Why don’t we see more resistance training in autism and neurodivergent programming?
I ask this question a lot, especially when it comes to strength training. The misconceptions are everywhere:
“They’re strong enough already.” “I don’t want them getting too strong.” “They won’t be able to do that.” “They already do [some other activity].”
And when strength training does show up, it’s often watered down:
“We do stretches and some walking.” “Everyone sits in a circle and throws a ball.” “We go to a local gym and everyone picks something to try.”
None of this comes from bad intentions. It comes from decades of cultural whiplash around strength training itself — cycles of popularity followed by stigma, followed by popularity again, each one leaving behind myths that never get fully corrected.
Two that still won’t die:
→ A few sets of squats will make you look like a competitive bodybuilder. (It won’t. That takes years.) → Strength training makes you stiff and limits mobility. (Generally the opposite is true.)
If these ideas persist in the general population, it’s no surprise they’re even more entrenched around autism and neurodivergence — where there’s less research, less advocacy, and more hesitation from the people designing programs.
To this point, even when organizations or conferences advertise “wellness,” “health,” or “Life skill” programs or education, they rarely, if ever, include strength training as a component. Often this is couched under the vague and questionable label of “movement,” but movement does not often equate to meaningful strength.
To understand why, I think we have to understand the history. Michael Joseph Gross’s new book, Stronger: The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives, traces the eras when strength training took cultural center stage, the people behind those movements, and the physical, behavioral, and cognitive benefits that apply across every population — including our ASD and neurodivergent communities.
If we understand the non/de-prioritization of resistance training programs for neurodivergent populations as a microcosm of Western culture/society, it is easy to understand why strength training and fitness in general have be easy to ignore, both theoretically and practically. The realities are that even with motivation to introduce programming, comprehensive training across multiple disciplines; exercise science/training/programming, positive behavior support, and effective coaching/communication is not a luxury, but a necessity.
This week’s Autism Fitness Tuesday Training review of Stronger and what it means for the role of strength training in the lives of autistic and neurodivergent individuals. You can watch by clicking below
