Health and Fitness and the Special Needs Child

Special needs children often are overlooked from a physical education standpoint. Special needs children can gain just as much if not more than their fully functional peers from training. Whether the child is physically or mentally handicapped there is a training program that can assist them and can be tailored to fit the specific needs of the child. While diversity should rule any good training program, routine and repetitious programs are best suited for special needs children to develop good habits.

Training children is difficult to begin with. Add in the a special need, and you have to place your patience hat on. Smile, laugh, and enjoy the fact that you are assisting a human being most people look past in the sense of physical capabilities. Training the special needs child is both challenging and rewarding simultaneously. What I find most enjoyable is the necessity to think outside of the traditional exercises and get creative with your choices. Tailoring the movements to fit the limitations presented to you. 

There are risks to training the special needs child. Not fully understanding the disability, not having a diverse and extensive selection of exercises, not understanding the recovery time of a child's Central Nervous Sysytem can all play into injury. You have to approach this type of training with kid gloves, literally. Easing into the program and assessing constant feedback from a caregiver as well as the child is a must, and listen and pay extra attention to everything during a session.  

Understand that the training program you put together is going to benefit the child in cognitive function, aerobic activity, and coordination. This program can aid the child in their everyday function exponentially by increasing hand/eye coordination, body awareness, and strength and flexibility. Not to mention the confidence that arises from accomplishing tasks from session to session.

Please understand that the benefits for outweigh the potential risks associated with training the special needs child, and the reward is a happier healthier child.                        

- Ty