Children's Art and Yoga for Autism and Diverse Abilities

Based on the trauma-informed GreenTREE Yoga® Approach of building safety, supporting empowerment, and maintaining simplicity, this book provides an easy-to-use art and yoga program for autistic children and those with differing needs.

The structured program guides teaching six classes to introduce the benefits of yoga in any setting, including schools, residential centers, camps, and homes. It also can be adapted to your changing program needs.

The program includes simple art projects, yoga poses, and breathwork components, guided by charming illustrations of Shanti the Monkey to lend structure, predictability, consistency, and fun. The simple yoga can be done standing, seated, or lying down. With session plans, scripts, and visual prompts for artwork and yoga poses, this book gives you everything you need to provide a fun program and share resources with parents and teachers to do at home or in the classroom. You can give children tools to build body awareness and emotional regulation skills.

It is clear that Yael loves children. Her compassionate approach to teaching those with differing abilities offers a roadmap for combining yoga and art in an inclusive environment. Drawing on scientific principles, well-documented resources, and her own experience, she empowers her reader with organizational tips, varied strategies, and easy to follow project ideas. This book will help you foster creativity, self-regulation techniques, and enthusiasm in your classroom, home, or clinic. -- Louise Goldberg is the author of Yoga Therapy for Children with Autism and Special Needs and Classroom Yoga Breaks-Brief Exercises to Create Calm.
I am honored to endorse" Children's Art and Yoga for Autism and Diverse Abilities" by Yael Calhoun who has devoted her life to understand helping and researching children and families with ASD and Neuro Developmental conditions appreciating and comprehending foundations for body internalizing, felt sense, developmental movement, Neuroception, self-regulation, awareness and creativity. -- Louis Allen, MD, FAAP, MPH
It is clear that Yael loves children. Her compassionate approach to teaching those with differing abilities offers a roadmap for combining yoga and art in an inclusive environment. Drawing on scientific principles, well-documented resources, and her own experience, she empowers her reader with organizational tips, varied strategies, and easy-to-follow project ideas. This book will help you foster creativity, self-regulation techniques, and enthusiasm in your classroom, home, or clinic. -- Louise Goldberg, author of Yoga Therapy for Children with Autism and Special Needs and of Classroom Yoga Breaks-Brief Exercises to Create Calm

Yael has given us more than a book-she's given us a gift. It's a thoughtful, compassionate, and deeply practical guide rooted in lived experience and evidence-based practice. As the founder of the Ed Asner Family Center for neurodivergent families and a mother of six, four of whom are autistic, I feel this book is a vital resource for anyone seeking to foster self-regulation, connection, and artistic expression for children with autism and other diverse learning needs.

What sets this guide apart is its clear, trauma-informed approach. Yael reminds us that safety is the foundation for learning and beautifully integrates science and soul to show how art and yoga can create the conditions for growth. With step-by-step scripts, easy-to-follow visuals, and powerful insights into the brain /body connection, this book doesn't just tell you why these practices work it shows you how to make them work in real world settings.

Whether you're a teacher, therapist, caregiver, or parent, this book empowers you to build flexible, inclusive programs that center play, simplicity, and emotional safety. It's not just a curriculum-it's a roadmap to helping children thrive through creativity, movement, and mindful engagement.

-- Navah Paskowitz-Asner, Founder TEAFC,

The autism community has a thoughtful and dynamic new resource. This book incorporates effective teaching principles for neurodiverse children. Simple language, colorful graphics, and hands-on activities support positive teaching to facilitate successful learning and recall.

Ultimately, this comprehensive approach creates a highly motivating and effective curriculum to promote regulation, attention, body awareness and relaxation through engaging movement and art exercises. A practice CD and bright beautiful illustrations make this a valuable teaching tool that can easily be implemented in home and classroom settings. Yael Calhoun has used her unique insight, experience and talents to develop a creative and delightful resource that will greatly benefit young children with special needs in wonderful new ways.

-- Lori Krasny, M.S., CCC-SLP

Yael Calhoun has devoted her life to understanding, helping, and researching children and families with ASD and neurodevelopmental conditions - including
appreciating and comprehending foundations for body internalizing, felt sense, developmental movement, neuroception, self-regulation, awareness and creativity.

-- Louis Allen, MD, FAAP, MPH, Founder of www.ABLE-Differently.org
Children's Art and Yoga for Autism and Diverse Abilities" concentrates on what a child can do. It limits excessive vocabulary, is visually-orientated and is acute to all sensory issues. A true success ... it encompasses all that is positive. This book provides both the classroom teacher and parent tools on how yoga can benefit children not only for the moment but in their daily lives. It provides an alternative way to incorporate yoga and art for children to reach their full potential. Yael Calhoun has a thoughtful and comprehensive approach that really works!!! A wonderful addition to any classroom. -- Shelley Schwartz, M.A.

This book is a state-of-the-art resource for anyone who works with children who have autism, special needs, and/or other challenges. The content systematically addresses key skills that we know are essential to strengthen self-regulation, enhance social skills, and build a resilient nervous system. Yael Calhoun's vast experience as an educator and yoga teacher is reflected in how she integrates brain-body strategies with expressive art. The curriculum combines movement, breathing exercises, and art to stimulate brain development and strengthen skills that every child needs to succeed.

In addition, we know that many children with autism and diverse abilities have experienced some type of trauma. A growing body of evidence indicates that working through the body and bottom-up with the brain is essential to trauma recovery. This book, which includes many practical resources, has broad applications in many settings for service providers and families. I will be using it in my work and recommending it to other colleagues.

-- Linda Chamberlain, PhD MPH, Founding Director, Alaska Family Violence Prevention Project

Yael Calhoun, E-RTY, MS, MA, is a long-time educator and author. She is a writer/series editor of over 20 books, DVDs/CDs, and training manuals, including yoga for trauma, pain management, children, seniors, caregivers, and schools. Her recent science-based, practical books include Building Safety with Trauma-informed Yoga (Routledge, 2024); Trauma-informed Yoga for Pain Management (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2024); and Art and Yoga for Children with Differing Needs and Autism: Improve Body Awareness, Sensory Integration, and Emotional Regulation (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2025).

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