Basic Takeaways
This is the second of a five-part series from the Lakeshore Foundation that will move through the five areas necessary to provide a comprehensive approach to ensure that you offer accessible fitness programs and that your gym is inclusive and welcoming to all individuals, including those with disabilities. Join us as we move through five areas to ensure your gym is welcoming and accessible to all. Read Part 1 here: The Built Environment.
Read on to discover how proper training can be the key to inclusive and equitable fitness. And, use the step-by-step process to evaluate your current guidelines—both to employees and facility members—and make improvements to create an experience that’s welcoming to all.
This blog covers instruction, which includes techniques used to improve learning for gym staff, people with disabilities and their family members or carers. For staff, examples include webinars, lunch and learns, seminars, in-service training and certificate programs. For people with disabilities and their family members or caregivers, training includes individual training and group fitness classes, as well as all interactions with employees once they enter the facility.
One of the main barriers to participation in physical activity for people with disabilities is the negative attitude of people – including gym staff – towards disability. It is very important to ensure that people with disabilities feel welcome and included in your facility. From your front desk staff to your program staff, every employee can leave a lasting impression on your members.
The command domain includes two main domains:
1. Training provided to our staff: There are many trainings available that can help equip your staff to better engage members with disabilities. Here are some basics we recommend:
- All staff in a facility should be required to receive disability education. This may be the key to solving some of these behavioral barriers that people with disabilities face.
- Personnel in specialized positions should attend trainings or complete certificate programs specific to their area of expertise. In this way, they can ensure that people with disabilities feel welcome and included in any of their programs. So if a person who uses a wheelchair shows up to one of your classes, whether it’s yoga, aquatics, or any other type of class, the staff feels ready to fully include them in that workout.
- Staff members may become Inclusive Fitness Specialist through the American College of Sports Medicine or obtain other customized fitness certifications.
- Education and training about working with clients with disabilities is limited in the fitness industry, something ACE and the Lakeshore Foundation are working to address through our partnership.
2. The accessibility of the content you provide to your members and staff: If you run group fitness classes, lunch and learns, nutrition demonstrations or similar events, make sure the information is provided in an accessible way. Here’s what we recommend:
- Offer brochures in large print or braille. This may include your membership documents, training records and more.
- Provide an interpreter if requested and always ensure that voices are amplified with a microphone. An instructor should never ask the class if they can hear them if they are not using amplification. If a person in the class is indeed hard of hearing, they probably won’t want to be singled out. Best practice ensures that the microphone is used in a group setting.
- In a group fitness class, make sure your instructors provide seated and standing exercise options and use inclusive terminology so everyone feels welcome.
- People learn best when a variety of instructional methods are used, regardless of disability. Facilitators should always use multiple forms of instruction, such as verbally describing a movement while demonstrating it.
- Never give undue praise or attention to a person with a disability. For example, don’t praise a person with a disability just because they came to exercise that day. And, never use that person as an example to others by saying, “Well, if they can do it, so can you,” as that is very demeaning.
Integration Solutions
Consider taking the following steps to improve the accessibility of instructions in your facility:
- Seek disability training for all staff.
- Ensure fitness staff are trained in inclusive fitness.
- Enlist the help of people with disabilities to evaluate your inclusive instructions.
- Provide opportunities for members to request accommodations.
Resources
Take advantage of these resources from the National Center for Health, Physical Activity and Disability:
Check out this blog to learn more about the Lakeshore Foundation and Customer Service with Disabilities. And be sure to read Part 1 of this series: The Built Environment.
