There is so much riding on your first session with a new ASD athlete.
Now, this could be a child, teen, or adult on the autism spectrum (or related neurodivergence) with whom you’re already familiar, or the first time meeting. Either way, it’s you first fitness or adapted PE session together.
You want them to have a great experience, complete each exercise, and get a working knowledge of how future programming will look.
This Autism Fitness post is all about the best practices and setting up your first session with an autism or neurodivergent athlete and setting appropriate expectations. By the way, those expectations are for everyone involved (coach, athlete, family, support providers).
But what happens if the athlete is easily dysregulated, you don’t get to assess all the exercises, or you find that the communication strategies you had planned are not working as expected?
The initial session, in Autism Fitness our PAC Profile assessment session, is about discovery. Enabling the athlete to have as positive-as-possible an experience while getting in a few exercises to establish a baseline. While it is great, and necessary, to have a plan, the goal of the first session is simply introduction to the environment, coach, and exercises.
In addition to expectations, a great first session gives us insight into how our life skills athlete moves, takes instruction, and their motor imitation capability. The key is having a structured approach while maintaining the flexibility to rearrange exercises, language, and coaching style.
Below are some “musts” when it comes to your first session.
Have your environment in check: Is the space clear of clutter? Do you have only what you need set out? It’s way easier to coach (and be coached) with limited distractions and extraneous equipment. Of course, not all environmental factors can be changed, but having a designated space (whether in the home, therapy clinic, or gym space) is essential.
When working with an athlete who becomes easily dysregulated or distracted, it is beyond helpful to have the equipment you need close by. Setting up prior to the session and knowing the the bands, Dynamax medicine balls, rings for foot positioning, Sandbells, and any other equipment is a few steps away.
Offer choice between exercises prior to starting: It is very easy to go right into “Do this, do this, now do this…” mode in the first session. Breathe, pause, and offer choices between two exercises. Keep in mind that many, if not most new athletes will not have had experience with the exercises or equipment, so demonstrating the movement first for 5-10 reps provides a great visual representation of what the athlete will be doing.
Choice also serves as a great onboarding practice. Consider how having control can improve interest and motivation, particularly in new and uncertain situations. Providing a choice between “hurdle steps or overhead band walks” first gives our ASD athletes a measure of control and autonomy that still exists within the structure of an effective exercise session.
Label/Demo/ Do & Cue: This is one of our most important and successful coaching strategies in the Autism Fitness Certification program. Rather than a long, drawn-out explanation of each exercise, we name it “These are overhead band presses,” demonstrate it for the previously-mentioned 5-10 reps, and then invite the athlete to perform it. This is a quicker onboarding process that allows the athlete to get moving and us to start assessing.
Quite possibly the biggest coaching mistake, particularly with the autism and neurodivergent population is over-coaching (using extraneous language to explain, rather than show, the exercise). The Label/Demo/Do and Cue method eliminates this factor.
Fitness is the missing component of a healthier, more independent, more capable life for many, if not most individuals with autism and related neurodivergences (the term “special needs” is thankfully dwindling in use). Fitness is more complex than it may seem, and a contentious, well-informed approach must be taken for safety and effectiveness.
Having the three strategies above when you start with a new athlete (or a familiar individual with their new fitness program) will better equip everyone for success.