25 Lessons From 25 Episodes of the AdaptX Podcast
Thank you to our incredible guests for all of the wisdom they’ve shared over the last six months of the AdaptX podcast. We hope you’ve enjoyed these conversations and have found them to be valuable lessons towards a more inclusive, accessible, and equitable world. If you would like to support our work and help us spread these messages to a wider audience, don’t hesitate to share them with a friend or leave a rating. So now — 25 lessons from the first 25 episodes.
The inspiration derived from individuals with disabilities should be used to motivate other populations to better themselves, not to mitigate expectations for individuals with disabilities.
It is essential that the entities that hold a stake in social, economic, and physical infrastructure, on any scale, listen to the voices and needs of people with disabilities in order to provide effective solutions to issues of accessibility.
Mobile solutions for accessibility allow individuals with disabilities to have a voice in the systems and spaces that are deemed “accessible,” initiating conversation on the variety of needs that need to be accounted for when designing and creating digital and physical spaces.
Accessible equipment is an essential part of creating and preparing adaptive athletes for high levels of success within the competitive sports world. Companies that offer accessible products tailored to specific populations of adaptive athletes will acquire a loyal customer base that will continually invest in their products and inventory.
Trainers should take advantage of opportunities to clearly communicate and understand their clients needs, as it not only provides adaptive athletes with the level of training that they deserve, but it trains coaches to observe, analyze, and assess a client’s needs efficiently and succinctly.
Perspective, perseverance, and patience: the key facets of learning to adapt to a new lifestyle after disability. The presence of a disability does not inherently indicate struggle or adversity, it is the way one is able to overcome a situational and environmental lack of accessibility that enables life to “start” after disability.
The pursuit of physical accessibility is not an all-or-nothing process. Just because a fitness facility is not wholly or comprehensively accessible does not mean that accessibility should not be strived for. Incrementally installing and implementing accessible systems into your facility is more favorable than the alternative: a completely noninclusive space.
Commonly enforced standards of disability etiquette are often unaligned with the expectations of the disability community, and the overemphasis on language and labels within the disability space has the potential to further isolate the population. The best way to gauge an individual’s preferences in regards to disability etiquette is simply to ask.
The symptomatic presentation of a disability genuinely varies from individual to individual, so relying on certain, preconceived expectations of an individual because of their disability is a useless practice that undermines one’s potential as a person and as an athlete. As we repeat often in the AdaptX Course, “understand the diagnosis but train the individual.”
Inclusion is not a program that can be fulfilled within a specific period of time. It is an ever-evolving, ongoing process that constantly needs to be reassessed and revised. A business or facility that deems themselves as “inclusive” needs to be committed to the incremental implementation of accessible systems.
Communication between fitness facility owners and clients with visual impairments is a key component of ensuring that a facility includes the necessary modifications and is properly adapted to the sensory needs of the individuals.
Performance testing and high-level physical therapy is not exclusive to elite, able-bodied athletes. Using available fitness technology to help clients with disabilities understand the manifestations of their symptoms and their own training needs is essential in bridging the gap between training people with disabilities and investing in their long-term health.
Training a person with a disability is an opportunity to learn how to adapt to and focus on a person with a different set of needs. That being said, it is essential that the client is always the focus, regardless of their ability to communicate, engage, or physically execute certain elements of a training session. Their disability is only a facet of their identity, and it should not impact the way that others actively choose to treat them.
Sport should intend to focus on what an athlete CAN do: preconceived norms of functioning continue to marginalize individuals with disabilities in the fitness space. The narratives on athleticism need to be reworked in order to be less dependent on the traditional definition of what “sport” is.
The Charity Model of Disability often manifests in the stereotype that people with disabilities are dependent on the aid of able-bodied individuals. This false narrative is often what dictates the way the general population, the media, and other industries negatively perceive those with disabilities.
Fitness professionals need to fully buy into the accessible environment. There cannot be a disconnect between the physical implementation of inclusive systems and the online depiction of what a program, coach, or gym offers. Falsely advertising your facility as “inclusive” does a disservice to the community, as many adaptive athletes are genuinely in need of authentic spaces that are properly equipped to train and host clients of many abilities.
Understanding the lived experiences of a client with a disability is essential to curating exercises and programs to their personal needs. Training will not be a successful or motivating experience for an individual when their physical and psychological needs are not being effectively addressed or communicated.
Sympathy is not conducive to the creation and sustainment of inclusive environments, as it inherently implies that individuals with disabilities should be pitied. The dissonant relationship between sympathy and disability contributes to the social stigmatization of disability, further lowering expectations for a population that is already overlooked within an inaccessible society.
Communicating about one’s disability is a 50/50 exchange: the sharing of lived experiences requires both the voices of the affected populations and the attention of those that want to listen. By listening to a diverse range of perspectives, inclusion becomes a more realistic concept that originates from the genuine, authentic needs of those that have a stake in accessibility.
Promoting holistic training for staff and trainers is essential to creating a safe, adaptive environment for clients with disabilities. Knowledge of disability literature and training concepts alone is not enough- hands-on, practical experience is invaluable. Exposing trainers to clients with varying abilities allows them to learn how to train safely and effectively within the context of a training environment.
Demystifying disability is a key component in fostering inclusive fitness environments. By integrating the disability population into normative settings, gym owners are able to incrementally create and implement accessible systems in their facility.
Incorporating inclusivity into the provision of services and products is not merely an ethical consideration; it is a strategic imperative that transcends traditional business norms. By embracing inclusivity, businesses not only adhere to ethical principles but also unlock opportunities to engage with a broader and more diverse audience. This expansion of the consumer base not only reflects a commitment to social responsibility but also translates into tangible benefits for businesses, bolstering their profitability and long-term success.
In creating inclusive road races, race directors and organizers must ensure that they consider the voices of affected populations while planning the event, preparing the course, etc. If the needs of individuals with disabilities are not understood and addressed directly by the event, then a population of participants is actively neglected, further accentuating barriers to participation in endurance sports for many.
Inclusive employment practices do not only provide more opportunities for independence to individuals with disabilities, but they can also greatly benefit business models that are centered around a mission that customers are invested in. Leveraging a diverse workforce in order to market one’s business to a larger, more expansive audience is an underrated facet of inclusion that should not be overlooked.
Consistency compounds within endurance performance. The longer you can train consistently, the better your outcomes will be. Those outcomes are often black and white; you can either finish a race in a certain time or not. And that result is directly correlated to the time and effort you put in.
Listen to any of the 25 episodes here or on your favorite streaming platform