Gymnastics helps autistic student

By Stephanie Bertholdo  bertholdo@theacorn.com

STEPHANIE BERTHOLDO/Acorn Newspapers PERFECT 10--Nikki Gutman, 10, diagnosed with autism at age 2, has overcome many obstacles in her life through gymnastics. Nikki participated in the BIG FUN Therapy and Recreational Services program for several years, competes on a state level in gymnastics, and has caught up academically with the general education population at Round Meadow Elementary School, thanks to the occupational therapy-based sports program. Nikki Gutman, a svelte 10-year-old student at Round Meadow Elementary School in Hidden Hills, is a miracle child.

Nikki is an accomplished gymnast who competes with a professional team on the state level. She is also adept on the uneven bars, vault, balance beam and floor exercises.

But Nikki's life might have been far different had it not been for the dedication of her mother, Bobbi Gutman, and a therapeutic gymnastics and swimming program called BIG FUN Therapy and Recreational Services, based in Culver City.

Nikki was adopted at age 2 from Lithuania by Gutman, who lives in West Hills with her partner and Nikki's father, Dan Steifman.

Although Nikki wasn't much of a talker, Gutman wasn't particularly worried. Since the ratio of caretakers to children at the Lithuanian orphanage was six adults to every 100 children, Gutman expected her daughter to be delayed in language development. Combined with the fact that Nikki needed to adapt to a new family and the English language Gutman believed her daughter would quickly catch up with other children.

Nikki's learning difficulties, it turned out, had little to do with speech deprivation or adjusting to new parents or life in America.

By the time Nikki was 3 and attending preschool, Gutman discovered her daughter wasn't just speech-delayed, but autistic.

Gutman quickly connected with her local regional center, a network of nonprofit corporations contracted by the state of California to obtain services for people with developmental disabilities and their families. The regional center personnel recommended the gymnastics program through BIG FUN, and the state even footed the bill since the program was designed to help children with special needs.

The gymnastics program became Nikki's savior. Children with autism often have poor communication and social skills and can exhibit repetitive behaviors.

Gymnastics helped Nikki focus, trained her to listen carefully to instructions and harnessed her need for constant motion into workable routines where her fine and gross motor skills were developed. The program also helped with balance, which is at times an issue for children with autism, and controlling behavior.

Gymnastics also helped Nikki academically. Many children with autism have problems with "sequencing," which has implications on how children learn to read and write.

"I like it a lot," Nikki said of competing in gymnastics. "I get to do really cool stuff."

Now a veritable chatterbox, Nikki is part of a "typical" fifth-grade class at Round Meadow. She has an aide, but is academically on par with her classmates, Gutman said.

"I love learning," Nikki said, adding that recess, lunch, math and art are her favorite subjects.

Nikki has also learned to persevere through difficult lessons and develop a tenacious spirit with gymnastics. "She started with a one-minute attention span," Gutman said. Nikki's attention span today may be better than most.

The 10-year-old now attends Le Club Gymnastics in Chatsworth and spends 14 hours a week honing her skills. "She works a lot harder to do a lot of things . . . to get it," Gutman said.

But "get it" she does and on many levels. Art has become another passionate pursuit for Nikki.

She's been busy creating beaded jewelry, from necklaces and anklets to bracelets and rings, to raise money for BIG FUN.

Nikki sells her jewelry at a kiosk in the Topanga mall and contributes all proceeds to BIG FUN.

"I want to raise money for BIG FUN so they can help other children like they helped me," Nikki said.

This organization operates 18 facilities throughout Southern California and Arizona. Although the state of California stopped funding the program in 2002 when they deemed the programs recreational rather than therapeutic, founder and executive director Gene Hurwin hopes to expand the program nationwide.

An occupational therapist and pediatric development specialist, Hurwin also has 20 years of gymnastics coaching experience, all of which led him to open this special organization.

"It's all about occupational therapy methods to help kids with special needs," said Melissa Brabender, the organization's public relations representative.

"The overarching goal of BIG FUN Therapy and Recreational Services is to break through the boundaries of presumed limits and promote the integration of children with disabilities into all aspects of life through recreational activities," states the organization's fact sheet.

For further information visit www.bigfungymnastics.com.