other climbers for them to watch. I did this for the ADHD as I tried teaching him etiquette in a gym and to notice other people. He loved watching—especially the girls!
10. Don’t get sucked into “two mama?” because two climbs later, the question becomes “three mama?” and you’re like, wait, it’s ONE PIECE OF CANDY per climb. I don’t care how hard it is.
11. Don’t skip the sitting on the mat quietly part. Even if it wasn’t for the ADHD, I would make him do it, because at some point he will have to take turns climbing.

Works Cited: Zeigler Dendy, Chris A., M.S. Teenagers with ADD and ADHD: A guide for parents and professionals. Betheseda: Woodbine House, 2006. Print.

Article by: Sarah Lemon

Because I couldn’t have an active pregnancy I wanted to interview someone who would know a thing or two about active pregnant women. I decided to ask Teresa Delfin. Not only is she my twitter friend, but she’s also the founder of Mountain Mama Maternity, a clothing company for women who want to maintain their outdoor lifestyle despite their growing bellies. I knew she was the perfect person to ask.

Thanks Teresa for sharing your ideas on staying active in the outdoors during pregnancy, for providing clothing that helps women do just that, and for making me wish I could be one of those active pregnant women…

1. What outdoor activities do you enjoy most when you’re not pregnant?

I’m the classic multi-sport outdoor athlete – the more fun things I can find to do outside the better! I joke with my husband about my “triathlon” days, which is just any that I can squeeze in three or more sports. Since I was in high school, I’ve had a passion for rock climbing, but a good mountain hike with my family is fun, too.

For summer, I’ve picked up SUP (stand-up paddleboard) which is just loads of fun and manages to combine my love for kayaking and surfing. I’m excited to teach my 3-year-old skiing and have hopes of getting him on the slopes yet this spring. For fun and transportation, I enjoy riding bicycles. I have a trusty city bike for getting to coffee dates and shopping, a great mountain bike my husband got me to celebrate finishing my Ph.D., and the road bike I did the AIDS Lifecycle (SF to LA) on a few years ago. (more…)

I first heard about Patricia and her daughters Alex and Sage from Adventure Parents.   This trio lives in New Hampshire, and is in the habit of hiking to the tallest peaks around–like, all of the tallest peaks.  When Adventure Parents posted this video on their site, I was instantly awestruck… completely blown away by both Patricia and her adventure-loving daughters..

I’ll also admit to a certain degree of peak-bagging-with-kids envy, because my oldest child (5), despite my best efforts, does not (yet) share my passion for putting peaks in bags (check out question #6 if you experience this same issue).

I had so many questions for her after I watched this video, so I immediately tracked her down and asked if she would be willing to be interviewed. These questions are only the tip of the iceberg, but I have a feeling the rest of my quesitons will be answered when I read her book Up: A Mother and Daughter’s Peakbagging Adventure (more about the book here).

Thanks for doing the interview Patricia. And thanks for inspiring your fellow outsidemoms.

1. What made you (and your girls) decide to start hiking peaks?

In the spring of 2008, I read information about the Four Thousand Footer Club at a scenic parking area off NH’s Route 112.  On a whim, I asked then-5-year-old Alex if she wanted to try hiking one of the “big” mountains.  She immediately responded with a yes.  At that time, Alex was a nonstop bundle of energy and I was curious about how far she’d want to hike.

2. Did you hike as a child?  A young lady? (more…)

The other day I was teaching an after school science lab at our local elementary school. My students hadn’t come to my classroom yet, so while I waited I watched the fourth and fifth graders playing outside. Soccer balls bounced on the field, girls hung from the bars, and two little boys squatted over an insect that had emerged too early and was struggling to deal with mud and snow. They poked at it with a stick for a minute—and then skewered it.

I winced for some reason, and then watched as they, fascinated, lifted the part of the skewered bug that stuck to their stick and examined its legs up close. One reached out to touch the hard exoskeleton. Then the other grabbed the stick and started chasing the girls with it.

Boys will by boys, I thought.

But what is it about boys that leads them to skewer animals, tie strings to flies, stomp on ants with wild abandon, and eventually ask dad if they can try out the beebee gun on the birds in the backyard? And is it bad? (more…)

Does this sound familiar?  You’ve….

