Inclusive Adult Gym & What It Means For Us

As many people know, FCGC Gymnastics runs an adult gymnastics class but did you know that FCGC Gymnastics also runs an adults gymnastics program for those with differing abilities too?
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Every Thursday afternoon FCGC Gymnastics facilitates Gymnastics for Adults with varying abilities. Most of our inclusive gymnasts are Adults living with Autism.

Majority of these adult gymnasts come from a center with their careers, for a 45 minute class of fun, jumping and physical movement.

Like all of our programs, we aim to teach Skills for Life with a big focus on
movement and  coordination. Along with the ability to listen and follow instructions, to communicate and develop their social skills.

We have a structured routine to help keep the adult gymnasts from being overwhelmed. We find it is important that we keep the same class structure each week for our classes, as routine plays a very important part in the life of Autism.

The Adults begin with sitting on a box each and we all sing a hello song to
welcome everyone. We include ASL (American Sign Language) into our greeting song as well, as many of our individual gymnasts may be non-verbal.

After this, we use a hand-held pom pom and we go around the circle and
welcome everyone using their names for example “hello sarah” and then
sarah can wave. Sarah will then get up and walk to pass it to the next person.
It is important to stand up and walk to the next person as this promotes
movement.

We then go through a warm up that consists of balancing, stretches, hand
eye coordination, core stability and upper/ lower body strength. To do this we use hand apparatuses’ such as beanbags,
hoops, scarves, foam blocks, coloured mats to assist in the process.

From here, they move onto a circuit through the gym which includes
jumping, swinging, hanging, climbing, and balancing. We spend some time helping each individual around an area of the gym - encouraging them to have a try at different stations. The trampoline is always a favourite however, so many gymnasts will spend a lot of their time bounding up and down for as long as possible!

After this we then use a cue to signal our running activity. For this final activity we run around the circle of boxes from the start to some music. This cue is
important for them to know it’s coming to the end of the class.

Lastly, we get a large parachute out and wave it up and down and say
goodbye. We say goodbye to each individual by using their names, and giving them a moment of recognition in the large group.

We at FCGC Gymnastics believes that Gymnastics has the ability to help
EVERYONE and for those who have a disability it is an opportunity to build upon social skills, communication skills, fitness, motor skills (gross and fine), mental stimulation and much more.

Our coaches develop such strong bonds with all the adults who come into FCGC Gymnastics, and all our coaches really look forward to each Thursday morning in the gym.

Thanks for reading today's blog!
Coach Beth.