Check In

Let young adults with disability know you’re here to help and where they can find you on the gym floor.

Welcome support people who are assisting the young adult with disability.

Offer help with exercise and equipment, for example moving the pins on pin-loaded machines.

Some young adults with disability will require one to one support in the gym.

Supervision

Direct support while exercising in the gym

    • Social

    • Motivating

    • Physical assistance with exercise and equipment

    • Adapting exercises

    • Keeping focused

    • Taking the time needed

    • AND building confidence

    • In-person

    • During the exercise session

    • 1 : 1

      OR

    • Small group (2-4 people)

      OR

    • 1 : 1 in a group setting

    • Family, carer or friend

    • Support worker

    • Gym staff

    • Personal trainer

    • Specialist (exercise physiologists, physiotherapists)

    • Disability awareness and experience

    • Knowledge about exercise adaption

    • Good communication

    • Behaviour management and motivation

    • Understand the role of supervision

    • Understanding the individual

Young adults with disability want

  • Support from someone who is experienced, trained and understands disability

  • Support from a person close in age and/or with similar interests

  • Support from someone matched to their individual needs

  • Flexibility to attend the gym when it suits them with their support person(s)

What does training for gym staff and support workers look like?

  • Short course (2-3 hours) of formal training

  • Resource manual

  • Working together with specialists who know the young adult

  • Or a combination of the above

Training content

Information about:

  • Disability - general and targeted to the individual

  • Communication strategies

  • Managing challenging behaviours

  • Social interaction strategies

  • Appropriate exercise prescription and progressions

  • Adapting exercise and equipment

  • Motivational strategies and providing feedback

  • Inclusive work practices

“Making sure I’m able to execute the exercise technique correctly…that I’m not loading one muscle too much and causing injury to myself.”

“They help me (with program and equipment) how to use it appropriately...I don’t want to do it silly…I need to do it in (an) appropriate way.”

Lived Experience

Our research could not happen without the individual and collective contributions of those with lived experience of neurodivergence, and those who love and care for them.

We acknowledge and value their unique expertise. Their perspectives are crucial to our mission to enrich the lives of Autistic people, their families and their carers through high-quality scientific research, innovation and translation and our vision for a world where Autistic people, their families and their carers thrive.

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge that we work on the unceded lands of many traditional Indigenous custodians in Victoria and across Australia.

We recognise their ongoing connection to the land and value their unique contribution to our research, and to wider Australian society.

We pay our respects to Elders past and present and thank them for their ongoing care of this beautiful country’s land, skies, and waterways.

Diversity

We are committed to embracing diversity and eliminating all forms of discrimination. We welcome all people irrespective of neurotype, ethnicity, lifestyle choice, faith, sexual orientation or gender identity.