Yoga Therapy for Children and Teens with Complex Needs

This deeply compassionate and inclusive resource explores the practice of yoga therapy, mindfulness, and somatic enquiry with children and young people who have complex needs. Suitable for working with ages 5-18, the book explores a wide range of conditions – including sensory processing disorder, autism, Down syndrome, hypermobility, scoliosis, anxiety, depression, and trauma.

Chapters also include comprehensive theory on the nervous system, child development from the age of 3+, the benefits of expressive arts, and regular reflective prompts for the adults. It is supplemented with over 100 photographs to ease learning and is an invaluable resource for therapists working with children and teens with complex needs.

Author Biography

Shawnee Thornton Hardy has worked with children and teens with complex needs for nearly 3 decades. She holds a Master’s in Special Education, is a Certified Yoga Therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists and a Somatic Experiencing© Practitioner through the Trauma Institute. Shawnee is the founder of Asanas for Autism and Special Needs and the Founder/Director of Yoga Therapy for Youth. She is passionate about making mind-body practices inclusive and accessible to all brains, bodies and abilities. She leads trainings’ internationally and throughout the US and offers 1:1 sessions in mind-body practices to support children and teens with complex needs, to include; autism, ADHD, neurodiversity, developmental disability, sensory processing challenges, communication difficulties, anxiety/depression and trauma. She is also the Author of Asanas for Autism and Special Needs – Yoga to help Children with their Emotions, Self-Regulation and Body Awareness. She combines her unique experience as an educational/behavioral specialist and her knowledge and passion for yoga and somatic practices in her work and teachings. Her heart’s longing is in facilitating healing in the world.