• loaded your pack with snacks, bandaids, baby wipes, extra clothes, spare kleenex, candy, and a bazillion other things
• cleaned off the carseat(s),
• strapped the kiddo(s) into the car,
• driven 25 minutes to an exciting looking trail head
• sung row your boat and the song that never ends over 346 times on the drive
• extracted the kiddos from the car
• and set them off down the trail….

only to find that they are tired and ready to go home five minutes into the hike.  You try candy, coaxing, singing, follow the leader, knock knock jokes and as many other tricks as you can think of, but have only made it another 50 feet down the trail… and two hours have passed.  Let me recommend one more trick for getting little ones moving down the trail (and, truth be told, this still works on me today): the Hiking Stick.

Tell them they need to find a hiking stick because it will give them the energy to go further.  They’ll try 30 different sticks, cruising down the trail in search of new and improved ones, and totally forget that the point was to go for a ‘walk’.  They’ll try them forwards and backwards.  Between their legs like a horse.  Over their shoulder.  It might turn into a gun. They’ll balance it on the palm of their hand.  And who knows what else they’ll think of.

Point is, they won’t think about the hike.  Tell them to find you one too–it has to weigh a certain amount, be a certain length, be the right height, have a curve for your grip, etc.  The hiking stick is the ticket to at least 100 extra feet.  And if you’re in the Mojave and there are no ‘sticks’ to be had?  Substitute something else:  find me a white rock, a tortoise shell, a flower, etc.  Scavenger hunts are wondrous motivators.

We’re starting a new feature on the blog. We’re thinking of calling it… Ask Outsidemom. Think of it as a Dear Abby column for the outside-enthused parent… except that we promise not to discuss which way to put the toilet paper in the holder (over the top), or your mother-in-law.

The thing is, we get emails every once in awhile with questions from parents. Questions about naps, outdoor cooking, tents, packing for hikes, etc. We love knowing the kinds of things you’re wondering about, or how we can best aid in you getting your little ones outside more.  You guys can help us gear this blog to your specifications.  We want to encourage these questions, because (truth be told) they actually end up being some of our favorites!

If ever you have a question, please don’t hesitate to ask. No matter how odd (shoot–I’m probably asking for it with that statement). We may not personally know the answer, but we have ways of finding out, and will likely even solicit the help of our readers from time to time.

So bring ‘em on!  We’re very much looking forward to more of your questions! Just email us via the envelope icon on the side bar or send your email directly to ask@outsidemom.com.

Last spring was the first time I’d taken up playboating with any degree of seriousness. Playboating is where you dabble in the waves, skirting the edge of tumult, and using the force of the water to move around, but never really downstream.  Truth be told I’d rather run a river any day, but unfortunately my life situation (little kids to care for, a husband with a job, and–oh yeah–the lack of rivers in Nevada) doesn’t allow much time for that. Instead I started going down to the kayak park with a friend of mine; a fellow Mom and an amazingly good playboater.

I often met her down at the kayak park just as Joe was getting off work. I’d bring the kids down and Joe would meet us there on his bike. Joe and the kids would catch crawdads, throw rocks and play on the playground. I would play on the waves and as soon as I had sufficiently trashed myself we’d all drive home together.

One day in particular Joe and the kids were sitting on the sidelines watching me. As usual, I kept getting dumped over in the wave (i.e. tipped upside down). Despite the fact that I’d always roll back up, this really concerned Ari. He kept yelling at me to “be careful!”  Eventually he caught on to what was happening. He would still get worried when I went upside down, but he also started to celebrate with me if I actually did something that resembled a trick. “You did it Mom!” became music to my ears. So was “try it again Mom”. He made me try harder. (more…)

We left home today without much of a plan. Just a van full of random stuff we might need. Those always turn out to be the best kind of adventures. Good day.

This post is part of our (somewhat neglected) photo series on unstructured play. For more photos in this series click here.

I do believe these boys would wholeheartedly agree with pick #1 one of the  5 Best Toys of All Time. Oh wait, these were actually chainsaws…

This post is part of our (somewhat neglected) photo series on unstructured play. For more photos in this series click here.

A few months back, a friend of mine posted this picture on her facebook account, it left me inspired.

I fell in love with it immediately.  To me the picture says don’t be too uptight. It says nice clothes are wasted on kids.  And it says it’s okay to be that mom. I think of this picture all the time, and it reminds me not to stand in the way of my kids’ bliss, simply because I don’t want to deal with the dirt.

Thanks for writing up your story, Kristal. This is one trip to the park your kids will never forget! (more…)