Brendan Aylward

Brendan Aylward is the founder and executive director of AdaptX. His career has revolved around inclusion in sports and fitness since he was 15. Several thousand hours of volunteering with organizations like Special Olympics, Best Buddies, and Team Hoyt have taken him around the world to coach, train, and race. As the caregiver of a boy with multiple disabilities since he was 19, and now teammates together as part of Team Hoyt, they have completed more than 100 races together. They hold PRs of 16:41 in the 5k and 2:55:12 in the marathon.

His experiences with these organizations influenced him to open an inclusive strength and conditioning facility, Unified Health and Performance, where his Special Olympics athletes could train alongside their peers. To date, this model of authentic inclusion has not been replicated elsewhere. The facility has served more than 1000 clients since 2016, with over 250 participants who have an intellectual and/or physical disability. The AdaptX team has built the infrastructure and educational platform to help other health and fitness professionals do the same.

Publications

  1. Joyce, C., Aylward, B., Rolnick, N., & Lachowski, S. (2024). Implementation and Clinical Outcomes of Blood Flow Restriction Training on Adults With Cerebral Palsy: A Case Series. Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPT, 48(4), 224–231. https://doi.org/10.1097/NPT.0000000000000475

  2. Observations of Fitness Following 8-Weeks of Strength Training in Participants with Cerebral Palsy - Read Here

Corporate Presentations

  1. DELL Technologies True Ability ERG (October 2024)

  2. Berkshire Bank’s Abilities in Motion ERG (July 2024)

  3. ASICS: International Day of Persons with Disabilities - Theories and Frameworks for Making Endurance Sports Accessible (December 2023)

  4. Ainsley’s Angels Ally Development Program at ASICS HQ (November 2023)

  5. Fallon Health: A Grand Rounds Presentation - Vulnerable Populations - Theories and Frameworks for Making Fitness Accessible (September 2023)

  6. InBody Clinical Research - The Use of InBody Data to Improve the Health and Fitness of Individuals with Cerebral Palsy (September 2021)

  7. TJX Corporations - Making Fitness Accessible (May 2021)

  8. Venture Community Services - Creating Accessible Fitness Programs (January 2019)

  9. LuMind Virtual Webinar - Improving the Health and Performance of Individuals with Down Syndrome (2018)

Conference Presentations

  1. National Inclusion Project Power to Play - Principles and Best Practices of Inclusion and Accessibility (November 2024)

  2. Massachusetts Athletic Trainers Symposium at Holy Cross (June 2024)

  3. RaceMania - Making Endurance Sports Accessible (March 2023)

  4. National Inclusion Project Power of Play Conference - Making Fitness and Recreation Accessible for Individuals with Disabilities (November 2021)

  5. American Physical Therapy Association 2021 Regional Conference - The Intersection of Physical Therapy, Adaptive Sports, and Strength and Conditioning (November 2021)

Invited Academic Presentations

  1. University of Arizona - NSC 320: Nutrition, Exercise, and Health Promotion (October 2024)

  2. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Department of Physical Therapy - Programming Considerations for Adaptive Athletes (May 2023)

  3. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences - PTH590 Therapeutic Exercise Compound Exercise Lab (May 2023)

  4. UMass Lowell Exercise Science Department - Programming Considerations for Adaptive Athletes (June 2022)

  5. UMass Boston Adapted Physical Activity Course - Making Fitness Accessible (March 2022)

  6. Nichols College - Promoting Inclusion in Fitness and Athletics (February 2020)

  7. Bentley University Entrepreneurship Program - Creating Mission-Driven Businesses (2019, 2020)