That morning exercise sounds awesome! My oldest was an early riser until the teens hit. The trouble he could find at very early hours was just astounding. Compound that with me NOT being a morning person (I don't think life should start until maybe 10-11 am (IF you have to get up early) and mornings are just hard for me until after a couple cups of coffee. Yes, I know this is posted in the morning, but I haven't been to sleep yet. I had to get my daughter off to work. Anyway, having a child who got up at 5 am was just NOT something I was great at. Thank Heaven he was usually happy with a book. I used to keep a stash of new ones to keep him busy in the morning!
Anyway, the morning exercise before school may be just what he needs. It may help with some sensory needs to. Sensory input isn't always handled the best way by our kids. The issues can be improved though. It can feel like the world is attacking you (Too bright, dark, loud, quiet, smelly, not smelly enough, not enough movement, too much movement, etc...). Luckily, the things needed to treat sensory problems are more of the types of sensations that the child (or adult like me) is drawn to. What they need feels really good to them, so more of it is actually helpful. I still remember when the occupational therapist was showing me the types of things that would help my youngest child. I looked at a big table full of stuff and we had a TON of it because it was what my son liked. My mother always bought way too many things for the kids to play with and she was super tuned in to what they liked. So we had most of what we needed already. The therapist told me that many parents have what the child needs simply because the child enjoys it so much. So if he likes to play ball with you, and you can do tha with him, it is a seriously great thing to do. One friend of mine actually put a swing and pretty much a very active playground in her basement (complete with padding for the walls and ceiling to protect him) for her son. It was incredible, and even had a climbing wall with a pad to fall on if he wanted. Her son had very serious sensory issues and swinging back and forth was one of the things he really needed. Normal parents would find it a bit nuts, but parents with our kind of kids just see how helpful it can be.
To learn more about sensory issues, The Out of Sync Child is a great book. It has a companion called "The Out of Sync Child Has Fun" that truly IS fun. We wore copies out because we used it so much. All of the kids we knew liked the activities, and the fact that they were therapy was just a side note to the kids. Heck, my husband and I enjoyed them too!
