Specialty Athletic Training
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Blog
  • Online Store
  • Contact Us
  • MindBody

Can children with special needs workout?

7/8/2019

0 Comments

 
Too often limits are placed on children with special needs or expectations for them are set lower than their peers. Exercise is no exception. I get asked frequently if children with special needs can workout. The answer is, ABSOLUTELY!
Picture
There is no denying that we are battling an obesity epidemic here in the United States. Did you know that 20% of American children are obese? Or that children with disabilities are 38% more likely to be obese compared to their peers? These stats are from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and unfortunately are reflected of data from 2015-2016. I can assure you that those numbers have only gotten worse since then, especially with the reduced amount of exercise in schools and general poor nutrition of the typical American diet. 

We often get asked if a child is too young for our program. The answer is always, "No". Movement is vital during all stages of life, as is placing an emphasis on making fitness fun! Many of the workouts we do with our clients are not complex or different than the training programs for their neurotypical peers, rather they are very similar if not exactly the same. What is the difference then? Our approach.

Many of our clients have had a negative experience with exercise or sports in the past, but we make it a priority to create a fun and safe environment for them to be successful. A child can gain an invaluable amount of confidence from exercising that will transfer to all areas of their life, if done properly. Exercise has a very unique way of building self esteem and self confidence that is hard to find in other aspects of life. This is why I will always advocate for movement and exercise for ALL children and why we need to turn our thinking to changing our school structure to provide it.

The future is the children of our country, and they need more movement or our obesity numbers will continue on the upward trend. Children with special needs are no different and need to be included in the movement!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    About the Author

    Ryan Lockard, CSCS*D, CSPS*D is the Founder and CEO of Specialty Athletic Training. He is accredited by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a Certified Special Populations Specialist. Lockard is a member of the board of directors for the Autism Society of America and the advisory board for the NSCA Oregon chapter.
    ​Ryan has worked with individuals with disabilities since 2007 and has over 10,000 hours of 1:1 instruction working with individuals of various ages and diagnoses. 

    Categories

    All
    Client Love
    Down Syndrome
    Events
    Exercises
    Interviews
    Mobility
    Nutrition
    Obesity

    Archives

    March 2023
    November 2022
    June 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012

    RSS Feed

e. info@specialtyathletictraining.com     

​© COPYRIGHT 2022.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Blog
  • Online Store
  • Contact Us
  • MindBody