What Prevents Gyms From Being Inclusive?
We often talk about barriers to access from a user perspective - what aspects of the environment and experience are inaccessible for people with physical and intellectual disabilities? But we don’t always consider the barriers that prevent key stakeholders from taking the necessary steps to create more inclusive and accessible environments. This could include economic reasons, logistical concerns, or preconceived and attitudinal beliefs.
Recently, I’ve been thinking about the daunting nature of committing to accessibility for new (and experienced) fitness professionals. Redesigning websites, renovating barriers in the physical environment, reshaping systems and programs, reforming people’s perceptions of disability. The list goes on.
Stating that this can be challenging isn’t admitting defeat or excusing inaccessibility; but rather it’s appreciating the reality and difficulty of catering to everyone’s unique needs before you even know what they are. You can anticipate many of them, but not all. And this unknown likely prevents people from even starting on the path of creating more inclusive programs.
💭 Well if I don’t come out and claim to be inclusive and accessible, I won’t be subject to criticism when at some point I’m inevitably not.
Our role from an education standpoint is to give health and fitness professionals the tools and confidence to build businesses that can support diverse clientele. To do so, we bring in experts on specific topics to deliver “office hour” presentations. In a recent presentation that Erik Kondo delivered for our AdaptX coaches, he talked about how accessibility can exist along a continuum and how to address these concerns with incremental universal design. You might not have all of the answers and be able to cater to every individual need, but you should seek out improvement whenever and wherever possible.
We talk about striving for authentic inclusion, where all individuals, regardless of a diagnosis, have equal access and opportunity. But this too is a process and exists along a continuum. If you aren’t sure how to get there:
- Make one individual with a physical or intellectual disability feel welcomed in your facility
- Learn what their goals are and what environment motivates them
- Ask yourself, “What supports do they need to be successful?”
- Build that support system
- Repeat
To read more about this concept, read Erik’s blog post at Red Pill Innovations.
Interested in learning more about how to make your clinic or gym accessible?
Visit www.adaptx.org to join our next cohort