Random circus fun fact time!
As a sport for children, circus school is excellent for neurodivergent kids! I know the most about how it can help with adhd because, well, hi, adhd-er speaking 👋; but it's also a good environment in general for other varieties of neurodivergent, like low masking or almost nonverbal autism, especially when you consider things like functional jugglery and the likes. (But that's a topico for another day)
So, I'm going to start singing the praises of circus school for a growing adhd kid.
Firstly, a kid with both inattentive and hyperactive type adhd Will obviously have problems both staying focussed on a single task and staying still for long periods of time. Being patient is as hard as getting frustrated Is easy and doing the exact same routine every training session? Gets Very boring Very fast. I tried about half a dozen Different sports before settling on circus, and do you want to know why i think this One actually stuck around? It's varied.
There being four main categories already gives four Different options to cycle through, but each main branch opens up into so Many Different subsections, each One different enough from the others to feel new and unique, and every One with its own learning curve and tricks. And That doesn't even touches on the possibility to overlap two different things. Juggling on stilts, acting out a short story during a mano-a-mano number, doing a two Person Number on the aerial ring. Suffice to say, it's hard to get bored when every training session feels like a slightly different sport.
And for the hyperactivity side of things? You get to cartwheel, tumble, roll around, run and climb until your hands are shaking and your legs feel like jelly and every muscle Is aching and you feel so alive. You can sprawl on the ground After a somersault, or hang upsite down from the trapeze, or do cartwheels on repeat until you're dizzy. You can Just let loose in almost every weird way you can think. There Is so much more variety than the "Just run and pushups and stretching until you can do the thing" most other sports have. (I'm looking at dance volleyball and karate rn. Not that they're bad, but kid me couldn't stand much more than a year of each)
Okay, so far we've covered how circus school is both a huge web to capture attention and a perfect way for a kid to go nuts. Now, onto some less known potential issues related to ADHD that benefit from this sport.
Coordination and balance. Did you know that people with adhd generally have bad hand-eye coordination and struggle with maintaining balance? Cuz i didn't until a few years ago but It makes somuch sense in hindsight.
And do you know what half the circus branches drill into your brain again and again until It becomes second nature? Balance and coordination.
Most issues stemming from adhd are usually relatet to the fact that to do a specific task well, you need to focus on it, but that focus is finnicky and comes and goes as It pleases. The best way to work around It? No, it's not post-it notes or alarms or the likes; tho they DO help a lot for remembering things and staying on top of your tasks, those can't help you with actually doing the thing without straining yourself.
What does help, however, is having practiced it so much you don't need to think about It to do it. Having to focus on every little detail constantly all the time Is a terrible strain (example: for me, learning to drive was literally painful because there are so Many things to keep track of and until you can do It without thinking, you Need to actively Remember to check the mirrors check the lights check for people check for Cars switch the Gear no wait you Need to do It at the same time as you step on the friction or It won't work-. The first few months i got a killer headache Just from 20min of driving and then I had to lay down with my eyes closed Just to make It bearable. It was torture.)
But making certain acts automatic, having repeated them so many times they can Just run passively in the background without taking from your Very limited supply of active attention? That's how you survive adhd without slowly killing yourself by running on fumes.
That counts for driving Just as much as It does for balance and body awareness. I can now drive without problems, all the Many little tasks finally Being an ingrained instinct running in the background rather than airhorns constantly blaring in my ears for me to pay Attention to them.
As a kid, i Remember finding so Many bruises i got from slamming into corners or misjuging distances; half the time I didn't even know exactly how i got them. They were Just there.
But as I grew up, i started to get them less and less. By the time I was a teen they barely ever happened anymore.
Wanna know What changed from clumsy 8yo to average 13yo? Five years of coordination and balance training, that's what.
Being able to fully Dodge a corner becomes surprisingly easy after you got used to dodging people and unidentified Flying juggling tools.
And Being aware of where exactly Is your hand in relation to the wall you're about to hit Is Much easier than being aware of the relative position of every free limb to avoid getting tangled on the silks.
Juggling and hand-eye coordination are self explanatory. And juggling balls are quite soft and light enough to learn without really getting hurt.
Also, using the right amount of strength every time you throw a club Is a surprisingly effective way to learn self control. Just as and example.
In conclusion, not only Is circus school a varied and active enough sport to actually easily capture and keep the attention of a distracted and hyperactive kid, but It also helps manage some other side effects through sheer grinding and repetition. Practicing It, especially during the early developement years, can be a huge help in managing life as an adhd-er.
Yes, i am head over heels for this sport, but these are also real facts! I think I Remember there being a few studies about circus school specifically, but even ignoring that, repetition and practice are the best ways to work around adhd.
