Special Needs Class

[coachmolly]

The high school season is over and I'm now just helping out at a small local rec. center a few Saturdays a month (it's not even every week, but it's really the only game in town). It's a good way to stay in the gym even though it's not the ideal setting. However, the gym does not have any type of class for children with special needs and the other classes are often big and run in a gym with LOTS going on, not a lot of open space, and lots of noise. Not ideal conditions for children who need a little bit more of an adaptive program. I've been thinking about asking if I would be allowed to start a VERY small special needs program on Saturdays for one session (about 5 classes over a 2 month period), but need a little bit more information and some ideas before actually proposing the idea to the powers that be.
My plan for now is to just run a trial session, hopefully in the morning at the same time as a parent-tot or pre-school class when the gym is less packed, with only about 3 children. If there seems to be some interest, I might look into opening it up to more classes. However, I'm worried that parents would be hesitant because it's not a consistent schedule. There might be a class one week, a week break, 2 weeks of classes, 2 weeks of breaks, you get the idea. There are also big gaps between sessions at times. It's a crazy schedule for any kid to keep up with and manage to develop trust of their instructor and the equipment.
So my question is, have any of you/your gyms run a successful program for children with special needs? What is the format, what do you do with the kids, who is considered qualified to coach the class, just the basic gist of it. Feel free to PM me or post here with any info you feel willing/able to share, I would really appreciate it! I'm not sure they'll even agree to such a program, but I feel like the more information I can present to them the more likely they will be to go along with it.

 

[wallinbl]

So my question is, have any of you/your gyms run a successful program for children with special needs? What is the format, what do you do with the kids, who is considered qualified to coach the class, just the basic gist of it. Feel free to PM me or post here with any info you feel willing/able to share, I would really appreciate it! I'm not sure they'll even agree to such a program, but I feel like the more information I can present to them the more likely they will be to go along with it.

Ours has one on Saturdays around noon. The only other people in the gym on Saturdays are private lessons and team girls working individually (no formal classes or practices), so it's pretty light. There are two floors at the gym - one for the team girls and one for the rec classes. The special needs girls are on the rec floor and the inflatable TumblTrak most of the time. I don't think I've ever seen them near a beam or a bar. They work on cartwheels, spotted handstands, etc. They're coached by the level 2/3 coach (I don't know if she has any particular qualifications working with special needs children). They are there for about 45 minutes. There are three girls that come consistently, and I'm not sure I've seen any others with them.

I'll try to pay attention this Saturday, though all I have to offer is what I observe - I'm not a coach or qualified to say much in that regard.

 

[Kiwi]

I coached a special needs class last year. I loved the kids, but didn't feel qualified to take it and found it very difficult. Each child had a different condition, many of them very severe. (There's no way any of them would be doing cartwheels). There were about 8 or 10 on the roll, but I found they didn't all turn up each week, and actually dealing with three or four at a time was plenty. If I had more than four, I felt I needed another coach because I couldn't give enough time and attention to each kid. (However adding another coach increases costs).

It was nothing like the rec classes I had done before, where you can demo a circuit to 8 or 10 kids and away they go around the circuit. Because the kids were all so different, many activities had to be adapted to individual needs. Their parents helped and joined in the class and this was absolutely crucial. Also, the parents knew their kid's abilities and limitations, for example, one kid had rods in his back so had to be careful about bending or rolling in certain ways. Also, some of them had goals for strength and the gym wanted them to do some conditioning, but I felt that their own physio would have been better qualified to give them those kind of exercises, to each kid's specific needs. It was also hard to get the kids to work on their weak areas, because they wanted to avoid those, and the class was supposed to be fun and enjoyable.

Our class was Saturday afternoons, when the gym is usually very quiet, however we have a big and small (rec) gym and sometimes birthday parties were booked which meant we couldn't use the small gym and scheduling difficulties with use of the pit and tumble-track. Some of the kids found the big gym a bit intimidating and also were sensitive to the noise and activity. Also, some of the other kids in the gym would stare at them.

There are a lot of things to consider. Although I loved the kids, I'm kind of relieved to not be doing it this year, as it was ten times more work and stress than a normal class but paid the same.

 

[bookworm]

At our old gym there was a Special Olympics group most Saturdays but actually like the schedule you suggested because of meet schedules or vacations. The "coaches' were the gymnasts who trained at the gym (my daughter did this ) and they had to get certified by Special Olympics at some point, but not to start. Each gymnast coach was assigned to one Special Olympian and sometimes if the child's needs warranted it, 2 coaches were assigned to one child. The girls worked with these kids and taught them the Special Olympic routines and they actually competed in the Special Olympic Games and did ok. There was a range of disabilities in the class including Down's and severe autism. It was a challenge for these girls but they really seemed to enjoy it.

You might want to get some info from the Special Olympics website...

 

[CoachGoofy]

Check your inbox. And I think it's awesome that you're thinking of the underserved kids. Gymnastics is the best OT ever (in my opinion as a recipient, not deliverer, of OT)

 

[All Chalked Up]

I coach two pre-schoolers with severe autism, and they're great, but I think they would do SOOO MUCH BETTER in a special-needs class. It's just so chaotic for them. Two classes going on at the same time in our rather small gym is just not working out for these two.

They are such a joy to teach and frequently bring me pictures they have coloured

Not a whole lot of help but I really hope you're able to begin the Special Needs class.

 

[marie83]

We have a special olympics class on a Sunday Morning. We have approx 10 gymnasts in the class, ranging in age from 4-20! Our gymnasts do competitions - they are currently learning these routines -

Level 1 Floor
Level 2 Floor

In fact I think those videos should take you to a whole playlist of the stuff they are learning!

They do all the artistic apparatus and also rhythmic.

I know a lot of the parents attend with the younger ones, and even some of the older ones.

 

[wallinbl]

Level 1 Floor

Those skills look remarkably similar to what I see the girls at our gym doing. When I mentioned cartwheel above, it's pretty similar to what they're doing at 0:52 in the video.